THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

GAUDETE SUNDAY

within the octave of the
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

DOUBLE, FIRST CLASS / ROSE or PURPLE
Guadete means "Rejoice." Anticipated joy over our Savior's coming breaks through all our serious Advent preparation. Although it cannot be entirely repressed, our joy is yet restrained for two reasons: 1. Like John the Baptist, even the most fervent person feels a great unworthiness either to be a friend of Christ or to be His apostle. 2. Very often our joy is dulled by unnecessary anxiety. We let our peace of soul depend too much upon persons and events and circumstances, and too little upon God's infallible and tender care.
INTROIT Philipp. 4:4-6Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety; but in every prayer let your petitions be made known to God. 
Ps. 84:2. O Lord, You have blessed Your land; You have restored Jacob from captivity.V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
Hear our prayers, O Lord, and enlighten the darkness of our minds by Your coming on earth; who lives and rules with God the Father . . .


Commemoration of OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
On the summit of a hill a few miles north of Mexico City, Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego, a poor Aztec Indian convert, in December, 1531. In order that the Spanish Archbishop Zumarraga of Mexico might have faith in the apparitions, Mary made roses bloom on the cold, arid hillside, and impressed a picture of herself upon Juan Diego's roughly woven mantle. Devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe has helped to weld into a nation the various peoples of Mexico; [millions of Indians were baptized and entered the Church] and her shrine has never been closed, even during the most bitter conflicts between Church and State in that country.


O God, You have placed us under the special patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and through her You have favored us with endless blessings. May we, who joyfully honor her this day on earth, enjoy her company forever in heaven. Through Our Lord . . .EPISTLE Philipp. 4:4-7
Brethren: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety, but in every prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God. And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

GRADUAL Ps. 79:2, 3, 2
O Lord, enthroned above the Cherubim, stir up Your might and come.
V. Take heed, you who rule Israel, you who are shepherd over Joseph.

Alleluia, alleluia! V.
Stir up Your might, O Lord, and come to save us.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL John 1:19-28
At that time, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to him, to ask him: "Who art thou?" And he confessed and did not deny: and he confessed: "I am not the Christ." And they asked him: "What then? Art thou Elias?" And he said: "I am not." "Art thou the prophet? And he answered: "No." They said therefore unto him: "Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself?" He said: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaias." And they that were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him and said to him: "Why then dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet?" John answered them, saying: "I baptize with water: but there hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not. The same is he that shall come after me, who is preferred before me: the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose." These things were done in Bethania, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 84:2, 3
O Lord, You have blessed Your land; You have restored Jacob from captivity; You have forgiven the sinfulness of Your people.

SECRET 
May we always offer the sacrifice of adoration in such a manner, O Lord, that it will attain the purpose for which You instituted this sacred rite, and bring about our salvation. Through Our Lord . . .


Commemoration of OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
O Lord, through Your mercy and the intercession of the Blessed Ever-Virgin Mary, let this offering bring us prosperity and peace now and forever. Through Our Lord . . .
COMMUNION ANTIPHON Isa. 35:4
Say to the fainthearted, "Take courage and fear not. Behold, our God will come and will save us."

POSTCOMMUNION 
In Your mercy cleanse us from our sins by these divine Rites, O Lord, and make us ready for the coming feast. Through Our Lord . . .


Commemoration of OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
O Lord, grant that we who have received the Sacrament of our salvation may be protected through the intercession of the Blessed Ever-Virgin Mary, in whose honor we have offered this Sacrifice to Your majesty. Through Our Lord . . .

Juan Diego. 18th Century Painting. Image viaWikipedia