Monday of the Third week of Advent
Book of Numbers 24:2-7.15-17.
When he raised his eyes and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe, the spirit of God came upon him,
and he gave voice to his oracle: The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eye is true,
The utterance of one who hears what God says, and knows what the Most High knows, Of one who sees what the Almighty sees, enraptured, and with eyes unveiled:
How goodly are your tents, O Jacob; your encampments, O Israel!
They are like gardens beside a stream, like the cedars planted by the LORD.
His wells shall yield free-flowing waters, he shall have the sea within reach; His king shall rise higher than. . . . and his royalty shall be exalted.
Then Balaam gave voice to his oracle: The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eye is true,
The utterance of one who hears what God says, and knows what the Most High knows, Of one who sees what the Almighty sees, enraptured and with eyes unveiled.
I see him, though not now; I behold him, though not near: A star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel, That shall smite the brows of Moab, and the skulls of all the Shuthites,

Psalms 25(24):4-5.6-7.8-9.
Make known to me your ways, LORD; teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior. For you I wait all the long day, because of your goodness, LORD.
Remember your compassion and love, O LORD; for they are ages old.
Remember no more the sins of my youth; remember me only in light of your love.
Good and upright is the LORD, who shows sinners the way,
Guides the humble rightly, and teaches the humble the way.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 21:23-27.
When he had come into the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?”
Jesus said to them in reply, “I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.
Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?” They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’
But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd, for they all regard John as a prophet.”
So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” He himself said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.
Commentary of the day : Saint Thomas Aquinas
Witness to God

Third Sunday of Advent
Book of Zephaniah 3:14-18.
Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you, he has turned away your enemies; The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals. I will remove disaster from among you, so that none may recount your disgrace.

Book of Isaiah 12:2-3.4.5-6.
God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation,
and say on that day: Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name; among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement; let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel!

Letter to the Philippians 4:4-7.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!
Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 3:10-18.
And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”
He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?”
He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.”
Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”
Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.
John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people.
Commentary of the day : Saint Maximus of Turin
“One mightier than I is coming”

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Our Lady of Guadalupe – Feast
Book of Sirach 48:1-4.9-11.
Till like a fire there appeared the prophet whose words were as a flaming furnace.
Their staff of bread he shattered, in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
By God’s word he shut up the heavens and three times brought down fire.
How awesome are you, ELIJAH! Whose glory is equal to yours?
You were taken aloft in a whirlwind, in a chariot with fiery horses.
You are destined, it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD, To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to reestablish the tribes of Jacob.
Blessed is he who shall have seen you before he dies,

Psalms 80(79):2-3.15-16.18-19.
Shepherd of Israel, listen, guide of the flock of Joseph! From your throne upon the cherubim reveal yourself
to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Stir up your power, come to save us.
Turn again, LORD of hosts; look down from heaven and see; Attend to this vine,
the shoot your right hand has planted.
May your help be with the man at your right hand, with the one whom you once made strong.
Then we will not withdraw from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 17:10-13.
Then the disciples asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”
Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
Commentary of the day : Saint Cyril of Jerusalem