Monsignor James P. Moroney introduces to us the Collect for the Third Sunday of Advent (from the new English translation of the Roman Missal, Third Typical Edition).

The last part of the introductory rites is the Collect prayer, or what is commonly referred to as the opening prayer. In the early Church, this prayer probably served to gather the assembly for worship, but now it serves to collect or focus the assembly’s prayer at the beginning of the liturgy.

The Collect is a carefully constructed prayer and can be broken down into several parts: the priest’s invitation to prayer, “Let us pray;” a brief period of silence for private prayer and recalling one’s own intention; the prayer itself (containing praise of God, a petition, and the hoped outcome for the petition); a concluding doxology, “Through Christ our Lord;” and the people’s response, “Amen.”

All of the Collect prayers have been retranslated in a way that more accurately captures their original structure and meaning in Latin. Obviously, some of the literary devices such as rhyme and word play, among others, will not shine through as they do in the Latin, and some of the sentences are long and complex. However, the words matter; the words articulate the truths of the Christian faith. The words shape and form us as a believing community, and the words contribute to the unity of the Church across the world.

Third Sunday of Advent Cycle A  – from the Gospel of Matthew the full reading and reflection

“The one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist!”

an excerpt from today’s reflection by Don Schwager: 

Who is the greatest in the kingdom of God?  Jesus praised John the Baptist as the greatest person born. Who can top that as a compliment? But in the same breath Jesus says that the least in the kingdom of God is even greater than John! That sounds like a contradiction, right? Unless you understand that what Jesus was about to accomplish for our sake would supercede all that the prophets had done and foreseen in the past. John is the last and greatest of the prophets of the old covenant. He fulfilled the essential task of all the prophets – to be fingers pointing to Christ, God’s Annointed Son and Messiah. John prepared the way for the Messiah and he pointed others to Jesus the Messiah at the River Jordan when he exclaimed, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29)  John saw from a distant what Jesus would accomplish through his death on the cross – our redemption from bondage to sin and death and our adoption as sons and daughers of God and citizens of the kingdom of heaven.

Why did John, while in prison, send his disciples to question Jesus? John wanted them to hear and see firsthand from the Messiah himself before John would meet his fate, martyrdom at the hands of King Herod. Jesus says that his miracles and message about the kingdom or reign of God are proof enough for John and his disciples to recognize as the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy foretelling the signs and wonders which the Messiah would perform  (see Isaiah 35). Jesus in his characteristic fashion also returned one question with another. What do you see in John the Baptist? And why does Jesus contrast John with a reed? Unlike a reed which is spineless and can be bruised easily, John stands as a pillar of truth which no demonic force can overtake because his heart is set on God and burns with the fire of God’s truth and love. Someone who is tepid – careless, half-hearted, and lukewarm –  is easily swayed by whatever hits his or her fancy. If our heart is not filled with the love of God is easily grows cold and our faith wanes. If the heart feels emptied of God it seeks to fill the void with other things, which not being God, cannot bring true satisfaction. If we want to be like John the Baptist, then we must set our heart, mind, soul, and strength on one thing, and one thing only –  the Lord Jesus Jesus Christ and his kingdom of everlasting peace, joy, and righteousness. There is no room for compromise. We are either for Jesus and his kingdom or against it. We either give him our full allegiance and submission or we hold on to the reigns of running life as we want it to go.

“Lord Jesus, stir my zeal for your righteousness and for your kingdom. Free me from complacency and from compromising with the ways of sin and worldliness that I may be wholeheartedly devoted to you and to your kingdom.”

for the full reflection visit : Daily Reading and Meditation