“Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord”: Readings & Sermon from the Fourth Sunday of Advent
The Sunday Mass readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent are selected from the pre-1955 Missal of St. Pius X. Followed by the sermon of Monsignor Thomas Sebastian, Oratory Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi, Society of Christ the King.
EPISTLE: I Corinthians 4:1 – 5:
BRETHREN: Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the Mysteries of God. Here now it is required among the dispensers, that a man be found faithful. But to me it is a very small thing to be judged by you, or by man's day; but neither do I judge my own self. For I am not conscious to myself of anything, yet am I not hereby justified; but He that judgeth me, is the Lord. Therefore judge not before the time; until the Lord come, Who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall every man have praise from God.
GOSPEL: St. Luke 3:1 – 6
NOW IN THE FIFTEENTH YEAR of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother tetrarch of Iturea, and the country of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilina; Under the high priests Annas and Caiphas; the Word of the Lord was made unto John, the son of Zachary, in the desert. And he came into all the country about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins; As it was written in the book of the sayings of Isaias the prophet: A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled; and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight; and the rough ways plain; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Sermon of Monsignor Sebastian:
Rorate, caeli, desuper, et nubes pluant iustum; aperiatur terra, et germinet Salvatorem, et justitia oriatur simul : ego Dominus creavi eum.
THESE words from our Introit this morning come from Holy Isaias’ prophecy concerning the coming of Christ. The imagery is exquisite and joyful, yet at the same time mystical: Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just: let the earth be opened, and bud forth a Saviour: and let justice spring up together: I the Lord have created Him (Isaias 45:8). Justice springs up from the coming of the Lord because He restores us to the friendship of God. Our sin caused us to lose this intimacy with God and can only be restored by the Saviour. God loves us so much that He restores us to justice by His own coming as a babe, innocent, meek and holy; in fact at the Collect of Holy Mass this morning we pray a very powerful petition: Stir up Thy power and come, we pray Thee, O Lord, and with great might succour us; that our deliverance, which our sins impede, may be hastened by the help of Thy grace and the forgiveness of Thy mercy. This prayer must always be our heavenly request; the aid and deliverance from our wickedness by the power and coming of Our Lord and King Jesus Christ. He has prepared us for this coming by sending us the prophets and the Precursor, S. John, the great and holy Baptist, who announced to us His coming: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight His paths (S. Isaias 40:3, S. Mark 1:3, S. Luke 3:4). This has been our Advent, preparing for His joyful coming as the Lamb with our happy hymns and prayers, but also preparing for His triumphant return as the Lion with our prayers and sacrifices. This is our Advent preparation, watching and waiting for Him to return on a cloud with majesty and might (cf. S. Matthew 24:32).
This morning I wish to explicate to you of how much one single person can do to aid God in bringing grace and true joy into the world; one person can and indeed did make a difference, and we must imitate her. Our Blessed Lady, the Virgin Mary, whose Immaculate Conception we just celebrated, is the example of perfect submission and cooperation to the will of God. When Our Lady gave her fiat to God by way of the Archangel Gabriel she freely offered her will to the Divine Will; Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word (S. Luke 1:38). Such perfect submission and obedience to the Divine Will without any consideration of self, this is how we should react to any and all opportunities of grace. The Mother of God, the greatest human instrument of God’s grace, noble and sublime, must become for us a model of perfect love and perfect virtue. We must also follow her example of meditation and contemplation of all things that concern God (cf. S. Luke 2:19), whether they be hidden or made manifest. She is the Mother of God and the mother of Christians and through her Divine Maternity we are forever in her debt, for she took on the burden of our sin, while remaining perfectly pure and intact, by bearing the Christ Child, for God willed it so that we might have her as our protectress and intercessor, for God would never refuse any good thing she may beg on our behalf. Our holy Catholic Faith teaches us to see Our Lady as a sign of God’s special love for us, His creatures, and by her holy example we learn to approach God simply and with humility, as children, reminding us of the words of Our Blessed Lord, Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of heaven (S. Matthew 18:3).
As we approach closer to the crib of our Lord and King, let us also approach His dearest mother, who is our mother too, with humility and gratitude for her great gift to us: her Son and our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We love you. Save souls. Amen.
