SATURDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Emmanuel,
our king and lawgiver,
come and save us,
Lord our God.

SONG OF SONGS 2:8-14

My Soul's Beloved,

You O Lord, our God, are the Divine Lover in the Song of Songs. You desire nothing more than to reveal Yourself to us and to have a close and intimate relationship with us. You will stop at nothing Beloved, to woo us tenderly, gently, until we understand that nothing that the world has to offer can match the wondrous awe of knowing that the Eternal Word of the Father in whom and through whom everything has its origin and being, desires to be our love, our bridegroom, the spouse of our soul.

Even though our sins are as scarlet, even though we withdraw from You into the deep, dark recesses of sin, even though we reject Your loving invitation over and over again, You do not give up but pursue us relentlessly, patiently, until we finally understand that the whole purpose of our life is to know You, Love You, serve You and belong utterly to You.

Thank You, Lord, for loving us as You do. Open the eyes of those who do not yet know You so they too may come to understand that true joy is to love You and be loved by You. Grant O Lord, that the world wooed by Your tenderness will return love for love.

‘Come then, my love,
my lovely one, come.
My dove, hiding in the clefts of the rock,
in the coverts of the cliff,
show me your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet
and your face is beautiful.’

PSALM 32(33):2-3,11-12,20-21

Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; O sing him a song that is new.

Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
O sing him a song that is new,
play loudly, with all your skill.

His own designs shall stand for ever,

the plans of his heart from age to age.
They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as his own.

Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
In him do our hearts find joy.
We trust in his holy name.

Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; O sing him a song that is new.

LUKE 1:39-45

My Soul's Beloved,

This is my prayer today, Lord, that I may understand more and more the precious jewel that is Mary, the Mother of the Son of God, fairest daughter of the Father, and the most chaste spouse of the Most Holy Spirit. Immaculately conceived she is unrivalled among the children of Adam in the perfection of every virtue. Filled with grace from the moment of her conception, her soul was the garden in which the Holy Spirit planted every grace and virtue in superabundance. You chose her among all the women to be Your Mom. She is the garden in which God walked in the cool of the day as He did in the garden of Eden.

Having conceived You in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit, God overshadowed her and from that instant, she was wholly Yours. Her whole being which was already surrendered to God was now, by the power of God incarnate in her womb, directed to go in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who also by the power of God had conceived a child in her old age. 

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, her baby, the precursor who was to prepare the way of the Lord encountered his Lord and leaped with joy. Grant O Lord that I encounter You every time I run to Mama Mary with my troubles and my soul will leap for joy in finding You who are my God and my all. 

Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’