3rd FRIDAY OF ADVENT - Gospel (Luke 1:5-25) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.” (Lk 1:13)

FIRST READING - Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25a

"The boy shall be a nazirite for God from the womb, until the day of his death."

A reading from the Book of Judges

² There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites,^[a] whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren and had borne no children. ³ An angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her: Though you are barren and have had no children, you will conceive and bear a son. ⁴ Now, then, be careful to drink no wine or beer and to eat nothing unclean, ⁵ for you will conceive and bear a son. No razor shall touch his head, for the boy is to be a nazirite for God^[b] from the womb. It is he who will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines.

⁶ The woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me; he had the appearance of an angel of God, fearsome indeed. I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. ⁷ But he said to me, ‘You will conceive and bear a son. So drink no wine or beer, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy shall be a nazirite for God from the womb, until the day of his death.’”

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Lk 1:5-25

"Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John."

✠From the Gospel according to Luke

⁵ In the days of Herod, King of Judea,^[b] there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. ⁷ But they had no child,^[c] because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years. ⁸ Once when he was serving as priest in his division’s turn before God, ⁹ according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. ¹⁰ Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, ¹¹ the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. ¹² Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid,^[d] Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of [the] Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.^[e] He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, ¹⁶ and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah^[f] to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.” ¹⁸ Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹ And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel,^[g] who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. ²⁰ But now you will be speechless and unable to talk^[h] until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

²¹ Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. ²² But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute. ²³ Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home. ²⁴ After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, ²⁵ “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.”

3rd FRIDAY OF ADVENT - Gospel (Luke 1:5-25)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear people of God,

In today's Word of God, God reveals to all humanity the birth of Saint John the Baptist, a great prophet who prepared the way for the Son of God to come into the world as man.

The birth of Saint John the Baptist was also due to the power of God bestowed upon all humanity.

God reveals that the parents of Saint John were elderly, past childbearing age; yet, through God's power, John was stillborn.

The birth of John was very special, as the angel Gabriel, who stands perpetually before the presence of God, brought God's command to announce the news to Zechariah, informing him that his son would be a great prophet of God, the one who would go ahead to prepare the way for the Most High to come into the world as man.

And this prophet will faithfully carry out the commands of God, which is to live a simple, poor life, a life faithful and loyal to the mission God entrusted until his last breath; and as a great prophet, he has called many people to abandon the path of sin and return to God.

God reveals that Zechariah was mute and unable to speak until the day the child was born.

He was mute because of his hardness of heart in his belief, his lack of absolute faith in the words of the angel Gabriel who brought God's message to him.

And his muteness was a sign to show God’s power of fulfilling what He had foretold him.

And indeed, eight days after Saint John the Baptist was born, he was circumcised and given his name, and at that moment, Zacharia’s mouth and tongue were opened, he could speak, and praise God.

He believed and acted exactly as God had commanded.

God made it clear to humanity that all these actions, which demonstrate God's plan of salvation for all mankind, are carried out according to God’s holy will; humanity could never accomplish this unless God intervened; therefore, humanity must listen to and obey God's holy will.

Today, God calls upon all humanity: trust absolutely in God's love and act exactly according to what He has commanded; do not doubt, do not calculate according to human reason; live simply, humbly, self-effacingly, obediently, and listen to God’s teachings and put them into practice.

For those who act exactly according to what God commands, their soul will enjoy happiness in the presence of the Most High God.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

19:00 Dec 19, 2025 - Prayer of Divine Mercy - The Way to Heaven