[Officium]
Dominica III Adventus

[Ant 1]
Before Me * there was no god formed, neither shall there be after Me; for unto Me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear.

[Oratio]
O Lord, we beseech thee, mercifully incline thine ears unto our prayers, and lighten the darkness of our minds by the grace of thy heavenly visitation.
$Qui vivis

[Lectio1]
Lesson from the book of Isaias
!Isa 26:1-6
1 In that day shall this canticle be sung in the land of Juda. Sion the city of our strength a saviour, a wall and a bulwark shall be set therein.
2 Open ye the gates, and let the just nation, that keepeth the truth, enter in.
3 The old error is passed away: thou wilt keep peace: peace, because we have hoped in thee.
4 You have hoped in the Lord for evermore, in the Lord God mighty for ever.
5 For he shall bring down them that dwell on high, the high city he shall lay low. He shall bring it down even to the ground, he shall pull it down even to the dust.
6 The foot shall tread it down, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.

[Responsory1]
R. Behold, the Lord shall appear upon a white cloud,
* And ten thousand of His saints with Him; and He shall have on His vesture, and on His thigh a name written King of kings, and Lord of lords.
V. He shall appear and not lie; though He tarry, wait for Him, because He will surely come.
R. And ten thousand of His saints with Him; and He shall have on His vesture, and on His thigh a name written King of kings, and Lord of lords.

[Lectio2]
!Isa 26:7-10
7 The way of the just is right, the path of the just is right to walk in.
8 And in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, we have patiently waited for thee: thy name, and thy remembrance are the desire of the soul.
9 My soul hath desired thee in the night: yea, and with my spirit within me in the morning early I will watch to thee. When thou shalt do thy judgments on the earth, the inhabitants of the world shall learn justice.
10 Let us have pity on the wicked, but he will not learn justice: in the land of the saints he hath done wicked things, and he shall not see the glory of the Lord.

[Responsory2]
R. Thou, Bethlehem, art the city of the Most High God, out of thee shall He come forth That is to be Ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting, and now shall He be great unto the ends of the earth.
* And this Man shall be the peace in our land, when He shall come.
V. He shall speak peace unto the Gentiles, and shall have dominion from sea to sea.
R. And this Man shall be the peace in our land, when He shall come.

[Lectio3]
!Isa 26:11-14
11 Lord, let thy hand be exalted, and let them not see: let the envious people see, and be confounded: and let fire devour thy enemies.
12 Lord, thou wilt give us peace: for thou hast wrought all our works for us.
13 O Lord our God, other lords besides thee have had dominion over us, only in thee let us remember thy name.
14 Let not the dead live, let not the giants rise again: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and hast destroyed all their memory.

[Responsory3]
R. He That shall come, will come, and will not tarry; and there shall no more be fear in our borders.
* For He is our Saviour.
V. He shall tread down all our iniquities, and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
R. For He is our Saviour.
&Gloria
R. For He is our Saviour.

[Lectio4]
From the Sermons of Pope St. Leo (the Great)
!Second on the December Fast, and Almsgiving
Dearly beloved brethren, with the care which becometh us as the shepherd of your souls, we urge upon you the rigid observance of this December Fast. The month of December hath come round again, and with it this devout custom of the Church. The fruits of the year, which is drawing to a close, are now all gathered in, and we most meetly offer our abstinence to God as a sacrifice of thanksgiving. And what can be more useful than fasting, that exercise by which we draw nigh to God, make a stand against the devil, and overcome the softer enticements of sin?

[Responsory4]
R. Weep not, O Egypt, for the Ruler cometh unto thee, and the depths shall be moved at His presence. 
* To deliver His people out of the hand of the mighty.
V. Behold, the Lord of hosts, thy God, cometh with great power.
R. To deliver His people out of the hand of the mighty.

[Lectio5]
Fasting hath ever been the bread of strength. From abstinence proceed pure thoughts, reasonable desires, and healthy counsels. By voluntary mortifications the flesh dieth to lust, and the soul is renewed in might. But since fasting is not the only mean whereby we get health for our souls, let us add to our fasting works of mercy. Let us spend in good deeds what we take from indulgence. Let our fast become the banquet of the poor.

[Responsory5]
R. Her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged. 
* Lord shall have mercy on Jacob, and Israel shall be saved.
V. Turn again, O Virgin of Israel, turn again to thy cities.
R. For the Lord shall have mercy on Judah, and Israel shall be saved.

[Lectio6]
Let us defend the widow and serve the orphan; let us comfort the afflicted and reconcile the estranged; let us take in the wanderer and succour the oppressed; let us clothe the naked and cherish the sick. And may every one of us that shall offer to the God of all goodness this Advent sacrifice of fasting and alms be by Him fitted to receive an eternal reward in His heavenly kingdom! We fast on Wednesday and Friday; and there is likewise a Vigil on Saturday at the Church of St. Peter, that by his good prayers we may the more effectually obtain what we ask for, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, God, world without end. Amen.

[Responsory6]
R. The Lord shall come down like rain upon a fleece. 
* In His days shall righteousness flourish, and abundance of peace.
V. All the kings of the earth shall fall down before Him, all nations shall serve Him.
R. In His days shall righteousness flourish, and abundance of peace.
&Gloria
R. In His days shall righteousness flourish, and abundance of peace.

[Lectio7]
From the Holy Gospel according to John
!John 1:19-28
In that time were sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to John, to ask him: Who art thou? And so on.
_
Homily by Pope St. Gregory (the Great)
!7th on the Gospels
Dearly beloved brethren, the first thing which striketh us in today's Gospel is the lowly-mindedness of John. He was so great that it was thought he might be the Christ; yet he soberly chose rather to seem only what he really was, than to let the belief of men invest him with a dignity which did not belong to him; for he confessed, and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ, at the same time he would not deny what he was in reality; and thus his very truth-speaking made him a member of Him Whose title he would not by falsehood take. In that he arrogated not to himself the name of Christ, he became a member of Christ. While he humbly strove to confess his own weakness, he earned by his simplicity a part in the grandeur of his Master.

[Responsory7]
R. O Lord, come and make no tarrying; loosen the bonds of thy people.
* And gather again into their own land them that are scattered abroad.
V. O Lord, stir up thy strength, and come and save us.
R. And gather again into their own land them that are scattered abroad.

[Lectio8]
In considering this subject we find an apparent contradiction between one of John's statements, and the saying of our Redeemer recorded in another part of the Gospel. (Matth. xvii. 10-12.) When His disciples asked our Lord regarding the coming of Elias, He answered: Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. And if ye will receive it, this (that is, John) is Elias. (Matth. xi. 14.) But when John was asked if he was Elias, he answered: I am not. How comes it then, dearly beloved brethren, that we find the Truth Itself asserting what the prophet of the Truth denied? It must evidently be that our Lord meant one thing and John another, when the Lord said, This is, and John, I am not. For how can he be the prophet of truth, if he speak not according to the word of Him Who is the Eternal Truth?

[Responsory8]
R. Behold, there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall come for salvation unto the people, to it shall the Gentiles seek;
* And His name shall be glorious.
V. The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever.
R. And His name shall be glorious.

[Lectio9]
Let us then more minutely examine these words, and we shall find that there is no real contradiction. When the Angel announced to Zacharias the coming birth of John he said He shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, (Luke i. 17.) As the old Elias will come again before the Second Advent of the Lord, so did John, as the new Elias, go before the First Advent, in the spirit and power of Elias. As the old Elias will be the Fore-runner of the Judge, so the new Elias was the Forerunner of the Saviour. John then was Elias in spirit, but not in person; and our Lord asserteth of the spirit what John denieth of the person.

[Responsory9]
R. The Lord will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.
* For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
V. Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob.
R. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
&Gloria
R. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

[Ant Laudes]
The Lord will come, * and will not tarry; He both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make Himself manifest to all people. Alleluia.
Rejoice greatly, O Jerusalem, * for thy Saviour cometh unto thee. Alleluia.
I will place salvation in Zion, * and My glory in Jerusalem. Alleluia.
Every mountain and hill * shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; O Lord, come and make no tarrying. Alleluia.
We should live * righteously and godly, looking for that blessed hope and the coming of the Lord.

[Capitulum Laudes]
!Phil 4:4-5
v. Brothers: Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice. Let your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh.
$Deo gratias

[Ant 2]
He shall sit * upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom for ever. Alleluia.

[Capitulum Sexta]
!Phil 4:6
v. Be nothing solicitous; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God.
$Deo gratias

[Capitulum Nona]
!Phil 4:7
v. And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
$Deo gratias

[Ant 3]
Blessed art thou, * O Mary, who hast believed the Lord, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told thee from the Lord. Alleluia.