Sunday Mass for the 3rd Sunday Advent 2020 - Year B

Join the Jesuit Institute South Africa as they celebrate Sunday Mass for the 3rd Sunday Advent 2020 - Year B This morning's Mass is celebrated by Fr Bruce Botha SJ. Owing to COVID-19 and the suspensions of Mass in various parts of the country, we invite everyone to make a 'Spiritual Communion' with us during this Mass. More resources are available at https://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/co.... You might want to light a candle, making your own Advent Wreath at home, or do something to make this a prayerful time for you all. Our readings for this Mass are: First Reading Isaiah 61:1-2,10-11 Psalm Luke 1:46-50,53-54 Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 Gospel Acclamation Luke 4:18 Gospel John 1:6-8,19-28 Homily (begins at 9:13) It’s been almost nine months since COVID-19 turned our lives upside down? Nine months since our community of belonging changed from the hundreds you attended mass with physically, to the thousands who are sharing this virtual experience with us. In this brave new world, we have to ask ourselves what does community mean for us today? What does being present to one another mean? And how can we put flesh on the digital bones of this community? Does our community help us to be missionary disciples of Christ? Community is not an end in itself. Community has purpose. Community can bless us, it can enrich us, it can feed us and it can strengthen us, and when it has done all of those things, most importantly, it functions as a John the Baptist for the members of its community by pointing us towards Christ. John boldly proclaimed that he was not the Christ, that he was just a voice crying out in the wilderness “make straight the way of the Lord”. And so the mission of the community is to point us towards Christ, to teach us about Christ so that when He comes, we may recognize Him, not only in the transcendent glory of the kingdom, but also in the broken and bruised glory of those around us. If our community truly exists not as an end in itself but to prepare for us mission, then maybe it doesn’t matter where you are in the world right now or whether your community is a virtual one or a physical one, as long as you are being that good news to the poor, as long as you bring the message of freedom and new life to those at the margins of our church and society. Has my community helped me to be more rooted in my faith? Has it made me more aware of and attentive to my connectedness to others? Have I become more gentle, am I more patient, more loving and forgiving? If not, maybe it’s time to change the channel. You can listen to this homily at https://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/su... or download it to read here, https://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/wp...