The 3rd Sunday of Advent is also called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete means "rejoice". We are halfway through Advent! This is a time for hopeful expectation. We rejoice as the day we celebrate the Incarnation draws closer.
Here are some resources for the 3rd Sunday of Advent for youth ministers, catechists, teachers, and parents - the first teachers of their children. Click on the appropriate year to see ideas to go with the Mass readings.
Mass Readings for the 3rd Sunday of Advent Year A – Gaudete Sunday
- First Reading – Isaiah 35:1-6A, 10: “Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy; they will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee.”
- Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 146: “Lord, come and save us.”
- Second Reading – James 5:7-10: “See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.”
- Gospel – Matthew 11:2-11: “”Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.””
Mass Readings for the 3rd Sunday of Advent Year B – Gaudete Sunday
- First Reading – Isaiah 61:1-2A, 10-11: “I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels.”
- Responsorial Psalm – Luke 1: “My soul rejoices in my God.”
- Second Reading – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24: “May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- Gospel – John 1:6-8, 19-28: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord,’” as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Mass Readings for the 3rd Sunday of Advent Year C – Gaudete Sunday
- First Reading – Zephaniah 3:14-18A: “The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, he will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals.”
- Responsorial Psalm – Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6: “Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.”
- Second Reading – Philippians 4:4-7: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!”
- Gospel – Luke 3:10-18: “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
More About Lectionary Cycles
Learn more about the difference between a Bible and a Lectionary, how the Lectionary is arranged, and translations of the Bible used at Mass.
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