Saturday, December 20, 2025

Come Lord Jesus Series: Saturday of Third Week of Advent Year A

 Come Lord Jesus Series

Advent Wreath Come Lord Jesus series Icon.


Saturday — Third Week of Advent (Year A)

Entrance Antiphon:

“Come, O Lord, visit us in peace,
that we may rejoice before You with a blameless heart.”
(cf. Psalm 24:3; Psalm 85:8)

Reflection

As the third week of Advent draws to a close, the Church once again places on our lips a simple, trusting prayer: “Come, O Lord.”
The repetition is intentional. By now, Advent has moved us beyond curiosity and anticipation into desire. We are no longer asking if the Lord will come, but how we might receive Him more fully.

The prayer asks for a visitation — not a passing moment, not a fleeting consolation, but a presence that enters and remains. When God visits His people in Scripture, something always changes. Peace settles where there was restlessness. Clarity emerges where there was confusion. Strength is given where weakness was felt. Advent teaches us to ask not for dramatic signs, but for this quiet, transforming nearness.

“Visit us in peace.”  Peace here is not merely calm or comfort. It is wholeness — the restoration of right relationship with God, with others, and within ourselves. As Christmas approaches, the temptation can be to rush, to push, to manage everything perfectly. This antiphon gently resists that impulse. It reminds us that true readiness comes not from control, but from peace received.

The fruit of this visitation is beautifully named: “that we may rejoice before You.”  By Week Three, Advent joy has matured. It is no longer the sudden lift of Gaudete Sunday alone, but a steadier joy rooted in trust. To rejoice “before” the Lord is to stand honestly in His presence, without pretence, without fear, knowing that He comes in mercy.

And finally: “with a blameless heart.”  This is not perfection. It is simplicity. A blameless heart is one that is turned toward God, willing, open, and ready to receive. Advent does not demand flawlessness; it invites orientation — a heart facing the Lord.

As we stand on the threshold of the final days of Advent, this prayer gathers everything we have learned:
Come.
Visit.
Bring peace.
Awaken joy.
Unify the heart.

Week Three of Advent — A Short Reflection & Review

Week Three of Advent has been marked by joy deepening into confidence.
We have heard heaven and earth rejoice, we have been comforted by God’s mercy, we have been reminded that Christ our King comes as the Lamb, and we have been assured that He who is to come will not delay. Fear has been named — and gently loosened — as the Saviour draws near.

This week has asked us not only to rejoice, but to trust.  Trust is to  trust God’s timing and to trust His way of coming.
To trust that peace is possible even before everything is resolved.

As we prepare to enter the final, most intense days of Advent, the invitation is to simplify and  to let go of what clutters the heart so that Christ may be welcomed with freedom and joy.

Spiritual Review Question — Week Three:

Where has joy or peace grown in me this week, and what might I need to release so that my heart can be fully ready for the Lord who comes?

Let the answer be gentle.
Advent is almost complete.
The Lord is very near.

 

.Come, Lord Jesus.

 


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