Sunday, December 13, 2026 — Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday)
The witness to the Light
John 1:6-8, 19-28
The Gospel
A man named John was sent from God to testify to the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but came to bear witness to it. When priests and Levites from Jerusalem ask him who he is, John denies that he is the Christ, or Elijah, or the Prophet, and calls himself only the voice of one crying out in the desert, making straight the way of the Lord. He baptizes with water, but among them stands one whom they do not recognize, whose sandal strap he is not worthy to untie.
Readings of the day: First Reading: Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11; Responsorial Psalm: Luke 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54; Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; Alleluia: Isaiah 61:1; Gospel: John 1:6-8, 19-28.
Reflection
Gaudete means rejoice, and the joy of this Sunday is John’s joy: he knows exactly who he is not. St. Augustine asks why so great a man was sent before Christ, and answers that he was sent to declare by his witness that Christ was more than man. John does not compete with the Light; he points to it. St. John Chrysostom admires his steadiness under questioning: pressed again and again, John quietly puts down the suspicions that are untrue and establishes the truth in their place. He is only a voice. A voice passes, and the Word remains. That is why the Baptist can rejoice, and why we can rejoice with him. Our task is the same as his: not to be the light, but to bear witness to it, so that others may believe through us. The Lord is near. Rejoice.
From the Fathers
“And therefore there was sent before a great man, to declare by his witness that He was more than man. And who was this? He was a man.”
— St. Augustine, Tractates on John 2, in the Catena Aurea on John 1:6-8
“You see them here pressing him still more strongly with their questions, while he on the other hand quietly puts down their suspicions, where they are untrue, and establishes the truth in their place: saying, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.”
— St. John Chrysostom, Homily 16 on John, in the Catena Aurea on John 1:19-23
Saint of the day
Saint Lucy, virgin and martyr of Syracuse (died c. 304). Her memorial, kept on December 13, is superseded today by the Sunday liturgy, the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, when the Church rejoices because the Lord is near.
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Sources: the day’s readings follow the daily lectionary (USCCB, Lectionary 8). The Gospel text is not reproduced here; read it at the link above. Patristic quotes: Catena Aurea on John 1:6-8 and 1:19-23, compiled by St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by John Henry Newman (1841, public domain).