Third Sunday of Advent

by Father Adrian Cisneros  |  12/14/2025  |  From the Clergy

In this 3rd Sunday of Advent we hear from the gospel: “Behold,.I.am.sending.my.messenger.ahead.of.you;. he.will.prepare.your.way.before.you.” This is referring to John the Baptist, but in many ways, Mary, the first disciple, also prepares the way for us to come to Jesus.

This past Monday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

This is a dogma (a definitive Catholic teaching) of our Catholic faith, and it celebrates that the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin. This was a special grace granted by God from the first moment of Mary’s conception, in anticipation of her role as the Mother of Jesus. Some people get this confused with the virgin birth of Jesus, I know I used to. This dogma was declared by Pope Pius IX in 1854 and this year it was a Holy day of Obligation for us Catholics, meaning we should do all that we can to get to Mass that day.

This past Friday we celebrated the Mother of Jesus on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe in a very big way. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of the Americas and very dear to the heart of many people from our community, so as you can tell by the mountain of roses near her image, we had thousands of people come through the church that day. Both these and all Marian feasts honor the Mother of God, yes, but also should draw us closer to her Son, Jesus, especially in this Advent season of waiting, preparation, and coming to know the Savior of the world better.

Father Adrian Cisneros