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The Light of the World
Fourth Sunday of Advent
The Mass
In the early ages of the Church the celebration of Ember Saturday continued until the following
morning and terminated with the Sunday Mass. The evening service in St. Peter’s in Rome
consisted of the recitation of psalms, the reading of lessons and prophecies, the sermon by the
pope, the collection of the tithes, the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice, and the seven blessings.
In later centuries the night vigil was abolished, and the services were reduced to what we now
have on Ember Saturday. For this reason a new Mass had to be composed for the following day,
the fourth Sunday of Advent. This new Mass does not introduce any new liturgical idea, but
continues the thought of the Mass for Ember Saturday and sums up the ideas of the preceding
week. It takes up again the idea proposed to us on the first Sunday of Advent, the idea of purifying
our lives as a preparation for the coming of Christ.
We patiently await the coming of the Lord. “Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the
clouds rain down the just. Let the earth be opened and bud forth a Savior” (Introit). Heaven has
already descended to the Virgin of Nazareth, and the power of the Most High has overshadowed
her. She has conceived the Savior by the power of the Holy Ghost. The heavens, indeed, have
opened and have rained down the Just One. In a few days the earth will bring forth its fruit: the
virginal womb of Mary will bring forth the Savior. We humbly beseech God to hasten that day,
for we are greatly in need of the Savior and His grace. “Stir up Thy might and come, we beseech
Thee, O Lord, and succor us with great power; that by the help of Thy grace the forgiveness of
Thy mercy may hasten what our sins impede” (Collect).
The Epistle turns our attention to the newly ordained priests. By their ordination they
have become “ministers of Christ and dispensers of the mysteries of God,” called, like Mary,
to bear Christ in their purified hands and to bring Him to men through prayer, the sacraments,
and the Holy Eucharist. Men look upon us as the servants of Christ, full of grace and
responsibility. God’s consecrated servants are accountable to Him. “Therefore judge not
before the time,” that is, before the coming of the Lord. “Leave judgment of His servants to
the Lord, for He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest
the counsels of the heart.” Christ will appear on the last day as the Judge, to whom all will
have to give an account. The coming of Christ in Bethlehem, and His coming upon the altar
in the Mass, and His coming into our hearts in Holy Communion, all point to His second
coming at the end of the world, when He will come with power and majesty to judge and set
all things right. “The Lord is nigh” (Gradual) in His servants. He is now ready to celebrate
His holy sacrifice. In holy impatience we cry, “Alleluia! Come, O Lord, and tarry not, forgive
the sins of Thy people Israel.”
The Lord is indeed coming, for John the Baptist, His forerunner, is already preaching
penance in the name of Christ, whose way he has come to prepare. The Evangelist gives
the time and the circumstances of the Baptist’s preaching with unusual exactness and
detail. We feel that we are standing at the turning point of history. The Lord is near. In the
Offertory we greet her who is full of grace: “The Lord is with thee; blessed is the fruit of
thy womb.”
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