Sunday, December 13, 2026

Third Sunday of Advent

Sunday Advent

Holy Day of Obligation

Selected Mass Reading

Gospel — John 1:6-8, 19-28

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him. He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light. And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to him, to ask him: Who art thou? And he confessed and did not deny: and he confessed: I am not the Christ. And they asked him: What then? Art thou Elias? And he said: I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered: No. They said therefore unto him: Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself? He said: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaias. And they that were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him and said to him: Why then dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? John answered them, saying: I baptize with water: but there hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not. The same is he that shall come after me, who is preferred before me: the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose. These things were done in Bethania, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Feast Days

Odile of Alsace Abbess 662–720

Saint Odile of Alsace was born around 662 in Alsace, near what is now Mont Sainte-Odile, the daughter of Duke Etichon and Bethswinda. Tradition says she was born blind, and because of her disability she was sent away and raised far from her father’s court. As a young girl she was brought to a monastery, where Bishop Erhard of Regensburg baptized her; at her baptism, she miraculously received her sight. Odile later returned home through the help of her brother, but family conflict followed, and she chose a life set apart for God. After years of hardship and reconciliation, she came back to nurse her ailing father, who at last relented and founded the monastery of Hohenburg (Mont Sainte-Odile), where Odile became abbess. She also established a second monastery at Niedermünster, including a hospital, and became known for compassion toward the sick and the poor. Venerated in both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, she is patroness of Alsace and of those suffering from eye disease. Her feast day is December 13.

Saint Lucy Virgin, Martyr 283–304

Saint Lucy was born around 283 in Syracuse, Sicily, to a wealthy family. After her father died when she was five, she and her mother, Eutychia, faced an uncertain future. Lucy had quietly consecrated her virginity to Christ and longed to give her dowry to the poor. When her mother suffered from a serious illness, they made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Agatha in nearby Catania. Strengthened by faith and her mother’s healing, Lucy persuaded Eutychia to let her distribute much of their wealth to those in need. Her generosity and refusal to marry a pagan suitor provoked betrayal: the rejected fiancé denounced her as a Christian during the Diocletian persecution. Ordered to sacrifice to the emperor, Lucy stood firm. Tradition tells of cruel attempts to shame and kill her, yet she remained steadfast until she was finally executed in 304, becoming a beloved virgin martyr. Later devotion associated her with the protection of sight, and she is honored as patroness in places including Acqualagna and Carlentini. Her feast day is December 13.