About Today
Sunday 14 December 2025
3rd Sunday of Advent
Let us adore the Lord, the King who is to come.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 3. Liturgical Colour: Rose or Violet.
In other years: St John of the Cross (1542 - 1591)
He was born in Fontiveros, in Spain, in about 1542. He spent some time as a Carmelite friar before, in 1568, Saint Teresa of Ávila persuaded him to pioneer the reform of the Carmelite order. This was a difficult task and a dangerous one: he suffered imprisonment and severe punishment at the hands of the Church authorities. He died at the monastery of Ubeda in Andalusia on 14 December 1591: the monks there had initially treated him as the worst of sinners, but by the time he died they had recognised his sanctity and his funeral was the occasion of a great outburst of enthusiasm.
His works include two major mystical poems – he is considered one of the great poets of the Spanish language – and detailed commentaries on them and the spiritual truths they convey. He was canonized in 1726 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1926. See the articles in the Catholic Encyclopaedia and Wikipedia.
Gospel: Matthew 11:2-11 When John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ...
At that time: When John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’
And Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.’
As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.
‘What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.”
‘Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.’
Reflection the Old Master Drawing
In today’s Gospel reading we hear that John the Baptist has been locked away in prison, beautifully depicted in our 17th-century Old Master drawing. From his cell, John sends his own disciples to Jesus with a question. And perhaps this surprises us. We might have assumed that John, the great prophet, the fearless voice in the wilderness, would already have all the answers. But he doesn’t. Even he has questions.
There is comfort in that. If John the Baptist still wrestled with uncertainty and questions, then surely there is room for our questions too. Faith doesn’t mean having everything neatly resolved and having no doubt. Faith means that we trust God enough to bring our uncertainties to Him.
But notice what John does. He doesn’t sit with his questions passively. He doesn’t sink into endless circles of worry or speculation. No, John takes initiative. He sends messengers straight to Jesus. In our drawing, John is shown writing his questions on a sheet of paper, something he wouldn’t literally have done in that moment of history, of course. Yet the artist uses this small, imaginative detail to express a deeper truth: John is a man actively seeking, putting his questions “to paper,” so to speak, in his desire to find answers from Christ. Instead of turning inward, he turns outward. Instead of remaining stuck, he seeks.
And how does Jesus respond? He doesn’t send back a simple reassurance or a neatly packaged explanation. Rather, He tells them to look... to open their eyes to the signs all around them: the blind seeing, the lame walking, the poor hearing Good News. Jesus invites John not to an easy answer but to a deeper trust, a deeper contemplation, a deeper entry into the mystery of who He truly is. Sometimes, instead of removing our questions, Jesus asks us to look again, to notice His presence already at work.
As for today’s artwork, the drawing’s authorship remains uncertain. It is certainly in the style of Guercino (perhaps even by his hand) though a full attribution has yet to be confirmed. What we can say with certainty is that this drawing is the work of a master. In the warm brown ink, every stroke feels alive. We see John in his cell, framed by shadow, gazing out through the window at Salomé on the left, faintly outlined. John's posture is resolute; his eyes are fixed, steady, unafraid. Even in confinement, there is strength.
St. John the Baptist in Prison, Visited by Salomé,
Drawing possibly by Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, 1591–1666),
Mid 17th century,
brown ink and iron gall ink with brown wash
20.5 x 25.6 cm (8 1/16 x 10 1/16 in.)
© Princeton University Art Museum. Gift of Nathan V. Hammer
3rd Sunday of Advent
Let us adore the Lord, the King who is to come.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 3. Liturgical Colour: Rose or Violet.
In other years: St John of the Cross (1542 - 1591)
He was born in Fontiveros, in Spain, in about 1542. He spent some time as a Carmelite friar before, in 1568, Saint Teresa of Ávila persuaded him to pioneer the reform of the Carmelite order. This was a difficult task and a dangerous one: he suffered imprisonment and severe punishment at the hands of the Church authorities. He died at the monastery of Ubeda in Andalusia on 14 December 1591: the monks there had initially treated him as the worst of sinners, but by the time he died they had recognised his sanctity and his funeral was the occasion of a great outburst of enthusiasm.
His works include two major mystical poems – he is considered one of the great poets of the Spanish language – and detailed commentaries on them and the spiritual truths they convey. He was canonized in 1726 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1926. See the articles in the Catholic Encyclopaedia and Wikipedia.
Gospel: Matthew 11:2-11 When John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ...
At that time: When John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’
And Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.’
As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.
‘What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.”
‘Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.’
Reflection the Old Master Drawing
In today’s Gospel reading we hear that John the Baptist has been locked away in prison, beautifully depicted in our 17th-century Old Master drawing. From his cell, John sends his own disciples to Jesus with a question. And perhaps this surprises us. We might have assumed that John, the great prophet, the fearless voice in the wilderness, would already have all the answers. But he doesn’t. Even he has questions.
There is comfort in that. If John the Baptist still wrestled with uncertainty and questions, then surely there is room for our questions too. Faith doesn’t mean having everything neatly resolved and having no doubt. Faith means that we trust God enough to bring our uncertainties to Him.
But notice what John does. He doesn’t sit with his questions passively. He doesn’t sink into endless circles of worry or speculation. No, John takes initiative. He sends messengers straight to Jesus. In our drawing, John is shown writing his questions on a sheet of paper, something he wouldn’t literally have done in that moment of history, of course. Yet the artist uses this small, imaginative detail to express a deeper truth: John is a man actively seeking, putting his questions “to paper,” so to speak, in his desire to find answers from Christ. Instead of turning inward, he turns outward. Instead of remaining stuck, he seeks.
And how does Jesus respond? He doesn’t send back a simple reassurance or a neatly packaged explanation. Rather, He tells them to look... to open their eyes to the signs all around them: the blind seeing, the lame walking, the poor hearing Good News. Jesus invites John not to an easy answer but to a deeper trust, a deeper contemplation, a deeper entry into the mystery of who He truly is. Sometimes, instead of removing our questions, Jesus asks us to look again, to notice His presence already at work.
As for today’s artwork, the drawing’s authorship remains uncertain. It is certainly in the style of Guercino (perhaps even by his hand) though a full attribution has yet to be confirmed. What we can say with certainty is that this drawing is the work of a master. In the warm brown ink, every stroke feels alive. We see John in his cell, framed by shadow, gazing out through the window at Salomé on the left, faintly outlined. John's posture is resolute; his eyes are fixed, steady, unafraid. Even in confinement, there is strength.
St. John the Baptist in Prison, Visited by Salomé,
Drawing possibly by Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, 1591–1666),
Mid 17th century,
brown ink and iron gall ink with brown wash
20.5 x 25.6 cm (8 1/16 x 10 1/16 in.)
© Princeton University Art Museum. Gift of Nathan V. Hammer