This is the Third Sunday of Advent and at the same time “Caritas Sunday”. In a special collection box we are gathering your monetary donations for the Caritas of the Archdiocese of Zagreb. We are also collecting food, groceries, and money for the poor of the parish for Christmas. Donations may be brought until Monday, December 22, to the sacristy or the parish office.
Thank you for your generosity!

After the Saturday Advent workshop, children together with their parents, led by Sister Marijela and our artist Dunja, made many suitable Christmas gifts, the proceeds of which are intended for the restoration of the Basilica. Buy, support them and support our restoration!

We invite the faithful to make use of the opportunity for the Sacrament of Confession as soon as possible. Let us approach this sacrament calmly and worthily, so that we may welcome Christmas with pure hearts.

In our parish, confessions are already heard 7 hours a day. On Friday, December 19, we also begin all-day confessions: from 5:30 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., with a lunch break from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

On Thursday, December 18, the second meeting of the Parish Family Community will take place in the Hall of Blessed Ivan Merz at 8:00 p.m.
We invite those who attended the first meeting, as well as new married couples, to decide to join us so as to bring more of Christ into their marriage and family.

Every morning at 6:00 a.m. Rorate Masses are celebrated. We invite you to Eucharistic communion and to fellowship over tea and biscuits.

On Saturday, December 20, we commemorate the day of the Servant of God Fr. Ante Gabrić, SJ, our missionary and candidate for the altars.
We pray for his beatification.

The blessing of families and homes is currently underway. If you invite us, the priests will also visit the faithful outside the parish. Please contact us according to the schedule posted on the notice board.

The third week of the blessing of families and homes is ahead of us. Along with words of gratitude for the meetings, we encourage those whose doorbells do not work or who do not have a name on the door to place a note on that day so that we can find them more easily. We remind you of the parish schedule for the coming week, with special note that we had to move kneza Višeslava to Monday:

Parish catechesis is held according to the following schedule:

The Third Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of joy, always reminds us of the beauty of waiting. Amid the darkness of short December days and everyday busyness, the liturgy invites us to pause and rejoice in something that has not yet arrived. Here lies the very heart of this Sunday: patience. Today the prophet Isaiah shows us the image of deserts that will blossom. This is not an instant change; dry land does not become a garden with a single rainfall. God acts, but often in a rhythm different from what we would wish. James, in the second reading, encourages us: “Be patient… strengthen your hearts.” Waiting shapes trust and opens the heart to God’s plan. In the Gospel, John the Baptist sends his disciples to ask Jesus: “Are you the one who is to come?” Jesus does not give a theoretical answer but points to the fruits: the blind see, the lame walk, the Good News is proclaimed to the poor. In other words, patience should not be passive waiting, but an alertness that recognizes the signs of God’s presence.

How can we practice patience? In small, everyday things: in lines, in traffic, in relationships. Let us look at a child who is slowly learning to walk: first the child rises unsteadily, falls, and gets up again, but each new step strengthens muscles and, even more importantly, patience and trust. Patience is also practiced through daily effort and attentiveness to others, and it becomes easier only when we live it day by day. Every time we become impatient, we can pause and ask ourselves what God wishes to show us precisely in this moment of waiting. If we succeed in this at least sometimes, Advent becomes a time in which our hearts slowly learn to rejoice even before fulfillment arrives. This Sunday gently reminds us that, as we await Christmas, every moment of waiting can become an opportunity for joy. Let us pause for a moment, take a deep breath, and notice the small signs of God’s presence around us: in a smile, in a friendly gesture, or in the silence of prayer. If we open our hearts to these seemingly small miraculous moments, our Advent will not be only a preparation, but also a daily joy that gently prepares the way for Christmas.