2nd Sunday of Advent (Español) (Vietnamese)
Opening Prayer
Loving Father, As we begin this new Season of Grace, fill
us with the joyful virtue of hope. Help us to long for your
Son Jesus with love in our hearts. Let us remain faithful
until he returns in glory. Amen.
Commentary
1st Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
What joyful news!
Though the people of Israel had sinned, the
Lord promises to eliminate (expiate) their
wrongs and give them a double dose of
comfort.
We can’t ever outdo God’s generosity. We wrong him, and
he pardons us. Moreover, he takes us back as a shepherd
gathers lambs in his bosom.
There is a wonderful statue at the priests’ house of prayer
in Los Angeles of Jesus holding a young lamb. Jesus is
laughing as the lamb is struggling to jump out of his grasp.
This is the image that we should consider as we celebrate
this Season of Advent. Jesus, our Lord and God, shepherds
us with generosity. The Lord wants us to be with him. He
also knows that we want to be with him. However, God is
very aware of our desire to go astray. Thankfully, his justice
is coupled with mercy. As our Responsorial Psalm
proclaims, “justice and peace shall kiss.”
Generously, our Lord takes us back and gives us double
the grace. He gives us himself.
Question
Is the Lord generous to you despite your sins? How?
2nd Reading: 2 Peter 3:8-14
Jeanne Calment, the oldest woman recorded to ever have
lived was 122 before she died in France. Reportedly, when
asked when she would expect to die, she responded, “I
don’t know. I think God forgot I was down here.”
It has been nearly two-thousand years
since the Lord ascended into heaven with
the promise that he would come again.
Patiently, Christians have been waiting.
However, patience has run thin for many
and they have just given up on the promise.
Some people get the sense that the Lord
forgot we were down here. “What’s the
delay?” they ask.
St. Peter reminds us that “the Lord does not delay his
promise, as some regard “delay,” for the Lord’s sense of
time is not our own.
We don’t know when the Lord will come, but we must
always be prepared. When the Lord said that he would
return in glory, he never gave a time stamp. For this reason,
we must wait with patience?
Question
Are you a patient person?
Gospel: Mark 1:1-8
The beginning of the Gospel of Mark gives us an
introduction to an unusual person. We have become
accustomed to John the Baptist. But, imagine reading this
Sacred Book for the first time and
reading about this man in the desert,
wearing camel’s hair, a belt around his
waist, and eating things that you
would normally kill with a can of bug
spray.
Truly, John was an unusual prophet
for an unusual event in world history.
He was “preparing the way” (a
reference to the 1st Reading from
Isaiah) for God himself who would
make the paths straight.
It is Christ Jesus who would come to
fill in the valleys and lower the hills so
that all people would live on a level
playing field. In Christ, “kindness and
peace would meet and justice and
peace would kiss” (Responsorial
Psalm).
John the Baptist’s extraordinary
character is nothing compared to the person or the life
changing events that would follow.
Question
John pointed to something bigger in our lives. He showed
us the Lord. How do you point to the Lord in your life?
This Week's Task
Advent Season is a time to prepare ourselves spiritually.
The Season offers us a time to be reconciled to the Lord.
Consider visiting your parish for an Advent Penance
Service or going to confession on Saturday.
As you prepare for confession, consider reviewing the 10
Commandments or the two greatest Commandments
(Loving God and loving others as we love ourselves).
This would be a great way to prepare yourself for Christmas
and to make a New Year’s resolution to change your pattern
of behavior.
Group Prayer
Pray or sing this traditional Advent hymn:
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
The prayer continues with Psalm 85
Response: Lord, let us see your kindness,
and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD—for he proclaims peace to his
people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who
fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your
salvation.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your
salvation.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your
salvation.
Conclude with an Our Father
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