Saturday, December 9, 2023

10-DEC-'23, Second Sunday of Advent


Second Sunday of Advent

Lectionary: 5


Reading 1

Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

Comfort, give comfort to my people,

says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her

that her service is at an end,

her guilt is expiated;

indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD

double for all her sins.


A voice cries out:

In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!

Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!

Every valley shall be filled in,

every mountain and hill shall be made low;

the rugged land shall be made a plain,

the rough country, a broad valley.

Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,

and all people shall see it together;

for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.


Go up on to a high mountain,

Zion, herald of glad tidings;

cry out at the top of your voice,

Jerusalem, herald of good news!

Fear not to cry out

and say to the cities of Judah:

Here is your God!

Here comes with power

the Lord GOD,

who rules by his strong arm;

here is his reward with him,

his recompense before him.

Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;

in his arms he gathers the lambs,

carrying them in his bosom,

and leading the ewes with care.


Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 85:9-10-11-12, 13-14

R. (8) 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.


Reading 2

2 Peter 3:8-14

Do not ignore this one fact, beloved,

that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years

and a thousand years like one day.

The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,”

but he is patient with you,

not wishing that any should perish

but that all should come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,

and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar

and the elements will be dissolved by fire,

and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.


Since everything is to be dissolved in this way,

what sort of persons ought you to be,

conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion,

waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God,

because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames

and the elements melted by fire.

But according to his promise

we await new heavens and a new earth

in which righteousness dwells.

Therefore, beloved, since you await these things,

be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.


Alleluia

Luke 3:4, 6

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:

All flesh shall see the salvation of God.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel

Mark 1:1-8

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.


As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;

he will prepare your way.

A voice of one crying out in the desert:

“Prepare the way of the Lord,

make straight his paths.”

John the Baptist appeared in the desert

proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

People of the whole Judean countryside

and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem

were going out to him

and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River

as they acknowledged their sins.

John was clothed in camel’s hair,

with a leather belt around his waist.

He fed on locusts and wild honey.

And this is what he proclaimed:

“One mightier than I is coming after me.

I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.

I have baptized you with water;

he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”


Reflection 1

Catholic Daily Reflections


Called to the Desert


The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. 

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” Mark 1:1–3


These, the opening lines from the Gospel of Saint Mark, present us with Saint John the Baptist. John was the one that Isaiah prophesied would come before the Messiah. John was given the responsibility and privilege of being the one who would be the most immediate preparer for the Savior of the World.


Perhaps if most people were given the task of instructing John on how best to prepare the way for the Lord, they would tell him he must go to the leaders of the people, the civil authorities, the influential and those of status in society to win them over first. Many would conclude that the Messiah needed to have the full support of the leaders at that time. But that’s obviously not what John did.


John the Baptist, at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was driven not into the homes of the most prestigious and wealthy, not into the halls of the civil governors, and not into the synagogues or Temple. Instead, John was driven into the desert. And in the desert, that dry and deserted place, he drew many people to himself and to his message of repentance.


God continues to call many today to follow in the footsteps of John the Baptist. Though John was a real person sent on a real mission at one particular moment in time, the mission he fulfilled is one that still needs fulfilling in various ways today. The “way of the Lord” still needs to be prepared. The Lord still desires to come to many, and He needs prophets to prepare the way for His continual coming by grace. Are you one of those people?


Truth be told, every one of us, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, young or old, etc., is called by God to prepare the way for His coming by grace every day. We are called to prepare the way by calling others to sincere repentance and conversion of life. This is done by the witness of our actions, by our words and by numerous other ways that God calls. How is God calling you to do His work? He is certainly calling you. You simply need to be open to that calling and generously respond.


Reflect, today, upon that “desert” to which you have been called, so as to prepare yourself and others for the coming of Christ. That desert is any place where there is need and every place where our Lord is not. It might be your family, work environment, community, among friends, or any place that lacks the superabundance of God’s grace. Seek to enter those deserts and to be open to be a channel of our Lord’s grace to those in need. 


Reflection 2

One Bread, One Body


CHRISTMAS COMFORT


“Comfort, give comfort to My people, says your God. Speak tenderly.” —Isaiah 40:1-2


The Lord promises to comfort and speak tenderly to us (Is 40:1-2). In today’s second reading, the Church proclaims in the name of the Lord that “the heavens will vanish with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire” (2 Pt 3:10). How comforting! In the Gospel reading, we meet St. John the Baptizer, one of the least comforting characters in the Bible and in history (see Mk 1:2ff). The Lord’s ways are not our ways, and His idea of comfort is not our idea of comfort (see Is 55:8).


The Lord does not want to give us the superficial comfort of temporary relief. Rather, the Lord promises to baptize us in the Holy Spirit (Mk 1:8), the Paraclete, the Comforter (see e.g. Jn 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7). This divine Comforter will free us from generations of slavery, sin, guilt, and punishment (Is 40:2).


Comfort will begin with the Holy Spirit convicting the world and us of sin, justice, and condemnation (Jn 16:8). Then we must let the Spirit lead us from conviction to repentance, confession, and forgiveness. After this, we will personally experience that “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:17).


In the comfort of the Spirit, we will truly enter into the freedom of the Lord. We will displace the culture of death with a civilization of love and life. Come, Holy Spirit of Christmas and comfort!


Prayer:  Father, comfort me Your way.


Promise:  “Here is your God! Here comes with power the Lord God, Who rules by His strong arm.” —Is 40:9-10


Praise:  Praise to You, risen Jesus, “Prince of Peace” (Is 9:5). All glory and honor to You. Alleluia!


Reflection 3

The Servants of the Word


The Baptism of Repentance and Purification in the Holy Spirit


John the Baptist's life was fueled by one burning passion - to point others to Jesus Christ and to the coming of his kingdom. Who is John the Baptist and what is the significance of his message for our lives? Scripture tells us that John was filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb (Luke 1:15, 41) by Christ himself, whom Mary had just conceived by the Holy Spirit. When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth John leaped in her womb as they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41). The fire of the Spirit dwelt in John and made him the forerunner of the coming Messiah. John was led by the Spirit into the wilderness prior to his ministry where he grew in the word of God and was tested in preparation for his prophetic mission. John's clothing was reminiscent of the prophet Elijah (see Kings 1:8).


Called to hear and obey the Word of God

John broke the prophetic silence of the previous centuries when he began to speak the word of God to the people of Israel. His message was similar to the message of the Old Testament prophets who chided the people of God for their unfaithfulness and who tried to awaken true repentance in them. Among a people unconcerned with the things of God, it was his work to awaken their interest, unsettle them from their complacency, and arouse in them enough good will to recognize and receive Christ when he came. Are you eager to hear God's word and to be changed by it through the power of the Holy Spirit?


Jesus tells us that John the Baptist was more than a prophet (Luke 7:26). John was the voice of the Consoler who is coming (John 1:23; Isaiah 40:1-3). He completed the cycle of prophets begun by Elijah (Matthew 11:13-14). What the prophets had carefully searched for and angels longed to see, now came to completion as John made the way ready for the coming of the Messiah, God's Anointed Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. With John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit begins the restoration to the human race of the "divine likeness", prefiguring what would be achieved with and in the Lord Jesus.


Let the Holy Spirit purify and transform your mind and heart

John's baptism was for repentance - turning away from sin and taking on a new way of life according to God's word. Our baptism in Jesus Christ by water and the Spirit results in a new birth and entry into God's kingdom as his beloved sons and daughters (John 3:5). The Lord Jesus comes to baptize each one of us in his Holy Spirit so that we may walk in his truth and holiness and radiate the joy of the Gospel to all we meet. God's word has power to change and transform our lives so that we may be lights that point others to Jesus Christ. Like John the Baptist, we too are called to give testimony to the light and truth of Christ. Do you point others to Jesus Christ in the way you live, speak, and treat others?


Prayers


Lord, You desire to come to me and to all of Your children every day. Please use me to not only prepare my own heart and soul for Your divine coming but to also prepare others to meet You. Give me wisdom and compassion, insight and strength, so that I can imitate Saint John the Baptist and prepare the way for Your most glorious coming by grace. Jesus, I trust in You.


Lord, I see my sin but I want to see it more clearly.  Give me the grace of knowing Your perfect Mercy so that I can face my sin without worry and without fear.  Jesus, I trust in You.


Lord, let your light burn brightly in my heart that I may know the joy and freedom of your kingdom. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and empower me to witness the truth of your Gospel and to point others to Jesus Christ.

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