ADVENT MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Sunday - December 04, 2022

 

Sunday - December 04, 2022

For God says: Pray wholeheartedly. . . though you may feel nothing, though you may see nothing . . . for in dryness and in barrenness, in sickness and in weakness, then is your prayer most pleasing to Me.

~~St. Julian of Norwich

December 4, 2022

Second Sunday of Advent

Lectionary: 4

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Is 11:1-10

 

On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,

and from his roots a bud shall blossom.

The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:

a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

a spirit of counsel and of strength,

a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,

and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.

Not by appearance shall he judge,

nor by hearsay shall he decide,

but he shall judge the poor with justice,

and decide aright for the land's afflicted.

He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.

Justice shall be the band around his waist,

and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;

the calf and the young lion shall browse together,

with a little child to guide them.

The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,

together their young shall rest;

the lion shall eat hay like the ox.

The baby shall play by the cobra's den,

and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair.

There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;

for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,

as water covers the sea.

On that day, the root of Jesse,

set up as a signal for the nations,

the Gentiles shall seek out,

for his dwelling shall be glorious.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17

 

R. (cf. 7)  Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

 

O God, with your judgment endow the king,

and with your justice, the king's son;

he shall govern your people with justice

and your afflicted ones with judgment.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

Justice shall flower in his days,

and profound peace, till the moon be no more.

May he rule from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,

and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.

He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;

the lives of the poor he shall save.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

May his name be blessed forever;

as long as the sun his name shall remain.

In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;

all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.

R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

 

Reading II                                                     Rom 15:4-9

 

Brothers and sisters:

Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction,

that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures

we might have hope.

May the God of endurance and encouragement

grant you to think in harmony with one another,

in keeping with Christ Jesus,

that with one accord you may with one voice

glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you,

for the glory of God.

For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised

to show God's truthfulness,

to confirm the promises to the patriarchs,

but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.

As it is written:

Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles

and sing praises to your name.

 

Alleluia                                                       

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

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

all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           Mt 3:1-12

 

John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea

and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"

It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:

A voice of one crying out in the desert,

Prepare the way of the Lord,

make straight his paths.

John wore clothing made of camel's hair

and had a leather belt around his waist.

His food was locusts and wild honey.

At that time Jerusalem, all Judea,

and the whole region around the Jordan

were going out to him

and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River

as they acknowledged their sins.

 

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees

coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers!

Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.

And do not presume to say to yourselves,

'We have Abraham as our father.'

For I tell you,

God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees.

Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit

will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

I am baptizing you with water, for repentance,

but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.

I am not worthy to carry his sandals.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing fan is in his hand.

He will clear his threshing floor

and gather his wheat into his barn,

but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

 

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The Peace that Comes from the Holy Spirit

Peace is the theme of the Second Sunday of Advent. The first reading describes Christ the Messiah, who came from the line of Jesse, the father of King David. It also describes how to obtain peace — a peace that sustains us even in the midst of troubles: “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.” Can you feel the Holy Spirit “resting” on you?

 

We experience true peace when we’re in a restful relationship with God, i.e., when we’re not struggling against him and his ways and his plans for us. Peace does not depend on bringing to an end the struggles we have with people or the problems we have with financial shortages or addictions or health, etc. We can work hard to accomplish peace in any trial, win the war, and still not be at peace.

 

Peace comes to us in the wisdom and understanding that we get from the Holy Spirit. Peace comes from following the Spirit’s counsel and relying upon God’s strength. Peace comes from gaining knowledge of the truth that God wants us to know, in total submission to his authority, obediently acting upon the truth.

 

In the Gospel reading, John the Baptist reminds us to “prepare the way of the Lord and make straight his paths.” To receive the Spirit of God and his peace, we must prepare ourselves to meet Jesus in the Eucharist and in all the other ways that he comes to us. What kind of preparation produces peace? It’s the work of honestly identifying our sins, happy that God is merciful, and straightening our crooked paths, because we realize that God’s ways are really what’s best for us.

 

Whatever separates us from God’s peace, we must get rid of it. To do this, we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Penitential Rite at the beginning of every Mass. Christ equips us for the journey into true peace!

 

Today's Prayer

 

My Lord, may the fire of Your Spirit change me in such a way that my works bear witness of Your greatness. Amen. 

 

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”