Second Sunday of Advent
1. Preparing the Lord's Coming 2. Pioneers and Trailblazers
Liturgical Cycle: B | Lectionary Cycle: I
Introduction
Greeting
“Here is your God” among us in this celebration.
He is like a shepherd feeding his flock,
embracing us in his love
and bringing us mercy and consolation.
May this God among us, the Lord Jesus, be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
• Preparing the Lord’s Coming
In difficult times like ours people often complain that, though many things are changing as never before, basically there is little change after all on the human level. Wars are still fought, injustices remain or even increase, for now the means to commit them are more powerful. There is little love and compassion among people. Yet, Jesus came long ago… The question asked of us today is: what have we done about Jesus’ good news of love and justice and peace? Have we built for one another roads of integrity and faithfulness, of trust in God and in one another? Can we say “Here is our God” in whose name we make this earth new? That is our task. We ask Jesus to help us carry out this mission.
• Pioneers and Trailblazers
For today’s world it is typical that networks of roads are being built to make communications and exchange easy, fast, and safe. What efforts have we made to construct roads that lead to God and one another? As Christians we are supposed to be a pilgrim people, a people constantly on the way to God and to one another. Today the voice of the prophet tries to wake us up. He calls us to prepare the way of the Lord, make your paths smooth and straight, that they may be roads leading to God: roads of conversion, justice, and freedom.
Penitential Act
We now ask the Lord to forgive us
for not loving and following him more closely.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you have the words of eternal life:
to whom else shall we go?
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you have kept inspiring us
through the faith of those who have gone before us:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you strengthen our faith
through the teaching and living example
of the community of the Church:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Forgive us our sins, Lord,
keep renewing us and grow in us
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray to our Father in heaven
to give us the rejuvenating Spirit of Jesus
(pause)
God of the covenant,
through the prophets of the past and of today
you call us to live up to the challenge of the Gospel
if we want to be your people.
Stir us up from our comfortable, self-satisfied ways.
Make us restless to hasten
the coming of your Son and your kingdom
and fill us with the fire of his Spirit
to bring the warmth of his love and integrity
into this cold, selfish world.
Give us the lasting peace of Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading
Prepare the Way of the Lord! When his people had suffered in exile, God consoled them through the prophet: God remains faithful to the covenant. He is ready to lead his people once more to freedom.
ISAIAH II
(Deutero-Isaiah)
The Good News
Be comforted, my people,be strengthened, says your God.
Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, proclaim to her that her time of bondage is at an end, that her guilt has been paid for, that from the hand of the Lord she has received double punishment for all her iniquity.
A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley will be raised; every mountain and hill will be laid low. The stumbling blocks shall become level and the rugged places smooth.
The glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mortals together will see it; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Go up onto the high mountain, messenger of good news to Zion, lift up your voice with strength, fear not to cry aloud when you tell Jerusalem and announce to the cities of Judah: Here is your God!
Here comes the Lord Sabaoth with might; his strong arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and here before him is his booty.
Like a shepherd he tends his flock: he gathers the lambs in his arms, he carries them in his bosom, gently leading those that are with young.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 85:9ab and 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.
Second Reading
Awaiting New Heavens and a New Earth: Let us actively prepare for the day of the Lord’s coming and cooperate with him to create a new and just world.
Remember, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
The Lord doesn’t delay in keeping his promise, even though some say otherwise; instead, he gives you time because he doesn’t want anyone to perish but that everyone may come to repentance.
The day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief. Then the heavens will be torn apart with a loud noise; the elements will melt away with fire, and the earth, along with everything on it will be disclosed.
Since everything is destined to vanish, your way of life must be very holy and devout
as you await the day of God and long for its arrival, when the heavens will dissolve in fire, and the elements will melt with fire.
But we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign as God has promised.
Therefore, beloved, as you wait in anticipation for this, strive to ensure that God finds you rooted in peace, without blemish or fault.
Alleluia Verse
R. <strong>Alleluia, alleluia.</strong><br>
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:<br>
all flesh shall see the salvation of God.<br>
R. <strong>Alleluia, alleluia.</strong><br>
Gospel
Prepare the Way for the Coming of Christ! John the Baptist prepared the coming of Christ by his preaching and his life. We prepare to welcome him by the conversion of our hearts.
Prologue
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, [the Son of God]. [Commentary: Mark 1:1]
John the Baptist
It is written in the book of Isaiah, the prophet:
“I am sending my messenger
ahead of you to prepare your way.
Let the people hear the voice
calling in the desert:
Prepare the way of the Lord,
level his paths.”
So John began to baptize in the desert, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
All Judea and all the people from the city of Jerusalem went out to John to confess their sins, and to be baptized by him in the river Jordan.
John was dressed in camel’s hair and bore a leather belt around his waist. His food consisted of locusts and honey.
He preached to the people, saying:
“After me comes someone more powerful than I am;
I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.
Prayers of the Faithful
Let us pray to our Lord Jesus Christ that he may help us to prepare the way for his full coming among us and in the world, and let us say: R/ Come, Lord Jesus, come.
– That the Church may be loyal to the Holy Spirit and implement the reforms demanded by the Council, that God’s people may show to the world of today the true face of Jesus Christ, let us pray: R/ Come, Lord Jesus, come.
– That the leaders of nations may listen to the voice of the Spirit at work in the world and look with wisdom and in dialogue for solutions to end wars, civil strife, and exploitation of nations by nations and of people by people, let us pray: R/ Come, Lord Jesus, come.
– That in the Church and in the world there may be prophets to wake us up from our indifference and complacency; that they may give a voice to the voiceless and open the eyes of all to one another’s needs, let us pray: R/ Come, Lord Jesus, come.
– That in our Christian communities we may be concerned about the poor among us and that we may treat them and everyone as sisters and brothers in Christ, let us pray: R/ Come, Lord Jesus, come.
– That all of us here may be open to change and renewal and that we may live our faith without cowardice or compromise, let us pray: R/ Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Lord Jesus Christ, make us open to the Spirit of wisdom and courage who was active in you. Convert us to you and to your good news, that you may truly live among us, now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
God of our future,
we wish this bread and this wine to say
that we are waiting for Jesus your Son.
Give him to us now,
let him stay with us and journey with us,
that he may warm our lukewarm hearts
and help us to transform this barren earth
into a token and promise
of your own love and unending joy.
We ask you this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
Our offering of this Eucharist says that we want Christ our Lord to be with us. We thank the Father for giving him to us and ask him to let Christ be our food on our journey through life.
Introduction to the Lord's Prayer
God does not delay his promise.
With all trust we pray to him
the prayer of Jesus our Lord: R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from discouragement
when our little plans do not succeed.
Let our faith grow deeper roots
as it is tested in our struggles
and in the pains of renewal.
Keep us from regretting the safe past
or condemning the confusion of the present.
Make us look forward to a better world
and accept the tensions of change,
as we prepare with hope the full coming
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Happy are we if we prepare the way
for his coming among us. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
God of the promise,
the poverty of the disinherited
and the disgust of the oversatisfied
cry out for someone to hope in.
Show your Son to the world, Lord,
as you have given him to us
here in this Eucharist.
Let him go ahead of us,
on the road to one another
and to you, our God for ever. R/ Amen.
Blessing
In this Eucharist the Lord himself
has reminded us in his Word
of his mercy and faithfulness.
Let his faithfulness spring from our earth
and his peace and justice dawn on us:
this is how we will make Christ present
in our world this Advent
and how we will console and hearten one another.
May Almighty God strengthen and bless you:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go and prepare in hope
the way for the Lord’s coming to all. R/ Thanks be to God.
REFLECTIONS
Gospel: Mark 1:1-8
Commentary by Fr. Fernando Armellini (excerpt)
What, then, is the ‘good news’ that Mark speaks of? It is not information; instead, this good news is a person, Jesus of Nazareth. Because if I listen to him, if I look at him, I see and hear ‘good news’—news that has never been announced before: God’s unconditional love. No one expected this. People had always believed that God would love the good and hate the bad. They had always assumed that God would reason and think as they did, judge as they did, and that he would be just like them, blessing those who obeyed his commands and punishing those who disobeyed with diseases, calamities, and plagues. All religions have always preached this.
Jesus came to tell us that all this was not true; it was all lies about God. He brought the Good News, the Gospel; he told us that God surrounds us with his love, fills us with tenderness, and blesses everyone —those who are good and those who are less good— loving them freely and always for all are his sons and daughters. This good news had never been given before; no religion had ever announced this about God. This is the Gospel, the beautiful face of God that shines in the face of Jesus of Nazareth; when we look at him, we see the beauty of our God.
[…]
The message is also very relevant for us. Let’s try to think about our life; how many times we have found ourselves slaves, because we have abandoned the Lord and trusted in our whims, in our follies and have become slaves of our passions, of our vices, of our grudges, and we were not happy. Some angels (and we could give names to these people) prepared the way in us so that the Lord, with his Gospel and word, can liberate us. And let us also ask ourselves whether we have sometimes been angels to someone who was a slave to passions and vices. Have we prepared someone so that the Lord can come in to liberate him, bring him peace, and make this person happy?
[…]
To those who approached him seeking preparation to welcome the Lord into their lives, the Baptist made a primary demand: conversion; they must be converted. What the Baptist told the people of his time, the Evangelist Mark wants us to hear today—addressed to each of us—is that it is to us that the Baptist says, ‘If you want to let the Lord with his Gospel into your life, prepare to be converted.’ The term ‘conversion’ does not fully convey the meaning of the Greek word ‘μετάνοια’ – metanoia — which derives from the verb ‘metánoei’ and means ‘get ready to change the way you think, reason, and evaluate things.’ Previously, money was important to you; success, career, and family were absolute. Be prepared for change; otherwise, the Gospel will not enter your life, and you will be a slave to idols—nice things, but if they are truly converted, they do not enslave you at all. They must stay in their place. Be ready to change your convictions, certainties, and habits because if you are not prepared to be challenged, you block the way for the Lord, who wants to come with his Gospel.
Conversion is not only of the mind but also of the behavior; if I had considered my neighbor a rival with whom I had to compete because I had to subdue and dominate him, and he had to serve me. Now, the conduct changes because I have changed my perspective, and he becomes a brother to love. What is the danger? It is to look for in the Gospel what justifies what we have always thought, that is the danger; let us be attentive, let us open our hearts, and let us prepare ourselves to receive the Lord as he is, with his light; let us not be afraid to leave what does not correspond to the Gospel.
[…]
The Baptist wants to remain in his place; he has only the task of introducing Jesus, not of replacing him. Let us pay attention; a practical application also for priests, for catechists, for everyone: We, like the Baptist, must not substitute for Jesus, we must bring people to Jesus, and by changing the hearts of these people, we allow Jesus to enter with his Gospel into their lives; so, let us be careful not to substitute Jesus by introducing ourselves.
[…]
This is what Mark wants to tell us: ‘Prepare to receive this gift, the baptism in the Spirit, the immersion in the divine life.’
Excerpt from the transcription of the video commentary by Fr. Fernando Armellini, SCJ, published on bibleclaret.com.
Gospel: Mark 1:1-8
John the Baptist
John is the announced messenger (2-4). He is the expected “Elijah” who will prepare the way for the Lord (cf. Mal 3:23). And he does so with a baptism of repentance, of change of life (5). His manner of dress and diet reveal him as a prophet (6; cf. 2 Kgs 1:8; Zec 13:4). Many probably confused him with the Messiah. Mark clarifies this situation, saying that John’s status before Jesus is even lower than that of a servant before his master (7). John can only baptise with water (externally), whereas Jesus baptises with the Spirit.
Commentary on the Gospel passage from the Bible Claret online commentary.