Saturday of the First Week of Advent

A Compassionate God

Other Celebrations for this Day:

Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: I

Introduction

God is compassionate. He cannot let his people suffer. This compassion of God has become visible in the person of Christ.

The Old Testament text, perhaps an elaboration on Isaiah’s thoughts by a later author, promises restoration to God’s people after their conversion. God will take pity on his people. He promises freedom from evil, sickness, famine, violence, and injustice, provided people realise their own poverty and inability to live as they should by their own powers, though God will work these things in people and with people.

In the New Testament, Jesus goes out to encounter us and to help us out. He sends out his Church, even today, to encounter people in their miseries and to alleviate all suffering.

Opening Prayer

God of mercy and compassion,
in your Son Jesus Christ
you have revealed yourself
as a God of people.
Turn our empty hearts to you,
give us eyes to see the depth of our poverty
and our inability to build a better world
with our own resources,
and then come and build it with us
through your Son and our Savior
Jesus Christ, our Lord.

First Reading

Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26

Thus says the Lord GOD,
the Holy One of Israel:
O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem,
no more will you weep;
He will be gracious to you when you cry out,
as soon as he hears he will answer you.
The Lord will give you the bread you need
and the water for which you thirst.
No longer will your Teacher hide himself,
but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,
While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears:
"This is the way; walk in it,"
when you would turn to the right or to the left.

He will give rain for the seed
that you sow in the ground,
And the wheat that the soil produces
will be rich and abundant.
On that day your flock will be given pasture
and the lamb will graze in spacious meadows;
The oxen and the asses that till the ground
will eat silage tossed to them
with shovel and pitchfork.
Upon every high mountain and lofty hill
there will be streams of running water.
On the day of the great slaughter,
when the towers fall,
The light of the moon will be like that of the sun
and the light of the sun will be seven times greater
like the light of seven days.
On the day the LORD binds up the wounds of his people,
he will heal the bruises left by his blows.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. (see Isaiah 30:18d) Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.
Praise the LORD, for he is good;
sing praise to our God, for he is gracious;
it is fitting to praise him.
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;
the dispersed of Israel he gathers.
R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He tells the number of the stars;
he calls each by name.
R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.
Great is our LORD and mighty in power:
to his wisdom there is no limit.
The LORD sustains the lowly;
the wicked he casts to the ground.
R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.

Alleluia Verse

Isaiah 33:22

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The LORD is our Judge, our Lawgiver, our King;
he it is who will save us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Matthew 9:35–10:1, 5a, 6-8

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest."

Then he summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
"Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give."

Prayers of the Faithful

Intentions

Let us pray to the Lord that he may call many to become shepherds willing to continue his work in our Christian communities with zeal and patience.

–   That leaders in our communities may be people with a heart, compassionate and patient, we pray:

–   That they may proclaim the gospel as good news of joy, justice and love, we pray:

–   That they may be living examples of what they preach and teach, so that the message may become credible through them, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord, merciful and loyal God,
at the table of your Son
you dress the wounds of your people
and you fill those who are poor of heart
with the strength of Jesus Christ.
Keep us going, in the certain hope
that with him we can rebuild
what our hands have destroyed
and that he can turn our miseries
into lasting happiness.
This is our prayer
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

God of tenderness and love,
you let your Son encounter us
in the inadequacy of our love.
Through him, present among us,
open our hearts and hands
to all ills and all needs,
to forgive, to bless, to uplift
and to be together the people
who live in your love
and who glory in the name
of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing

Jesus had compassion on the leaderless crowd. May God give us compassionate hearts that care for people in patience and a spirit of service. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

REFLECTIONS

 

Doing the Kingdom 

There is a certain urgency to whatever Jesus is seen doing in today’s gospel. He goes around many towns and villages, teaching and healing. He is busy calling disciples and training them. He sends them out on a mission. He asks us to pray for more hands to help with the harvest. He urges us to keep healing, cleansing, raising to life, giving freely, as the Kingdom is near. Thus, it is evident that realizing the Kingdom is a hard act that calls for our best efforts. The Kingdom is our shared dream with God, but we must wake up and make it happen. What poet Ellen Sturgis Hooper wrote about life can be applied to the life in the Kingdom:

“I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty

I woke, and found that life was Duty.
Was thy dream then a shadowy lie?
Toil on, sad heart, courageously,
And thou shalt find thy dream to be
A noonday light and truth to thee.”

7 December 2024

The harvest and the call

Jesus commissions His disciples to go first to the lost sheep of Israel, apparently sounding to exclude the non-Jewish people. In the course of history, divisions occurred between Christians and Jews, who share a scriptural heritage. However, this shared history is also marked by scars of misunderstanding and prejudice. Advent, a season of preparation and reflection, calls us to examine and heal any lingering traces of anti-Jewish sentiments in our lives. As Pope Francis reminds us, “A Christian cannot be an anti-Semite; our roots are in Judaism.”

The Gospel also confronts us with the challenge of a ripe harvest but too few labourers. This lament resonates deeply in our time, as the number of Catholics grows while vocations to the priesthood decline. The reality of "priest-less Sundays" highlights the need for prayer, creativity, and adaptability in sustaining Eucharistic communities. The Church urges us to pray fervently for vocations and to value the diverse ways in which the faithful can serve the Church.

The bright spot in this challenge lies in the expanded understanding of ministry. Once seen as the exclusive domain of the clergy, the ministry now encompasses laypeople who bring their unique gifts to parish life. St. Paul’s image of “one body with many members” takes on new relevance as lay ministers, deacons, and religious collaborate to meet the needs of the Church.

Advent reminds us that the call to discipleship is universal. Each of us, as members of Christ’s body, has a role to play in the great harvest. Inspired by the Gospel’s urgency, we may rise to the challenge to be labourers of faith, hope, and love in a world longing for the Good News.

 

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