Articles

December 1, 2019

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

ADVENT SEASON

1. The Lord Comes
2. Christ Brings Us Hope

Greeting (See Second Reading)

The time has come:
you must wake up now,
our salvation is near.
May the Lord Jesus be with you. R/ And also with you.

Introduction by the Celebrant

1. The Lord Comes

The Lord comes! He is looking for us. Do we open to him the door of our hearts? Do we recognize him when he asks us whether he may enter? Do we know him when we meet him in the street, in our neighbor? Let us ask the Lord in this Eucharist that we may love and admit him in the many ways he comes to us.

2. Christ Brings Us Hope

A person of faith is a person of hope. As Christians we cannot live without dreams, without ideals that inspire us and even make us impatient at times. The message of this First Sunday of Advent tells us about God’s dream regarding our world. It is meant to become a world of peace and justice. This will happen when the light of Christ will shine in it. God will write this future only with the help of people. Are we awake and ready to make Christ’s light and peace come into this world and change today’s world into God’s world of tomorrow?

Penitential Act

Let us ask pardon from the Lord
for not being attentive to his coming.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you want us to stay awake,
for we do not know the day of your coming.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Jesus Christ, you tell us to be watchful,
for you want to encounter us
with your forgiveness and your love.
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you asks us to stand ready,
for you seek to open us to you,
to others and to your light and life.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Forgive us all our sins, Lord,
change our indifference into hope,
our cowardice into courage,
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

1. The Lord Comes!

Let us ask God to wake us up
from our lackluster lives
(pause)
God, our hope and our future,
through your Son Jesus Christ
you are part of our lives and our communities.
Make us so much aware of his presence
that people may love and encounter him
in our discreet but deep love for one another,
in our efforts to bring peace to this world,
in our commitment to compassion and justice
for even the humblest and most neglected.
May Jesus inspire and guide us
to lead everyone to you, our God for ever. R/ Amen.

2. Christ Brings Us Hope

Let us pray that our faith and hope
may bring Christ’s light to people
(pause)
Lord, mighty God,
once, long ago, your Son Jesus Christ came
as God with a human face.
And yet, we are still waiting in hope
for his full coming today.
Make us more aware that you too are waiting for us
to create with you among people
the peace and the freedom,
the love, justice and light
that bear witness before all
that your Son is here and is alive
and that one day he will take us
into the lasting light of your home
for ever and ever. R/ Amen.

First Reading: A Future of Peace and Light

At a time of war and trials, the prophet gives to God’s people a vision of hope in God’s final peace and justice. We have to prepare this future.

Reading 1: Is 2:1-5

This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz,
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come,
the mountain of the LORD's house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it;
many peoples shall come and say:
"Come, let us climb the LORD's mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths."
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and impose terms on many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
one nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.
O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love you prosper!
May peace be within your walls,
prosperity in your buildings.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Because of my brothers and friends
I will say, "Peace be within you!"
Because of the house of the LORD, our God,
I will pray for your good.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Second Reading: Wake Up Now!

Paul impresses on us the urgency of waking up and living the life of Christ. The time is now! We are pilgrims to the light of Christ.

Reading 2: Rom 13:11-14

Brothers and sisters:
You know the time;
it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.
For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed;
the night is advanced, the day is at hand.
Let us then throw off the works of darkness
and put on the armor of light;
let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day,
not in orgies and drunkenness,
not in promiscuity and lust,
not in rivalry and jealousy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.

Alleluia: Cf. Ps 85:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Show us Lord, your love;
and grant us your salvation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Stay Awake!

The Christian life is an active waiting for Christ’s continuing coming. The disciples of Christ must always be ready for recognizing the Lord’s coming by being faithful to the mission in life given them by Christ.

Gospel: Mt 24:37-44

Jesus said to his disciples:
"As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."

Intercessions

Let us be attentive to the call of Jesus our Lord to be awake and to prepare his coming in the Church and the world of today and let us say with hope: R/ Lord of hope, hear our prayer.
– For the Church and its leaders, that they may inspire the Christian community with the firm, indestructible hope that we can build a better world if Christ is alive among us today, let us pray: R/ Lord of hope, hear our prayer.
– For all Christian Churches, that they may respond to God’s expectations and proclaim in words and deeds the Lord’s message of love and service, let us pray: R/ Lord of hope, hear our prayer.
– For the world in which we live, that all may work together to put an end to war and hatred, oppression and injustice and to seek peace, freedom and justice, let us pray: R/ Lord of hope hear our prayer.
– For the poor and the suffering, that through us Christ may come to them to visit and uplift the sick, to help the hungry earn their food in dignity, to liberate those unjustly deprived of their freedom, and to bring the good news to those rejected, let us pray: R/ Lord of hope, hear our prayer.
– For all of us here, that we may not be self-satisfied but keep seeking Christ and his light by renewing ourselves and living for those around us, let us pray: R/ Lord of hope, hear our prayer.
Lord Jesus Christ, you know that we are incapable of building up a new world without you. Come, stay with us on our pilgrim journey. I show us the way and build with us, that we may belong to you and that this world may be yours now and for ever. R/ Amen.

Prayer over the Gifts

Loving God,
long ago your Son Jesus came on earth
to share our destiny and to bring us
your forgiveness and life.
Let him come here among us
in these signs of bread and wine
to be our light and to give us courage,
that he may be alive today
in us, in our community,
in the Church and in the world
as our Lord and Savior for ever. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

Let us give praise and thanks to the Father, for he has given us hope and life by the coming of his Son Jesus. May this Eucharist give us the strength and love to bring Christ more into the world of today.

Deliver Us

Deliver us Lord, from every evil
that separates us from you
and sets up friend against friend.
In the tensions of our day,
keep us free from fear
and grant us the peace of your Son.
Wake us up from our indifference
and keep alive in us the hope
in the full coming
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...

Invitation to Communion

This is Jesus the Lord
to whom we pray: Come, Lord Jesus.
Come, and satisfy our hunger
for goodness, joy and freedom.
Come and make us the people
who make you present in this world.
Come, Lord Jesus. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
you have given us this time and this life
to grow up in Christ and lead his life.
Make us realize that if he lives in us
we can give him to the world,
that the cries of the poor will be heard,
that your truth and justice will prevail,
and that your love and peace
can be shared by all
on earth as in heaven.
Keep alive in us this indestructible hope
and guide us on our pilgrim way
through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Blessing

We have met the Lord here in the Eucharist.
Let us do our very best
to bring him also in today’s world
by sharing his love and justice,
his hope and joy with the people around us.
The best way to do so will be
by living his life as best as we can.
Let our life then be the open book
in which people can read that the Lord has come.
May Almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.

Go in the peace and joy of Christ. R/ Thanks be to God.

Commentary

Waiting even for good things, might not be very pleasant. We always feel certain impatience, particularly if we have been given an approximate time in which things might occur.
Waiting also has advantages; it makes us reflect deeply; it intensifies the desire for something to happen; it often makes us re-examine relationships, reasons, and motivations for our wait; and it forces us to prepare.
In these preparations—particularly when we wait for the coming of a person we love or the birth of a new family member—the real love that we have for the person expected becomes very clear. As we prepare, love is likely to grow. Love grows with waiting and preparing.
When we are asked for vigilance to wait for the coming of Christ, is not so that we can grow frustrated, but so that we have an opportunity to prepare by reflecting on the person we wait for, while we do good works that invite us to more and more love and we deepen into the desire for salvation and justice that Christ will bring. It is almost unthinkable that someone would be waiting for a loved one by being unfaithful.
The same thing happens with the promise of the coming of Christ. Until he comes, let us be watchful, that is, attentive to what in our hearts we consider is God’s desire for us; this way, we will be able to offer him the fruit of our love. To say that Christ is King is to recognize the living Christ as the one who gives us life from the cross, the Christ we love, listen to, and obey; and he is the only one who can bring obedience to the people who follow him in order to build a kingdom of peace and reconciliation.

Points to Ponder

How do you prepare for the arrival of a person you love?
How do you prepare for the coming of the Lord?
What do you hear inside your heart that the Lord wants of you?