Sunday 27 th november 2022
1st Sunday of Advent ,
Psalter I
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 24: 1-3
To you, I lift up my soul, O my God. In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame. Nor let my enemies exult over me; and let none who hope in you be put to shame.
Collect
Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God, the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds at his coming, so that, gathered at his right hand, they may be worthy to possess the heavenly kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Isaiah 2:1-5
The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In the days to come shall tower above the mountains and be lifted higher than the hills. All the nations will stream to it, peoples without number will come to it; and they will say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths; since the Law will go out from Zion, and the oracle of the Lord from Jerusalem.’ He will wield authority over the nations and adjudicate between many peoples; these will hammer their swords into ploughshares, their spears into sickles. Nation will not lift sword against nation, there will be no more training for war. O House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Psalm 121(122):1-2,4-5,6-9
R/ I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
- I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’ And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.
- It is there that the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord. For Israel’s law it is, there to praise the Lord’s name. There were set the thrones of judgement of the house of David.
- For the peace of Jerusalem pray: ‘Peace be to your homes! May peace reign in your walls, in your palaces, peace!’ For love of my brethren and friends I say: ‘Peace upon you!’ For love of the house of the Lord I will ask for your good.
Second reading : Romans 13:11-14
You know ‘the time’ has come: you must wake up now: our salvation is even nearer than it was when we were converted. The night is almost over, it will be daylight soon – let us give up all the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light. Let us live decently as people do in the daytime: no drunken orgies, no promiscuity or licentiousness, and no wrangling or jealousy. Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel Acclamation : Ps84:8
Alleluia, alleluia! Let us see, O Lord, your mercy and give us your saving help. Alleluia!
Gospel : Matthew 24:37-44
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘As it was in Noah’s day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept all away. It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left. ‘So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, we pray, O Lord, these offerings we make, gathered from among your gifts to us, and may what you grant us to celebrate devoutly here below gain for us the prize of eternal redemption. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Ps 84: 13
The Lord will bestow his bounty, and our earth shall yield its increase.
Prayer after Communion
May these mysteries, O Lord, in which we have participated, profit us, we pray, for even now, as we walk amid passing things, you teach us by them to love the things of heaven and hold fast to what endures. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
The English word “Advent” is a derivation from the Latin “adventus” which means “coming”. It is also a translation of the Greek Parousia, normally used in reference to the second coming of Christ. It is for us Christians a season of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus at Christmas. The season of Advent serves us as a reminder of the original waiting of the Jews for the birth of their Messiah, as well as the Christian celebration of Jesus’ first coming and awaiting of his return. In between these two comings is also the encounter with the risen Jesus in the Word, in thet sacraments and in one another. The prophet Isaiah and the evangelist Matthew are our main guides through this period. They call us to a life of watchfulness.