A New Presentation for Sunday's Liturgy

Advent: Waiting and Hoping
1st Sunday of Advent (November 30, 2003)

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This presentation is originally prepared in Spanish by Fr. Cristo Rey García Paredes, cmf. The original version,along with other very useful materials for pastoral agents and Christians in general can be found at: http://ciudadredonda.org

November 30, 2003 - 1st Sunday of Advent (C)

A. Waiting in Tension
B. Watchful, but not Afraid

Readings:
Jer 33:14:16; Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14; 1 Thes 3:12-4:2; Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

Commentaries / Gospel Reflections from:
Sunday's Into Silence • Diario Biblico • Daily Gospel

Greeting (See Second Reading)

May the Lord so confirm your hearts in holiness
that you may be blameless
in the sight of our God and Father
when our Lord Jesus Christ comes.
May the Lord be always with you. R/ And also with you.

Introduction by the Celebrant

A. Waiting in Tension

"Stand erect, hold your heads high." This is the message the Lord speaks to us on this First Sunday of Advent. There are terrible civil wars, there is famine in many parts of the world, and there are millions of refugees seeking safety. Yet our Lord assures us that we should keep up our hope and expectations, for he is still with us and near to us. Be attentive to his presence, not only here in the eucharist but also in the life of every day.

B. Watchful, but not Afraid

Much of the world is sitting in the dark of hunger and suffering and violence, and yet if we are God's people we keep up the indestructible hope that truth and goodness and justice will prevail. For we believe that Christ our Lord has come and is alive among us. We struggle, we know the road is rough, but the Lord goes with us and he tells us: Come with me, serve with me, love with me, give and share yourself with me and you will be better, and the Church and the world will be better.

Penitential Act

We have been busy with our own affairs
and have forgotten those of the Lord and the needs of people.
Let us ask the Lord to forgive us.
              (PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, make us recognize that you are near
in the people who are hungry and needy.
Liberate us with your love.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Jesus Christ, make us discover you
in those who search for peace
for themselves and for their country.
Bring them your lasting peace.
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, reveal yourself to us
in those who grope in their night of suffering.
Let your light shine on them and on us:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Be near to us with your forgiveness, Lord,
and keep us attentive to your constant coming.
Lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray in this season of hope
that the Lord may keep us vigilant
           (PAUSE)
Lord our God,
we are your people on the march
who try to carry out the task
of giving shape to your kingdom of love and peace.
When we are discouraged and afraid,
keep us going forward in hope.
Make us vigilant in prayer,
that we may see the signs of your Son's coming.
Let Jesus walk with us already now
on the road he has shown us,
that he may lead us to you,
our living God for ever and ever. R/ Amen.

Scripture Readings

First Reading Introduction: Keep Hope Alive
To a discouraged people, the prophet announces: Take courage! A Savior will come from the house of David. With him honesty and integrity will make a new beginning.

First Reading: Jer 33:14-16

The days are coming when I shall fulfill the promise that I made in favor of Israel and Judah.

In those days and at that time I will cause to sprout the shoot of righteousness from David's line; he will practice justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will experience salvation and Jerusalem will live in safety. He will be called Yahweh-Our-Righteousness."

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14

R. (1b) To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
and for you I wait all the day.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and teaches the humble his way.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Second Reading Introduction: Prepare For The Lord's Coming
Jesus came to make us new. By growing in love and living our faith more deeply, we hasten his coming in our world.

Second Reading: 1 Thess 3:12-4:2

May the Lord increase more and more your love for each other and for all people, as he increases our love for you. May he strengthen you internally to be holy and blameless before God, our Father, on the day that Jesus, our Lord, will come with all his saints.

For the rest, brothers, we ask you in the name of Jesus, the Lord, and we urge you to live in a way that pleases God, just as you have learned from us. This you do, but try to do still more. You know the instructions we gave you on behalf of the Lord Jesus:

Gospel Introduction: YourLliberation Is Near!
Even in times of danger, Christians keep hoping in the future. By a life of love, prayer and vigilance they prepare to meet the Lord.

Gospel Reading: Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

Jesus said, "Then there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish of perplexed nations when they hear the roaring of the sea and its waves. People will faint with fear at the mere thought of what is to come upon the world, for the forces of the universe will be shaken. And at this time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

"Now, when you see the first events, stand erect and lift up your heads, for your deliverance is drawing near."

"Be on your guard; let not your hearts be weighed down with a life of pleasure, drunkenness and worldly cares, lest that day catch you suddenly as a trap. For it will come upon all the inhabitants of the whole earth. But watch at all times and pray, that you may be able to escape all that is bound to happen and to stand before the son of Man."

Commentary

Advent is a time of preparation, a time of expectation, a time to renew once again our hope. Amidst pain and sufferings, from crisis to crisis, we have reason to hope and to long for because our Lord Jesus is coming, has already come and will come again. This Christian hope triumphs over human tragedies and natural and cosmic calamities. As followers of Jesus, we need to know how to interpret the events of history as signs of God's liberation. Precisely the final end anticipates the judgment of man when he has to make a choice, a decision whether for life or for death, between God or mammon, between good and evil. "Come, Lord Jesus, come!" refers not only to the birth of Jesus but also to the second coming of Christ in glory at the end of the world. We are therefore asked to stay awake, to be prepared and to be vigilant. As we continue our journey in life, we are reminded again and again in this season of advent that we have a companion, a friend whose loving memory gives us hope to face bravely the madness of this world and that we have a final destination. We are constantly moving forward towards the end time of God's Kingdom which is already here but not yet fully realized. Jesus is our companion who journeys with us and accompanies us to the Promise Land.

General Intercessions

In his love, our Father in heaven sent his Son into the world to fulfill all our hopes and to give us an eternal future. Let us pray to him: R/ Lord, you are all our hope.

- For the community of the Church, that we may make the gospel credible by our commitment to justice and love, let us pray: R/ Lord, you are all our hope.

- For people without hope or courage, for those suffering from hunger and wars, that we may revive their hopes by building a better world with them, let us pray: R/ Lord, you are all our hope.

- For Christians everywhere, that they may not be ashamed of the gospel but speak its message of hope in the language of their own lives, let us pray: R/ Lord, you are all our hope.

- For all of us here, that we may not be self-satisfied but that we may remain vigilant to let God renew us in Christ and to make us live for others, let us pray: R/ Lord, you are all our hope.

Lord our God, you love us and so you expect us to make your goodness and justice visible to all. Let your Son stay with us, that your and our expectations may come true, now and for ever. R/ Amen.

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
as a pledge of your promises
you give us your Son Jesus Christ
in these signs of bread and wine.
We do not ask you for a life
without problems and risks,
but for your Son's vision
of a world in which you are present
and for your Son's courage
to answer with our own lives
your call to build up a new world,
in which your Son can be our Lord
now and for ever. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

Already in this eucharist Jesus will be close to us. Every Mass is a sign of hope that God is with us in our world. Let us give thanks to the Father for this.

Introduction to the Lord's Prayer

Let us pray in the words of Jesus
to the Father of all
that we may do his will
and give shape to his kingdom: R/ Our Father...

Deliver Us

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil.
Wake us up from our sluggishness
and help us to hasten
the coming of your Son among people,
that we may live in a world of justice
without division and fear,
as we prepare with joyful hope
for the coming in glory
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom…

Invitation to Communion

Lift up your head,
for this is Jesus, our Savior and our Lord.
Happy are we if he finds us awake
as we wait for his coming.
Happy are we that he invites us to his table.
R/ Lord, I am not worthy...

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God, merciful Father,
you have spoken to us your word of hope
and renewed our strength
with the bread of life of your Son.
Free our faith from banality and routine
and send us out with your Son
to restore integrity and love
and the trust that with him
we can give shape to a future
beyond all human expectations,
for the future belongs to you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
one God for ever and ever. R/ Amen.

Blessing

Keep your heads high in hope
was the message of today.
Keep hoping when there are wars and violence,
keep hoping when there is much injustice,
Keep hoping when there is much hatred,
keep hoping, for there is a future.
Christ is with you, and with him
you can do away with violence and wars,
you can defeat enmity with friendship.
Yes, hold your heads high,
for the Lord Jesus is among us
and with him there is hope and a future.
Let us go with him
and may almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.

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

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Additional Resource Material for this Sunday

Ideal for catechetical and liturgical dramatization of today's gospel.

A New Heaven and Earth
(Mk 13:24-32)

(taken from the book A Certain Jesus, Vol. 3)
Click here for other Readings --> Index of A Certain Jesus