December 8 - Second Sunday of Advent (B)
Themes:
A. Preparing the Lord's Coming
B. Pioneers and Trailblazers
Readings:
Is 40:1-5,
9-11
2 P 3:8-14
Mk 1:1-8
Greeting (see First Reading)
“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
A. 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 to 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..
B. 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 growing in us
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray 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 Introduction: Prepare
the Way of the Lord!
When
his people have suffered in exile, God consoles them through the prophet:
God remains faithful to the covenant. He is ready again to lead his people
once more to freedom.
First Reading: Is 40:1-5, 9-11
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 Yahweh
she has received double punishment
for all her iniquity.
A voice cries,
"In the wilderness prepare the way for Yahweh.
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley will be raised up;
every mountain and hill will be laid low.
The stumbling blocks shall become level
and the rugged places smooth.
The glory of Yahweh will be revealed,
and all mortals together will see it;
for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken."
Go up onto the high mountain, messenger of 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 your God 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.
Second
Reading Introduction: 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.
Do not forget, brothers and sisters, that with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. The Lord does not delay in fulfilling his promise, though some speak of delay; rather he gives you time because he does not want anyone to perish, but that all may come to conversion. The Day of the Lord is to come like a thief.
Then the heavens will dissolve with a great noise; the elements will melt away by fire, and the earth with all that is on it will be burned up.
Since all things are to vanish, how holy and religious your way of life must be, as you wait for the Day of God and long for its coming, when the heavens will dissolve in fire and the elements melt away in the heat. We wait for a new heaven and a new earth in which justice reigns, according to God's promise.
Therefore, beloved, as you wait in expectation of this, strive that God may find you rooted in peace, without blemish or fault.
Gospel
Reading
Introduction:
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.
GospelThis is the beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 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 baptise in the desert; he preached 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 be baptized by him in the river Jordan.
John was clothed in camel's hair and wore a leather garment around his waist. His food was locusts and honey. He preached to the people saying, "After me comes one who is more powerful than I am; I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit. As for me, I am not worthy to bend down and untie his sandals."
General Intercessions
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 this Advent
we will make Christ present in our world
and how we will console and hearten one another.
May almighty God strengthen and bless you:
the Father, and 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.
Only 17 more praying days to Christmas! Special offer - hope and expectation! Life has a purpose and a destination, and God is determined to take us there. Valleys and mountains lie ahead, but our Shepherd is with us every step of the way. We aren't worthy to untie his sandal, but he will kneel to wash our feet. Christmas shows that God works in small, simple and hidden ways. Christ's first coming is the seed. The tree is the new heaven and new earth in which justice - right relationships - reigns. If justice can reign in even one heart, then a new earth is possible. If we want to see a new earth and be part of it, we are invited: "Prepare the way!" Christ's way - through the cross - to life and joy in all its fullness.
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