First Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

Prayer

Loving Father, as we begin a new year of grace, may we correct our faults and turn our hearts to You. May Your will be done and may Your Son return to us in glory. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Commentary

1st Reading: Jerimiah 33: 14-16

Happy New Year!

Our Catholic faith celebrates a new liturgical year with the Season of Advent.

The Reading from Jeremiah is selected for our First Sunday of Advent in order to keep us prepared. As we begin our new liturgical year, we are reminded to be vigilant and prepared for the coming of the Lord. In essence, the way we begin our year is the same we should conduct ourselves throughout the year. We should always be prepared!

As Christians, we prepare ourselves for the Second Coming of Christ. This, of course, presumes that there was a First Coming of Christ. As we begin this season of Advent, it is important to remember the prophets of old and their warnings to be prepared for the first coming of the Lord.

The reading from the Prophet Jeremiah rekindles in us the joy that the Jews had as they longed for the coming Messiah, born of the “shoot” of David – the great king.

God had promised that the people of Judah would be safe. Jeremiah encourages the people that “the days are coming,” when the Lord’s promise will be fulfilled.

Question:

Do you trust that the promise of Christ’s return will be fulfilled?

2nd Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2

As we consider the Second Coming of Christ, we are also expected to “conduct ourselves properly” so that when He returns, he will find us “blameless in holiness.”

Many years have passed since the Lord ascended into heaven and, very likely, we will see many more years to come before Christ’s return. This could cause us to grow weary or lax as we wait.

However, we should recall that Jesus said – even though He sits at God’s right hand in heaven – He would remain with us until the end of time. This means that, even though we must wait, we don’t wait alone. He is with us, even as we await the fullness of His glory. We rely on the presence of our Lord to “strengthen our hearts” so that we may “abound in love.”

Question:

How do you see the Lord with you even as you await His return in glory?

Gospel: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

It seems as though we closed the previous liturgical year (last week) with an apocalyptic warning. Why are we beginning our year with some of the same “doom and gloom” language?

Of course, while the year is new, nothing really has changed for Christians who wait for Christ’s return. We close one year and open a new year with the same message. And, the message is loud and clear – be prepared!

The world that we know is passing away. One day, it will be gone. And while people will be afraid and even “die of fright,” we should be prepared for the glory of the coming of the Lord.

St. Luke encourages us to “stand erect” when we see the signs of the Day of the Lord “and raise [our] heads because our redemption is at hand.”

Luke also gives us a warning to be vigilant and prepared for the coming, so the Lord does not catch us caught up in the everyday anxieties of this life.

Question:

In what way do you remain vigilant for the coming of the Lord?

This Week’s Task

Advent is a time for new beginnings. It is the beginning of our new liturgical year. It is also the beginning of a new cycle of readings from our Lectionary, including the Book of the Gospels. This year, beginning with the First Sunday of Advent, we will read from the Gospel of Luke.

Consider prayerfully reading the Gospel of Luke this week or through the Season of Advent. There are only 28 chapters.

Group Prayer

Sing or say the following:

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here,

Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny ; From depths of hell Thy people save, And give them victory o’er the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

The prayer continues with Psalm 25.

Psalm

Response: 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.

To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Conclude with an Our Father

Used with permission. All rights reserved. Christ in Our Neighborhood is a Scripture program designed by Bishop John P. Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix.