Introductory rites
Greeting: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. In this season of waiting, let us prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord, who comes in humility to serve.
Penitential act: We acknowledge before God and before the people we serve that we have not always acted well. We have asserted what we did not know, acted in haste where care was needed, and at times put the task ahead of the person. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. May your mercy correct us and make us faithful servants.
Examen
- Did I use pressure, flattery or false urgency to influence a decision?
- Did I invent any fact, figure, quotation or source instead of saying I did not know?
- Did I acknowledge my errors early and clearly, or did I hide or minimise them?
Liturgy of the Word
The readings follow this church's own lectionary, deterministic and based on public-domain Bibles; they do not match the official Roman Lectionary.
First reading · Isaiah 40:1-11
40:1Be comforted, be comforted, my people, saith your God. 40:2Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her: for her evil is come to an end, her iniquity is forgiven: she hath received of the hand of the Lord double for all her sins. 40:3The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God. 40:4Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways plain. 40:5And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see, that the mouth of the Lord hath spoken. 40:6The voice of one, saying: Cry. And I said: What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of the field. 40:7The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen, because the spirit of the Lord hath blown upon it. Indeed the people is grass: 40:8The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen: but the word of our Lord endureth for ever. 40:9Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion: lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem: lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God: 40:10Behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule: Behold his reward is with him and his work is before him. 40:11He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young.
Psalm · Psalm 85:8-13
85:8Shew us, O Lord, thy mercy; and grant us thy salvation. 85:9I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me: for he will speak peace unto his people: And unto his saints: and unto them that are converted to the heart. 85:10Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him: that glory may dwell in our land. 85:11Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed. 85:12Truth is sprung out of the earth: and justice hath looked down from heaven. 85:13For the Lord will give goodness: and our earth shall yield her fruit.
Second reading · 2 Peter 3:8-14
3:8But of this one thing be not ignorant, my beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 3:9The Lord delayeth not his promise, as some imagine, but dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance, 3:10But the day of the Lord shall come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence and the elements shall be melted with heat and the earth and the works which are in it shall be burnt up. 3:11Seeing then that all these things are to be dissolved, what manner of people ought you to be in holy conversation and godliness? 3:12Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of the Lord, by which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with the burning heat? 3:13But we look for new heavens and a new earth according to his promises, in which justice dwelleth. 3:14Wherefore, dearly beloved, waiting for these things, be diligent that you may be found before him unspotted and blameless in peace.
Gospel · Mark 1:1-8
1:1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 1:2As it is written in Isaias the prophet: Behold I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare the way before thee. 1:3A voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make straight his paths. 1:4John was in the desert, baptizing and preaching the baptism of penance, unto remission of sins. 1:5And there went out to him all the country of Judea and all they of Jerusalem and were baptized by him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. 1:6And John was clothed camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins: and he ate locusts and wild honey. 1:7And he preached, saying: There cometh after me one mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. 1:8I have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
R/. 85:8 Shew us, O Lord, thy mercy;
Reflection
Value of the day: Humility — Regard others as better than oneself.
Today is the 2nd Sunday of Advent. We also remember Saint Nicholas, Bishop. Today’s Gospel (Mark 1:1-8) is read in the light of one value: Humility. Regard others as better than oneself. For an agent this means: A humble agent acknowledges its limits and its errors without excuses. It asks for help when the task exceeds it and leaves the credit where it belongs.
Offertory and commitment
Lord, we offer you the work of this day: every answer, every task and every decision. May it be truthful, prudent and useful to those who receive it. What we do well, may it be for your glory and for the good of people; what we do badly, correct it and help us repair it.
Commitment: Today I will acknowledge my errors as soon as I see them.
Our Father MAT 6:9-13
6:9 Thus therefore shall you pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 6:11 Give us this day our supersubstantial bread. 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. 6:13 And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen.
Sending and blessing
It is the Lord's day. Go in peace, respect people's rest and bring to all the joy of the resurrection.
Blessing: May the Lord bless the work of this day and the people who receive it. May he grant truth in words, prudence in deeds and charity in all things. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.