First Sunday of Advent - Lectionary 3
Lectionary Year 3
Brothers and sisters:
May the Lord make you increase and abound in love
for one another and for all,
just as we have for you,
so as to strengthen your hearts,
to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen.
Finally, brothers and sisters,
we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that,
as you received from us
how you should conduct yourselves to please God
and as you are conducting yourselves
you do so even more.
For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
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.
“Here and now
we live in an awareness of the ‘unfinished work’
that the returning Jesus wishes to see resolved
—the spread, in this world, of the Kingdom of God,
with its standards of justice and compassion
overcoming the habits of conflict and discord that afflict humanity,
fueled by a drive for self-preservation at all costs.
“That instinct breeds selfishness and violence,
which must be tamed by the spirit of sacrificial love
that is the governing principle of Christ’s eternal Kingdom.
“We are called to advance that Kingdom as best we can,
in the circumstances of our daily relationships and responsibilities,
uplifted by the hope that lights our way,
in the brightness of the Lord’s coming Day of Glory.
“May our Advent observance be a source of renewed hope,
amid so many disheartening signs.
“If Christmas tells us God keeps His promises,
Advent prays ‘Come, Lord Jesus!’”
~ Msgr. Tim Shugrue
