SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT - CYCLE A - 2019
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The theme of this second Sunday of Advent is peace
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Peace in an idyllic society
described with beautiful images by the prophet Isaiah
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Peace which is the consequence of conversion to the Lord
ü As disciples let our hearts be converted to hope,
which makes present this new world inaugurated by the Messiah.
ü Let us say to Jesus “I am awaiting for your coming.
Help me to be prepared.”
FIRST
READING - Is 11:1-10
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In the liturgy of this second Sunday we read from the book of the
prophet Isaiah
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It speaks of a time when everything will be good because a bud will
blossom from the stump of Jesse.
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That is, the prophecy made by the Lord to David through the prophet
Nathan will be fulfilled "I will build a house for you..."
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It is a time of joy because God does not forget his promises.
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The vocabulary used in this reading opens us up to life, to hope, to
joy: will blossom, justice, evil will be destroyed, the gentiles will seek this
new bud, and everything will be peace on the holy mountain.
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Upon this bud, which is Jesus, the Spirit of the Lord will rest with
all his gifts.
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And thus he will not judge by appearance, but in truth
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He will judge the poor with justice, this is not what normally happens
among us human beings
ü he will eliminate evil
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He will gird himself with justice and faithfulness
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After this presentation of the new bud from the stump of Jesse, Isaiah
describes an ideal way of life, which reminds us of the paradise described in
the book of Genesis, when God in the evenings used to come down and walk
peacefully with his creature-child-human being.
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In the society which will be born from the presence and welcoming of
this new bud
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Those who are contraries or enemies will live peacefully and friendly
together: they will eat, play... their children will play and rest
together.
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Peace and goodness shall be such in this new society that the children
will lead the wild animals, and a baby will play at the cobra's den.
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In this new society, there will be no destruction, no harm because the
whole creation will be filled with the presence of the Lord.
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Jesus is this bud over whom the Spirit of God rests because he is the
Second Person of the Trinity, who has come to live among us to teach how to be brothers
and sisters, sons and daughters.
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COME LORD JESUS and give us the strength and the wish to tear down the
walls that separate us, give strangers the strength to live together, and to
discover that you are present in every human being, give us the will to live in
harmony and peace in our homes, work place and faith community.
RESPONSORIAL
PSALM Ps.72
JUSTICE
SHALL FLOURISH IN HIS TIME, AND FULLNESS OF PEACE FOR EVER.
O God, with your
judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
he shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
and with your justice, the king’s son;
he shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
The psalmist prays that
God may give the king the necessary
gifts to promote justice and peace.
Maybe our problem is that
we do not pray for those who govern us, to pray for them and for all who are in
any kind of leadership, so that power does not blind them.
GOSPEL Mt 3:1-12
Ø John the Baptist appears
in the horizon of Advent
Ø John preaches and calls
people to repentance, to forgiveness.
Ø The evangelist describes
John as a man who lives with austerity; his voice is strong and threatening for
those who do not accept the coming of the one who is to come.
Ø Matthew says that John is
the one that Isaiah announced "A voice cries out in the desert, prepare
the way of the Lord.
Ø In spite of his fearful
appearance, John attracts large crowds that come to listen to his words and to
be baptized in the Jordan waters, as a sign of conversion, and of the
willingness to change their lives.
Ø John speaks frankly and
says terrible things: do not trust in appearances, do not trust in titles, do
not trust in false securities, even these stones can become children of Abraham.
What does all of this mean for us followers of Jesus of the XXI century?
Ø Is that a call for us to
live in the truth of who we are?
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The truth of our baptism, of being baptized into the life of Christ,
the Son of God.
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The truth of a real and true relationship, not made of mere words and
false securities: "I am Catholic" "I go to mass every day"
"I think of the poor at Thanksgiving and at Christmas" "I give toys to the children of the
poor, sometimes they are new and sometimes there are the toys our children do
not want anymore", "I have the right not to forgive my enemy, to keep
that grudge in my heart because they have hurt me..."
·
Each one of us may complete this list of excuses
Ø John announces a baptism
in the Holy Spirit and fire. This is our baptism, the one we received when we
were children or maybe adults. Our baptism continues to act in our life every
day.
Ø Let us listen to the
invitation that the Church makes to us in this second Sunday of Advent. Let us
listen to the voice of John who invites us to conversion to be able to follow
the one of whom he cannot unfasten the sandals. Then our life will be as it is
described in the first reading, full of peace and joy.
SECOND READING Rm 15:4-9
§ Paul writes to his
community and tells us that what has been written, has been written for our
instruction.
§ So that with the
encouragement given by Scripture we may hope. How is our hope?
§ Then Paul exhorts to live
according to the way that Isaiah describes which will be real when we accept
the Messiah.
§ The Messiah has come, he
is in our midst "he put his tent among us, and walks with us" this is
Jesus the Carpenter from Nazareth, whom we know to be the incarnate Son of the Father
§ Paul tells us
"welcome one another, as Christ welcomes you, and do this for the glory of
God. “
§ Christ preached to the circumcised,
the Jews, to make present to us the faithfulness of God to his promises, so
that the uncircumcised may glorify God.
§ We may change the word circumcised
by baptized. Let us live as the first
reading and the Gospel invite us so that those who do not believe, those who
left the Church, the unbelievers may
come to the light, not the light of the city of Jerusalem, but of the Church,
to be able to live a relationship of profound intimacy with the Lord and among
us .
CLARETIAN CORNER
During this new liturgical year in this
section we will share some parts of the book on our Founder and our
Foundress París and Claret: Two Pens Guided by
the Same Spirit. Called to Renew the Church.
The secret in the life of Maria Antonia was that she
had … “a heart determined to comply with
the divine will…” The
translation in her life of this determination, was to establish a “New Order
not new in doctrine but new in practice” founded on the evangelical poverty to
proclaim the Gospel to every creature and to work for the Renewal of the
Church.
Claret, is a man on fire, who from
his early childhood understood
the need to work so that all men and women be saved and could know, love, and
serve God. He will be a missionary in
Catalonia and in the Canary Islands, Archbishop of Cuba, Confessor of Queen
Isabel II and Father of the I Vatican Council.
We will briefly follow the journey of their lives,
where we will see how they discovered the will of God and, through it, how they grew and matured in their Church
vocation. (p.1)
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
KABANGU, Jacques. “Se convertir à
l’espérance » [convertirse a la esperanza]. Prions en Église, diciembre
2019.
MUÑOZ, Hortensia and
TUTZO, Regina. París and Claret: Two Pens Guided by the Same Spirit. Called to Renew
the Church. Madrid 2010.
PAGOLA,
José Antonio. El Camino abierto por
JESUS. 2012.
THE
WORD AMONG US – Advent 2019
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