Tuesday, week 1 of Advent

On that day,
a shoot will come forth from the stump of Jesse, father of David,
a sprout will spring from his roots.
Upon him the spirit of the Lord shall rest:
spirit of wisdom and understanding,
spirit of counsel and strength,
spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord
– which will fill him with reverence for the Lord.
He will not judge by appearances;
he will not decide based on rumors.
He will judge the poor with justice;
with fairness, he will decide
in favor of the humble in the land.
By the rod of his mouth he will strike the land;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Justice will be the belt around his waist;
faithfulness the belt upon his hips.

The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down beside the kid,
the calf and the young lion will be raised together,
a little child will lead them.
The cow and the bear will share pasture,
their young will rest together.
The lion, like the ox, will eat straw.
The infant will play over the cobra’s den;
on the viper’s hole, the child will put out his hand.
There will be no harm or destruction
throughout my holy mountain;
for the knowledge of the Lord will fill the land
as the waters cover the sea.

On that day, the root of Jesse
will be raised as a banner for the peoples,
nations will seek it,
and glory will dwell there.

– The word of the Lord.

O God, give your judgment to the king,
your justice to the king’s son.
May he govern your people with justice,
and your afflicted ones with equity!

In his days justice will blossom,
and great peace till the moon is no more!
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth!

He will rescue the poor who cry out
and the afflicted with no one to help.
He will have compassion on the weak and the poor,
and save the lives of the poor.

May his name endure forever;
may his name last as long as the sun!
In him may all the families of the earth be blessed;
may all nations proclaim him blessed!

At that very moment, Jesus rejoiced
in the Holy Spirit,
and said:
"Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
I praise you;
what you have hidden from the wise and the learned,
you have revealed to little ones.
Yes, Father, this is what you wanted in your loving kindness.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father;
and no one knows who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

Then he turned to his disciples
and said to them privately:
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
For I tell you;
many prophets and kings
wanted to see what you see,
and did not see it,
to hear what you hear,
and did not hear it."

– Let us acclaim the Word of God.