December 20
4th Sunday of Advent
Year B
The Fourth Sunday of Advent marks the final stage of preparation for the celebration of Christmas in the Christian liturgical calendar. This Sunday always falls close to December 25th, and its liturgy builds anticipation for the birth of Jesus Christ. The readings focus on the coming of the Messiah, often highlighting figures such as Mary, whose 'yes' to God made the Incarnation possible, and the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies. In many parishes, the fourth candle—typically purple—of the Advent wreath is lit, symbolising the growing light that will be fully revealed with the arrival of Christ, the Light of the world.
Spiritually, the Fourth Sunday of Advent invites the faithful to ready their hearts for receiving Christ, encouraging reflection on themes like trust, expectation, and joyful hope. The Church proposes Mary’s example of faith and humility as an inspiration for our own response to God’s call. The Gospel readings often recount the Annunciation or other events from the infancy narratives, drawing attention to God’s faithfulness and the mystery of the Incarnation. Historically, Advent is a season of both joyful anticipation and penance, and this Sunday serves as a bridge between this spiritual preparation and the Christmas feast. Through prayer, Scripture, and liturgy, Catholics are called to deepen their longing for Christ’s coming, both in the celebration of Christmas and in the hope for the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises.
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Questions about 4th Sunday of Advent (Novus Ordo Missae)
The liturgical day
Mass readings
First reading2 S 7, 1-5.8b-12.14a.16
The king David was finally living in his house.
The Lord had granted him peace
by delivering him from all the enemies who surrounded him.
The king then said to the prophet Nathan:
"Look! I live in a house of cedar,
and the ark of God lives under a tent!"
Nathan answered the king:
"Whatever you intend to do,
do it, for the Lord is with you."
But that night,
the word of the Lord was addressed to Nathan:
"Go and say to my servant David:
Thus says the Lord:
Is it you who will build me a house
for me to live in?
It is I who took you from the pasture,
from behind the flock,
so that you would be the leader of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
I have struck down before you all your enemies.
I have given you a name as great
as that of the greatest on earth.
I will set my people Israel in this place,
I will plant them, they will take root there
and tremble no more,
and the wicked will no longer oppress them,
as they did in the past,
since the day I appointed judges
to lead my people Israel.
Yes, I have given you peace
by delivering you from all your enemies.
The Lord announces to you
that he himself will make you a house.
When your days are fulfilled
and you rest with your fathers,
I will raise up from your descendants a successor,
who will be born of you,
and I will establish his kingship.
I will be a father to him;
and he will be a son to me.
Your house and your kingship will endure forever before me,
your throne will be established forever."
– The word of the Lord.
Psalm88 (89), 2-3, 4-5, 27.29
The love of the Lord, without end will I sing;
your faithfulness I will proclaim from age to age.
I say: your love is established forever;
your faithfulness stands firm as the heavens.
"With my chosen one I have made a covenant,
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will establish your dynasty forever,
I build your throne for all generations."
"He will call out to me, 'You are my Father,
my God, my rock and my salvation!'
I will keep my love for him forever,
my covenant with him will be faithful."
Second readingRm 16, 25-27
Brothers and sisters,
to Him who is able to make you strong
according to my Gospel which proclaims Jesus Christ:
the revelation of a mystery
kept in silence for ages past,
a mystery now revealed
through the prophetic writings,
by the command of the eternal God,
a mystery made known to all nations
to bring them to the obedience of faith,
to Him who alone is wise, God, through Jesus Christ,
to him be glory forever. Amen.
– The word of the Lord.
GospelLc 1, 26-38
At that time,
the angel Gabriel was sent by God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a young virgin
betrothed to a man of the house of David,
named Joseph;
and the name of the young woman was Mary.
The angel entered her house and said:
"Hail, full of grace,
the Lord is with you."
At these words, she was deeply troubled,
and wondered what this greeting could mean.
The angel said to her:
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive and bear a son;
you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great,
and will be called Son of the Most High;
the Lord God
will give him the throne of David his father;
he will reign forever over the house of Jacob,
and of his kingdom there will be no end."
Mary said to the angel:
"How can this be,
since I do not know man?"
The angel answered her:
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High
will overshadow you;
therefore the child to be born will be holy,
he will be called Son of God.
And now, Elizabeth your relative,
in her old age, has also conceived a son,
and is in her sixth month,
she who was called barren.
For nothing is impossible to God."
Mary said then:
"Here am I, the servant of the Lord;
let it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel left her.
– Let us acclaim the word of God.
Liturgical texts: © AELF — aelf.org