1st Sunday of Advent

You, Lord, are our Father;
“Our-Redeemer-From-Everlasting,” that is your name.
Why, Lord, do you let us stray
from your ways?
Why let our hearts grow hard
and no longer fear you?
Return, for the sake of your servants,
the tribes that are your heritage.
Ah! If you would tear open the heavens and come down,
the mountains would quake before your face.

See, you have come down:
the mountains quaked before your face.
Never has it been heard,
never has it been reported,
no eye has ever seen another god besides you
act in such a way for those who wait for him.
You come to meet
the one who gladly does what is right,
who remembers you
by following your ways.
You were angry, yet we still sinned,
and we have gone astray.
All of us became like those who are unclean,
and all our righteous acts were like filthy rags.
We have all withered like leaves,
and our sins, like the wind, sweep us away.
No one calls upon your name anymore,
no one rouses themselves to take hold of you.
For you have hidden your face from us,
you have delivered us into the power of our sins.
But now, Lord, you are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the one who molds us:
we are all the work of your hand.

– The word of the Lord.

Shepherd of Israel, listen,
shine forth above the Cherubim!
Rouse your might
and come to save us.

God of hosts, return!
From heaven, look down and see:
visit this vine, protect it,
the one your mighty hand has planted.

Let your hand protect your chosen one,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself.
Never again will we stray from you:
give us life, and we will call on your name!

Brothers and sisters,
grace and peace to you
from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I never stop giving thanks to God for you,
because of the grace he has given you in Christ Jesus;
in him, you have been enriched in every way,
in all speech
and all knowledge of God.
For the testimony about Christ
has been firmly established among you.
Therefore, you are not lacking in any spiritual gift,
as you wait
for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He it is who will keep you firm to the end,
and you will be blameless
on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For God is faithful,
he who has called you to live in fellowship
with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

– The word of the Lord.

At that time,
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be on guard, stay awake:
for you do not know
when the time will come.
It is like a man going on a journey:
as he leaves his house,
he puts his servants in charge,
assigns to each his work,
and tells the doorkeeper to stay alert.
So stay alert,
because you do not know
when the master of the house is coming,
in the evening, or at midnight,
at cockcrow, or in the morning;
if he comes suddenly,
he must not find you sleeping.
What I say to you, I say to everyone:
Stay awake!”

– Let us acclaim the Word of God.