Antiphon
Cf. Zec 14: 5, 7
Behold, the Lord will come, and all his holy ones with him;
and on that day there will be a great light.
Collect
O God, who through your Only Begotten Son
have made us a new creation,
look kindly, we pray,
on the handiwork of your mercy,
and at your Son’s coming
cleanse us from every stain of the old way of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent
Reading
JER 23:5-8
Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
As king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”
Therefore, the days will come, says the LORD,
when they shall no longer say, “As the LORD lives,
who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt”;
but rather, "As the LORD lives,
who brought the descendants of the house of Israel
up from the land of the north”–
and from all the lands to which I banished them;
they shall again live on their own land.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19
R. Justice shall flourish in his time,
and fullness of peace forever.
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 forever.
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 forever.
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous deeds.
And blessed forever be his glorious name;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time,
and fullness of peace forever.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O Leader of the House of Israel,
giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai:
come to rescue us with your mighty power!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
MT 1:18-25
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
and he named him Jesus.
December 18
Blessed Anthony Grassi (1592 - 1671)
Anthony’s father died when his son was only 10 years old, but the young lad inherited his father’s devotion to Our Lady of Loreto. As a schoolboy, he frequented the local church of the Oratorian Fathers,
joining the religious order when he was 17.
Already a fine student, Anthony soon gained a reputation in his religious community as a “walking dictionary,” who quickly grasped Scripture and theology. For some time he was tormented by scruples, but they reportedly left him at the very hour he celebrated his first Mass. From that day, serenity penetrated his very being.
In 1621, at age 29, Anthony was struck by lightning while praying in the church of the Holy House at Loreto. He was carried paralyzed from the church, expecting to die. When Anthony recovered in a few days he realized that he had been cured of acute indigestion. His scorched clothes were donated to the Loreto church as an offering of thanks for his new gift of life.
More importantly, Anthony now felt that his life belonged entirely to God.
Each year thereafter he made a pilgrimage to Loreto to express his thanks.
He also began hearing confessions, and came to be regarded as an outstanding confessor. Simple and direct, Anthony listened carefully to penitents, said a few words, and gave a penance and absolution,
frequently drawing on his gift of reading consciences.
In 1635, Anthony was elected superior of the Fermo Oratory. He was so well regarded that he was reelected every three years until his death. He was a quiet person and a gentle superior who did not know how to be severe. At the same time he kept the Oratorian constitutions literally,
encouraging the community to do likewise.
He refused social or civic commitments and instead would go out day or night to visit the sick or dying or anyone else needing his services. As Anthony grew older, he had a God-given awareness of the future,
a gift which he frequently used to warn or to console.
But age brought its challenges as well. Anthony suffered the humility of having to give up his physical faculties one by one. First was his preaching, necessitated after he lost his teeth. Then he could no longer hear confessions. Finally after a fall, Anthony was confined to his room. The archbishop himself came each day to give him Holy Communion. One of his final acts was to reconcile two fiercely quarreling brothers.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!
Invitatory Psalm
Psalm 23 (24)
Let us adore the Lord,
the King who is to come.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all who live in it.
He himself founded it upon the seas
and set it firm over the waters.
Let us adore the Lord,
the King who is to come.
Who will climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who will stand in his holy place?
The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart,
who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely.
He will receive the blessing of the Lord
and be justified by God his saviour.
This is the way of those who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Let us adore the Lord,
the King who is to come.
Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,
and let the king of glory enter.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord of might and power.
The Lord, strong in battle.
Let us adore the Lord,
the King who is to come.
Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,
and let the king of glory enter.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord of hosts
– he is the king of glory.
Let us adore the Lord,
the King who is to come.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Let us adore the Lord,
the King who is to come.
Hymn
The Advent of our God
With eager prayers we greet
And singing haste up on the road
His glorious gift to meet.
The everlasting Son
Scorns not a Virgin’s womb;
That we from bondage may be won
He bears a bondsman’s doom.
Daughter of Zion, rise
To meet thy lowly King;
Let not thy stubborn heart despise
The peace he deigns to bring.
In clouds of awful light,
As Judge he comes again,
His scattered people to unite,
With them in heaven to reign.
Let evil flee away
Ere that dread hour shall dawn.
Let this old Adam day by day
God’s image still put on.
Praise to the Incarnate Son,
Who comes to set us free,
With God the Father, ever One,
To all eternity.
Psalm 67 (68)
The Lord's triumphal journey
Let God arise,
let those who hate him flee before him.
God arises and his enemies are scattered:
those who hate him flee from his sight.
You blow them away like wisps of smoke;
as wax melts in front of a fire,
so the wicked melt away before God.
The righteous are glad and exult in God’s sight;
they rejoice in their gladness.
Sing to the Lord and celebrate his name!
Make a road for him who rides upon the clouds –
“The Lord” is his name.
Rejoice in his sight,
the father of orphans, defender of widows,
God in his holy dwelling-place,
God, who gives the lonely a house to dwell in,
God, who leads captives out into prosperity;
but the rebellious shall live in a desert land.
God, when you set out in the sight of your people,
when you crossed the wilderness – the earth shook.
The heavens sent down dew at your coming –
the God of Sinai, the God of Israel.
At your bidding the rains came, O God,
your inheritance was worn out but you refreshed it.
All your creatures took up residence there,
in your goodness you made a place for the needy.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Let God arise,
let those who hate him flee before him.
Psalm 67 (68)
This God of ours is a God who saves.
The Lord holds the keys of death.
The Lord gives out the word,
and a great army of maidens brings the news:
“The kings of the armies are fleeing, they are fleeing,
and the fair one at home is dividing the spoils.
While you sleep among the sheepfolds,
the wings of the dove shine with silver,
her feathers glow with green gold.
Through her the Almighty scatters the kings,
and the mountain of Zalmon is white with snow.
The mountain of Bashan is God’s mountain;
the mountain of God is a high-peaked mountain.
Why do you envy it, you high-peaked mountains,
envy the mountain that God has chosen?
The Lord will dwell there for ever.
The chariots of God are ten thousand thousand:
the Lord has come from Sinai to his holy sanctuary.
You have scaled the heights, you have taken captives,
you have received men as gifts
so that even the rebels live with the Lord God.
Blessings on the Lord, day after day!
God will carry us, God our saviour.
Our God is a God of salvation,
our Lord is a Lord who rescues from death.
Truly God will break the heads of his enemies,
take the scalps of those who tread the path of crime.
The Lord has spoken:
“I shall bring them back from Bashan,
I shall bring them back from the depths of the sea,
so that your feet may be dipped in blood
and the tongues of your dogs receive food from your enemies.”
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
This God of ours is a God who saves.
The Lord holds the keys of death.
Psalm 67 (68)
Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, praise the Lord.
They have seen your processions, O God,
the processions of God, my king, to his sanctuary.
First came the singers, last the musicians,
between them the maidens playing their drums.
“Bless God in the assemblies:
bless the Lord, you who spring from Israel!”
There was young Benjamin, leading them,
the princes of Judah in their rich robes,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
O God, command in your strength;
make firm what you have achieved in us.
From your temple in Jerusalem,
kings shall bring you tribute.
Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds,
the herd of bulls, the lords of peoples.
Let them lie prostrate before you with tribute of silver.
Scatter the peoples that delight in war.
Nobles will come from Egypt,
Ethiopia will stretch out its hands to God.
Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
celebrate the Lord.
Sing to God who rides on the highest heavens,
at the origin of all things.
Listen! – he speaks, a voice of power.
Acknowledge the strength of the Lord:
his majesty is over Israel,
his strength is in the clouds.
God inspires awe in his holy place;
he, the God of Israel, gives power to his people;
he gives them strength.
Blessed be God!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, praise the Lord.
A voice crying in the wilderness: prepare a way for the Lord.
– Make straight the paths of our God.
First Reading
Isaiah 30:27-33,31:4-9
See, the name of the Lord comes from afar,
blazing is his anger, heavy his exaction.
His lips brim with fury,
his tongue is like a devouring fire.
His breath is like a river in spate
coming up to the neck.
He comes to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction,
to put the bit of his bridle between the jaws of the nations.
The Lord will make his majestic voice be heard
and display his arm falling to strike,
in the ferocity of his anger, in the glare of a devouring fire,
in cloudburst, downpour, hailstones.
For at the voice of the Lord Assyria will be battered
and beaten with the rod.
Each time he will feel the punishing rod
that the Lord will lay on him.
The song you sing will be like that on a festal night
when hearts are gay,
or when to the sound of flute men make
a pilgrimage to the mountain of the Lord,
to the rock of Israel,
with music of tambourine and harp
and with dancing...
For in Topheth there has been prepared beforehand,
yes, made ready for Molech,
a pit deep and wide
with straw and wood in plenty.
The breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone,
will set fire to it.
Yes, this is what the Lord has said to me:
As a lion or lion cub
growls over its prey,
and even when a whole band of shepherds
gathers against him,
he is not frightened by their shouting
or alarmed by the noise they make,
just so will the Lord of Hosts descend to fight
on Mount Zion and on its hill.
Like hovering birds
so will the Lord of Hosts protect Jerusalem,
he will protect it, rescue it,
spare it and save it.
Come back to the one you have so wickedly betrayed,
sons of Israel.
Yes, that day,
every one of you will throw away the silver idols and gold idols which you have made with your guilty hands.
Assyria will fall by a sword that is not man’s,
will be devoured by a sword that is more than human,
he will flee before the sword
and his young warriors will be enslaved.
In his terror he will abandon his rock,
and his panic-stricken leaders desert their standard.
It is the Lord who speaks, whose fire is in Zion,
and his furnace in Jerusalem.
Responsory
The Lord of hosts will come down upon Mount Zion.
Like birds hovering, so the Lord will protect Jerusalem;
he will spare and rescue it.
You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept;
and gladness of heart.
Like birds hovering, so the Lord will protect Jerusalem;
he will spare and rescue it.
Second Reading
The Imitation of Christ
On humility and peace
Do not worry about who is and is not on your side:
simply make sure that God is with you in all you do.
Have a clear conscience, and God will defend you.
For if God chooses to help you, no malice can do you harm.
If you know how to suffer in silence, without doubt you will receive the help of the Lord.
He knows when and how he will free you, so resign yourself into his care.
It is for God to give help and give freedom from trouble.
For the sake of humility it is often good for others to know our weaknesses and tax us with them.
When a man holds himself humbly because of his weakness,
it is easy for him to please others and calm those who are angry with him.
God protects and frees the humble, loves and consoles them.
He leans down to the humble, he bestows great grace on them, he lifts them from their lowliness into glory.
God calls the humble gently to him, and to them he reveals his secrets.
If a humble man is humiliated, he is happy enough and at peace, because his support is God and not the world.
Do not count yourself as having made progress until you feel yourself inferior to everyone.
A peaceable man is of more use than a learned man.
If you are a slave to your feelings, you will see good actions as bad,
and you will easily believe the worst;
a good and peaceful man will see good in everything.
Whoever is truly at peace is not plagued by suspicion.
Whoever is discontented and disturbed will be blown about by gusts of suspicion:
he cannot rest and will not let others rest either.
He often says what he should not say, and fails to do what it would be best to do.
He knows what other people ought to do, but not what he should be doing himself.
Worry about your own behaviour first; you can worry about other people later.
You are good at making excuses for your own behaviour and showing it in the best light,
but you do not want to accept the excuses of others.
It would be fairer for you to accuse yourself and excuse your brother.
If you want other people to put up with you, put up with them first.
Responsory
The Lord guides the humble in the right path;
he teaches his way to the poor.
His ways are faithfulness and love for those who keep his covenant and will.
Render true judgements,
show kindness and mercy each to his brother.
His ways are faithfulness and love for those who keep his covenant and will.
Let us pray.
Father,
through your Son you have made us a new people.
Look on us now as the new creation of your love,
and by the coming of your Son, cleanse us from every stain of sin.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
Let us praise the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
