Saturday of the First Week of Advent
Reading 1 Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26
Thus says the Lord GOD,
the Holy One of Israel:
O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem,
no more will you weep;
He will be gracious to you when you cry out,
as soon as he hears he will answer you.
The Lord will give you the bread you need
and the water for which you thirst.
No longer will your Teacher hide himself,
but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,
While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears:
"This is the way; walk in it,"
when you would turn to the right or to the left.
He will give rain for the seed
that you sow in the ground,
And the wheat that the soil produces
will be rich and abundant.
On that day your flock will be given pasture
and the lamb will graze in spacious meadows;
The oxen and the asses that till the ground
will eat silage tossed to them
with shovel and pitchfork.
Upon every high mountain and lofty hill
there will be streams of running water.
On the day of the great slaughter,
when the towers fall,
The light of the moon will be like that of the sun
and the light of the sun will be seven times greater
like the light of seven days.
On the day the LORD binds up the wounds of his people,
he will heal the bruises left by his blows.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. (see Isaiah 30:18d) Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.
Praise the LORD, for he is good;
sing praise to our God, for he is gracious;
it is fitting to praise him.
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;
the dispersed of Israel he gathers.
R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He tells the number of the stars;
he calls each by name.
R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.
Great is our LORD and mighty in power:
to his wisdom there is no limit.
The LORD sustains the lowly;
the wicked he casts to the ground.
R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.
Alleluia Isaiah 33:22
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The LORD is our Judge, our Lawgiver, our King;
he it is who will save us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Matthew 9:35–10:1, 5a, 6-8
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest."
Then he summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.
Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
"Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give."
- Readings for the Optional Memorial of Saint Nicholas, Bishop
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Saturday, December 6, 2025
Letter from the Editor //
Dear Sister,
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths” (Matthew 3:3), the baptist cries in his clothing of camel hair. Saint John preached the coming of Christ while in the desert. Our world is also a desert, one that is spiritually barren. On the Second Sunday of Advent, John’s words apply to our lives as well as the people in his time; we must use this holy time to prepare for Christ to come into our hearts more fully at Christmas, to water us in His grace. As we prepare, we can imitate John, living differently from others in the world, being witnesses to a life of repentance and love of God and others.
We hear from the psalmist that “justice shall flower in his day and profound peace” (Psalm 72:7). In the First Reading, the prophet Isaiah gives us an image of the coming peaceful kingdom that will come at the end of time, when Christ, the incarnate Son, rules over all. His kingdom is also here now, for death has already been defeated. The same Spirit that rests upon Jesus, He has sent to us—with the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, and fear of the Lord to help us live His kingdom now. Allow these gifts of the Holy Spirit to guide you this Advent as you navigate these weeks of preparation and waiting. It is not always easy to live our faith with the pressures of our culture ready to rush past Advent into Christmas, but we have a “God of endurance and encouragement” (Romans 15:5), Who will help us on our way. And we have each other in the Church and our Blessed is She community for love and support.
In Christ’s Love,
Susanna
Read the Readings for the Second Sunday of Advent:
First Reading // Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm // Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
Second Reading // Romans 15:4-9
Gospel // Matthew 3:1-12
Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days
Saturday, December 6 (today!) // Optional Memorial of Saint Nicholas, Bishop
Sunday, December 7 // Second Sunday of Advent
Monday, December 8 // Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary // Holy Day of Obligation in the USA
Tuesday, December 9 // Optional Memorial of Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin
Wednesday, December 10 // Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Loreto
Thursday, December 11 // Optional Memorial of Saint Damasus I, Pope
Friday, December 12 // Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Susanna Spencer holds a master's in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and is the Devotions Editor for Blessed is She. She is a freelance writer and editor and a teacher-in-training living with her philosopher husband and four kids in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She loves reading theology, attending beautiful liturgies, cooking delicious food, and casually following baseball. She is the author of the Gospel Studies including Seek His Kingdom: A Meditation on Matthew , Listen to Him: A Meditation on Mark, and Abide in His Love: A Meditation on John. She was narrator for Found: Advent With the Good Shepherd and Rescued: Lent With the Lamb of God and a contributing author and editor for our children’s devotional prayer book, Rise Up. She was the Theological Editor of the Blessed Conversations Studies. Find out more about her here.
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