Friday of the First Week of Advent
Reading 1 Isaiah 29:17-24
Thus says the Lord GOD:
But a very little while,
and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,
and the orchard be regarded as a forest!
On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a book;
And out of gloom and darkness,
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD,
and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
For the tyrant will be no more
and the arrogant will have gone;
All who are alert to do evil will be cut off,
those whose mere word condemns a man,
Who ensnare his defender at the gate,
and leave the just man with an empty claim.
Therefore thus says the LORD,
the God of the house of Jacob,
who redeemed Abraham:
Now Jacob shall have nothing to be ashamed of,
nor shall his face grow pale.
When his children see
the work of my hands in his midst,
They shall keep my name holy;
they shall reverence the Holy One of Jacob,
and be in awe of the God of Israel.
Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding,
and those who find fault shall receive instruction.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, our Lord shall come with power;
he will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Matthew 9:27-31
As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out,
"Son of David, have pity on us!"
When he entered the house,
the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,
"Do you believe that I can do this?"
"Yes, Lord," they said to him.
Then he touched their eyes and said,
"Let it be done for you according to your faith."
And their eyes were opened.
Jesus warned them sternly,
"See that no one knows about this."
But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.
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 28, 2024 //
Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord.
Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days
Saturday, December 28 (today!) // Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs
Sunday, December 29 // Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Monday, December 30 // Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
Tuesday, December 31 // Seventh Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
Wednesday, January 1, 2025 // SOLEMNITY OF MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD and Octave of the Nativity of the Lord (Holy Day of Obligation!)
Thursday, January 2 // Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church
Friday, January 3 // Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
Letter from the Editor //
Dear Sister,
The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—which falls on this Sunday—is an invitation for us to join them in their home. We will pray at Mass, “Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord” (Psalm 84:5a). In their home we can learn how to live as children of God, as Saint John tells us we are in the Second Reading—how to “love one another just as he commanded us” so that we will “be like him” and “see him as he is” (1 John 3:2, 23). We can invite them into our own homes to transform our families to imitate them.
The First Reading tells us about the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to Hannah, a woman who longed for a child (see 1 Samuel 1:20). She saw that her son, Samuel, was a gift from God and in gratitude she offered her child back to Him. She shows us that all who are given to our care through biological or spiritual motherhood first of all belong to God. We see this same realization in the Gospel account of Mary and Joseph losing the child Jesus on their way home from Jerusalem. There is that moment of offering, when Mary realizes that her Son was only given to her to do His Father’s work, to be in His house (see Luke 2:49). All of our children are meant to dwell in the home of the Lord forever. Let us look to the Holy Family and their hidden years in Nazareth as a guide to how to prepare ourselves for Heaven.
I am praying for you this week, dear sister.
In Christ’s Love,
Susanna
Read the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Year C option below):
First Reading // 1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28
Responsorial Psalm // Psalm 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10
Second Reading // 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24
Gospel // Luke 2:41-52
Prayer Practice // Entrust your family to the Holy Family at Mass tomorrow. Share your heart with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
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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