Mass Readings
Reading 1 – Isaiah 63:16-19, 64:2-7
Psalm – Psalm 80:2-19
Reading 2 – 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Gospel – Mark 13:33-37
Commentary on Readings
Homilies
Watching for Grace by Bishop Barron
- Happy New Year! Today is New Years Day. We must start anew.
- Most famous Advent song = “O Come O Come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel. That mourns in lonely exile here. Until the Son of God appear.” You could spend your whole Advent musing on these lines. We must move into the spiritual space of these words to grasp the heart of Advent. The setting of this image is kidnapping. If you are kidnapped, all you can do is wait, watch, hope, that someone is coming. This is desperate space. We are held captive. We have no means of helping ourselves.
- 1st reading = the 1st liturgical words of the year = You LORD are our father, our redeemer, you are named forever. “Redeemer” to buy back. God is the one who can buy us back from slavery! We are calling upon the only one who can buy us back.
- Advent spiritual space = call upon the name of the Lord and cling to him.
- 2nd reading = All of this prepares us for the extraordinary 2nd reading from Paul. 1st line summarizes all of Paul’s teaching. Christ is Emmanuel, God with us, who offers us grace and peace. Jesus gifts us with the divine love.
The Prodigal Catholic Blog 