December 7, 2014

First Reading

The Book of the Prophet Isaiah   40:1-5, 9-11

40:1	“Be consoled, be consoled, O my people!” says your God.
40:2	Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call out to her! For her malice has reached its end. Her iniquity has been forgiven. She has received double for all her sins from the hand of the Lord.
40:3	The voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight the paths of our God, in a solitary place.
40:4	Every valley will be exalted, and every mountain and hill will be brought low. And the crooked will be straightened, and the uneven will become level ways.
40:5	And the glory of the Lord will be revealed. And all flesh together will see that the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
40:9	You who evangelize Zion, climb a high mountain! You who evangelize Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it up! Do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah: “Behold, your God!”
40:10	Behold, the Lord God will arrive in strength, and his arm will rule. Behold, his reward is with him, and his work is before him.
40:11	He will pasture his flock like a shepherd. He will gather together the lambs with his arm, and he will lift them up to his bosom, and he himself will carry the very young.

Second Reading

The Second Letter of Saint Peter   3: 18-14

3:8	Yet truly, let this one thing not escape notice, most beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day.
3:9	The Lord is not delaying his promise, as some imagine, but he does act patiently for your sake, not wanting anyone to perish, but wanting all to be turned back to penance.
3:10	Then the day of the Lord shall arrive like a thief. On that day, the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and truly the elements shall be dissolved with heat; then the earth, and the works that are within it, shall be completely burned up.
3:11	Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what kind of people ought you to be? In behavior and in piety, be holy,
3:12	waiting for, and hurrying toward, the advent of the day of the Lord, by which the burning heavens shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt from the heat of the fire.
3:13	Yet truly, in accord with his promises, we are looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth, in which justice lives.
3:14	Therefore, most beloved, while awaiting these things, be diligent, so that you may be found to be immaculate and unassailable before him, in peace.

Gospel

The Holy Gospel According to Mark    1: 1-8

1:1	The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
1:2	As it has been written by the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, I send my Angel before your face, who shall prepare your way before you.
1:3	The voice of one crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight his paths.”
1:4	John was in the desert, baptizing and preaching a baptism of repentance, as a remission of sins.
1:5	And there went out to him all the region of Judea and all those of Jerusalem, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
1:6	And John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist. And he ate locusts and wild honey.
1:7	And he preached, saying: “One stronger than me comes after me. I am not worthy to reach down and loosen the laces of his shoes.
1:8	I have baptized you with water. Yet truly, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”