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First Sunday of Advent

Old Calendar: First Sunday of Advent

Today the Church celebrates the First Sunday of Advent. This is the beginning of a new liturgical year and the readings will be taken from Cycle A. The Advent liturgy opens with that great yearning cry of the prophets of Israel to the Messiah and Redeemer whose advent they awaited. "Come!" God is not deaf to His people's cry. Fulfilling the promise of salvation made to our first parents at their fall He sent His Son into the world. And the application to all generations of mankind of the redemption that the Son of God made Man obtained for us by His passion continues until the end of time: it will conclude with the end of the world when the Messiah comes to complete His work and lead us into His kingdom. The history of the Church occupies the period between these two great events.

In the Mass of this Sunday the whole work of redemption is set before us, from its preparation in Israel's expectancy and its effect on our present lives down to its final fulfillment. The Church, in preparing us to celebrate at Christmas the birth of Him who came to snatch our souls from sin and transform them into the likeness of His own, invokes upon us and on all men the complete accomplishment of the mission of salvation that He came to perform upon this earth.

On the first Sunday of Advent, the traditional opening prayer (or Collect) prayed: "Stir up Thy might, we beg Thee, and come". With this request to God to "stir up" His might, this day was traditionally called Stir-Up Sunday. Many families create a traditional plum pudding or fruit cake or some other recipe that all the family and guests can "stir-up." This activity of stirring-up the ingredients symbolizes our hearts that must be stirred in preparation for Christ's birth.

Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the book of Isaiah 2:1-5 in which the prophet makes references to a glorious age in the future, when God will fulfill his promises to the patriarchs...God will yet have a Chosen People who will be loyal to him.

The second reading is from the letter of Paul to the Romans 13:11-14 in which St. Paul urges the Roman Christians to keep the purpose of their conversion, of their acceptance of the gospel, of true salvation, always before their eyes.

The Gospel is from St. Matthew 24:37-44. In today's lesson it is Christ himself who is asking each one of us so to live our lives that no matter when we are called to judgment we shall not be found wanting. This does not mean that we must always be praying. Nor does it mean that we must take no interest in the affairs of this life. Of the two men working in the field and of the two women grinding corn, one of each was found unworthy, not because of the work he or she was doing, but because that work had for them wrongly excluded God and his purpose in life. The two found worthy had room for God and their own eternal welfare in their hearts — their work was part of their loyal service to God and was a means towards their salvation.

In this town of ours all adults are occupied one way or another with earthly affairs and necessarily so. But while these earthly affairs may, and do , become cruel task-masters for some and tie down their whole attention to the things of this earth, for others, thank God, their daily tasks are stepping stones to heaven. The day of reckoning will come, suddenly like a thief in the night for the former, and for the others it will not be a thief breaking in but the Master knocking at their door to take them to himself. — Excerpted from The Sunday Readings Cycle A, Fr. Kevin O' Sullivan, O.F.M.

Prayers: » Blessing of the Advent Wreath » Advent Prayers » Jesse Tree Prayer Service » Advent Table Blessing 1 more » Blessing of an Advent Wreath (First Sunday of Advent) Collect: All-powerful God, increase our strength of will for doing good that Christ may find an eager welcome at his coming and call us to his side in the kingdom of heaven where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Activities: » Advent Calendar II » Advent or Mary Candle I » Advent or Mary Candle II » Advent Penances more » Advent Wreath — Background and How To Make Your Own Wreath » Advent Wreath - Making Your Own » Advent Wreath I » Advent Wreath II » Advent Wreath III » Advent Wreath V » Christmas Field Trip » Gifts for Jesus, the Advent Manger » Jesse Tree Symbols » Stir-Up Sunday » Stir-Up Sunday - First Sunday in Advent

Recipes: » Plum Pudding » Plum Pudding 2 » Plum Pudding 3 » Plum Pudding 4 more » Plum Pudding 5 » Plum Pudding with Coffee-Brandy Ice Cream Sauce » Rich Fruit Cake

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O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear.	O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, Who orderest all things mightily; To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go.	O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny; From depths of hell Thy people save, And give them victory over the grave.	O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight.	O come, Thou Key of David, come, And open wide our heavenly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery.
O come, O come, great Lord of might, Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height In ancient times once gave the law In cloud and majesty and awe.	O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree, An ensign of Thy people be; Before Thee rulers silent fall; All peoples on Thy mercy call.	O come, Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all mankind; Bid Thou our sad divisions cease, And be Thyself our King of Peace.	Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.	O come, O come, Emmanuel,