Today as we enter this period of one week to the date of Christmas Day.

And in this part of the Book of Genesis, it was told that Israel,

before he passed away gathered all of his family and blessed his sons with various blessings and prayers.

The great King of Israel, who hailed from the tribe of Judah,

and to whom God had promised that his kingdom and his house would sit on the Throne of Israel forever.

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Genesis 49:2, 8-10

"Gather around,

 Our Lady of Guadalupe

Today, much of the Church in the Americas celebrates Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Mary appeared not to a king or a bishop but to Juan Diego, an indigenous peasant farmer.

In the depths of winter, The roses blooming out of season

show the healing of the earth that the Lord's coming will bring.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Zechariah 2:14-17 (or Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab)

"Sing and rejoice,

 Privileges give us advantages over others. But it can also be quie dangerous.

There lurks in being privileged the danger of undue sense of entitlement.

those who repent are those whom Jesus earlier referred to as the “least in the kingdom of God” 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊   

Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17a

He looked up and saw

 “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”

Jesus summons us, the weary and the burdened, to come to him.

he is gentle and humble of heart. His assurance – that we shall find rest.

Jesus' yoke is easy and his burden light

because God is also the one who enables us to carry the yoke and burden that come our way.

St. Damasus I, pope

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Isaiah 40:25-31

To whom, then,

 The day takes its common name from the Latin word Gaudete ("Rejoice").

 The third Sunday of Advent, On it, permitted to be rose-coloured vestments were allowed instead of purple.

 Signifies the nearness of the Lord's coming.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.

for the Lord is near at hand; you have turned away the captivity of Jacob.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Zephaniah 3:14-18a

Cry out with joy,

The Second Week of Advent is the week of Peace.

Jesus came to be the Prince of Peace.

Jesus saving us from our sinfulness.

He was happier over this lost sheep than the ninety-nine who never wandered away.

Is not only ready to have us back in the fold but is positively overjoyed about it.

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

Isaiah 40:1-11

Be comforted, my people,

 『The way of the Lord is the “via crucis. "』

Our Saint of today, St. John of the Cross.
He is one Saint who plumbed the depths of the ways of the Lord.
He understood and lived the way of the Lord, the way of the Cross!

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11

Then came the prophet Elijah like a fire,

  The Immaculate Conception is the belief

that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.

by Pope Pius IX in the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus.

The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception,

by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ,

the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Genesis 3:9-15, 20 

Yahweh God called the man

 God asks that we submit to his will and his commandments.

If we do that, God will lead us and teach us the way that we should go.

They may laugh at us, insult us, or call us hypocrites.

But if we remain faithful in following the Lord, we will live in his presence forever.

St. Lucy, virgin & martyr

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

Isaiah 48:17-19

Thus says Yahweh,

 This second Sunday of Advent is the call to repentance.

“Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance”

Preparing the Lord’s path toward peace

valleys filled full, mountains and hills humbled, everything crooked made straight and true.

letting God humble everything that is proud and self-satisfied in us.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Baruch 5:1-9

Jerusalem, put off your garment