Third Sunday of Advent (A)

Is. 35:1-6a, 10; Jas. 5:7-10; Mt. 11:2-11

The First Reading from the Book of Isaiah [Is. 35:1-6a, 10] echoed the anticipation of God's chosen people. In their perception of the coming of the promised Messiah, the people visualized a transformation of the physical world where the entire creation would rejoice. They envisioned blooming deserts that would manifest the glory of the Lord.

"The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them." (Mt 11:5)

Today’s Gospel reading explains the characteristics of the coming of God’s Kingdom.

The blinds receive their sight. Isaiah 35:5 had already prophesied this long ago. “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.” In Psalm 146:8 we read “The Lord opens the eyes of the blind”. Jesus' ocular miracles are identified in three incidents. According to the New Testament, Jesus cured blind men in Jericho, Bethsaida and Siloam.

Second Sunday of Advent (A)

Is. 11:1-10; Rom. 15:4-9; Mt. 3:1-12

Today's First Reading from the Book of Isaiah [Is. 11:1-10] consisted of a descriptive prophecy related to the coming of the ideal king from David's line. It began by proclaiming that "A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." [Is. 11:1] Jesse was the father of king David, from whom the Judean kings descended.

When Isaiah said, "The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them..." [Is. 11:6] he was providing a picture of a Messianic era when paradise would be restored. 

The Gospel of Matthew affirms that Jesus was the King referred to, He, being of the root of Jesse who was the father of David. [Mt. 1:5-6; Rev. 5:5, 22:16]

Today's Reading from the Gospel of Matthew [Mt. 3:1-12] began by telling us that Saint John the Baptist proclaimed a baptism of repentance in the wilderness of Judea. John's message was one of repentance in preparation for the Kingdom of Heaven that

First Sunday of Advent (A)

 Isaiah 2: 1-5; Romans 13: 11-14; Matthew 24: 37-44

History often reminds us that great moments come only to those who prepare for them. In the winter of 1914, during the “Christmas Truce” of the First World War, British and German soldiers who were only hours earlier shooting at each other suddenly laid down their weapons, stepped out of their trenches, and began exchanging small gifts, singing carols, and even playing football. What made that extraordinary night possible was not politics or command—it was the spirit of Christmas approaching. Something in the season stirred the human soul to long for peace, purity, and reconciliation. The men prepared themselves inwardly for something higher than hatred. It was as if, for a moment, they lifted their eyes from the mud of the trenches toward the promise of heaven. Advent is such a moment for the Church—a season where God invites us to step out of the trenches of sin, conflict, routine, and spiritual sleep, and to prepare for the coming of the Lord with hearts awakened, cleansed, and renewed.

Isaiah’s prophecy today opens with a magnificent vision: “In days to come, the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains…