1st Sunday of Advent (C)
First Reading (Jer. 33, 14-16)
A reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah . In those days and at that time I will make a righteous sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord our Righteousness.”
Second Reading (1Thes 3, 12 – 4, 2)
A reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
The Gospel (Lk 21, 25-28, 34-36)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”