Second
Sunday of Advent
December 7, 2025
Cycle A
Purple priestly vestments symbolize penance and preparation.
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Liturgical Year Cycle A 2025-2026
Introductory Acts of Worship
The Entrance Prayers:
On Sunday, usually a hymn praising
God is sung in place
of reciting a Psalm from the Bible which invites us to enter
more deeply into
the mystery of God's love for us. The recited weekday
Psalm expresses a
youthful heart and spirit, delighted that we may come before
the living God.
Entrance Song /
Entrance Psalm
(Antiphon)
Entrance
Song
Isaiah 30:19,30
People of Zion, the Lord will come to save all nations, and your
hearts will
exult to hear his majestic voice.
The Priest Approaches and
Kisses the
Altar:
The
altar is a symbol of Christ. In it are cut five
crosses to recall the
five wounds of Christ. The altar also represents the
Church and has
embedded in it the relics of her saints. The priest
comes to the altar to
celebrate the Sacrifice in the Church's name. Because
of the glory
surrounding the altar upon which the divine Sacrifice will
be made, the kiss of
the priest unites the Church to Christ, its Redeemer.
Priest:
In the
name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
All:
Amen.
The Greeting:
We
are welcomed in God's name. Our response unites us to
our neighbor, to
the priest and to God. (The priest may select from
several forms of
greeting).
Priest:
The Lord
be with you.
All: And with your spirit.
The Penitential Prayers:
We
recognize our guilt for past sins, express our sorrow for
them, and ask that
Mary, the angels, the saints, and our brothers and sisters
in Christ pray for
the Lord God's mercy. (The priest may select from
several forms).
Priest:
Brothers
and
sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves
to celebrate
the sacred mysteries.
Priest: You were sent to heal the contrite of
heart:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: You came to call sinners: Christ,
have mercy.
All: Christ, have mercy.
The Absolution:
Priest:
May
almighty
God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to
everlasting
life.
All:
Amen.
The Collect:
The
priest lifts
the united prayers and petitions of the congregation to God
the Father through
the merits of Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.
Almighty
and merciful
God, may no earthly undertaking hinder those who set out in
haste to meet your
Son, but may our learning of heavenly wisdom gain us admittance
to his
company. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the
Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Liturgy of the Word
Christ is made known to us through
the Old Testament
which prepares us to recognize Him. In those days, God
inspired men who
spoke His message. Now, the New Testament Gospel
reading announces His
presence to us directly through His Son. Both readings
bring God's
message to us. Our responsibility is to respond.
The First
Reading: From the Old Testament
Priest/Reader:
A
reading from the prophet Isaiah
First
Reading:
Isaiah 11:1-10
On that
day, a shoot
shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud
shall
blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him; a
spirit of wisdom
and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a
spirit of
knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the
fear of the
Lord. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay
shall he decide,
but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for
the land's
afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of
his mouth, and
with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be
the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his
hips. Then
the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie
down with the
kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a
little child to
guide them. The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young
shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby
shall play by
the cobra's den, and the child lay his hand on the adder's
lair. There
shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth
shall be filled
with knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea. On
that day, the
root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, the Gentiles
shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.
Priest/Reader:
The
Word of the Lord.
All:
Thanks
be to God.
The Responsorial
Psalm: This
Psalm praising God, is a prayer to God, or recommends the
practice of
virtue. It is sung as an interlude between the
scriptural readings.
It provides yet another instructional setting and invites
the assembly to
imitate the cantor who sings a repeated response to the
verses of an ancient
Psalm many of which are attributed to King David. The
verses are sung
first by a cantor (song leader) accompanied by instruments,
the refrain is sung
by the people.
Psalm 72:7; 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
Cantor: Justice
shall
flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
All: Justice shall flourish in his time,
and fullness of
peace for ever.
Cantor: O God, with your judgment endow the
king, and with
your justice, the king's son; he shall govern your people with
justice and your
afflicted ones with judgment.
All: Justice shall flourish in his time,
and fullness of
peace for ever.
Cantor: Justice shall flower in his days, and
profound peace,
till the moon be no more. May he rule from sea to sea, and
from the River
to the ends of the earth.
All: Justice shall flourish in his time,
and fullness of
peace for ever.
Cantor: For he shall rescue the poor when he
cries out, and the
afflicted when he has no one to help him. He shall have
pity for the
lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save.
All: Justice shall flourish in his time,
and fullness
of peace for ever.
Cantor: May his name be blessed forever; as
long as the sun
his name shall remain. In him shall all the tribes of the
earth be
blessed; all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
All: Justice shall flourish in his time,
and fullness
of peace for ever.
The Alleluia:
An
ancient expression of joy anticipating the Lord's message we
will hear in the
Gospel.
Luke
3:4,
6
Cantor:
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
All: Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Cantor: Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his
paths: all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
All: Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia!
The Gospel: The
Liturgy of the Word is completed by the reading of the
Gospel. Before its
reading, the members of the assembly trace the sign of the
cross upon the
forehead to indicate their mental acceptance of the Truth,
on the lips to
indicate their readiness to announce it, and over the heart
to indicate their
sincere desire to accept it into their lives. The
"Good News"
of the Gospel tells that God's kingdom has come for all to
hear, accept, and
announce to the world for its salvation. It is God who
is speaking to
us. Christ comes to teach us by the example of His
life and by His own
words.
Priest: Cleanse
my heart and my
lips, almighty God, that I may worthily proclaim your holy
Gospel. Through
the words of the Gospel may our sins be wiped away.
Priest: The Lord be with you.
All: And with our spirit.
Priest/Deacon: A reading
from
the holy Gospel according to Matthew.
All: Glory
to you, Lord.
The
Gospel
Matthew 3:1-12
Matthew
wrote
to show that Christ was the
Messiah and fulfilled the Jewish prophecies.
John
the Baptist
appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying,
"Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand!" It was of him that the
prophet Isaiah
had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the
desert, Prepare
the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.
John
wore clothing made
of camel's hair and had a leather belt around his waist.
His food was
locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, all
Judea, and the whole
region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being
baptized by him
in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.
When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to his
baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who
warned you to
flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as
evidence of your
repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We
have Abraham as
our father. For I tell you, God can raise up children to
Abraham from
these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the
trees.
Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut
down and thrown
into the fire. I am baptizing you with water, for
repentance, but the one
who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not
worthy to carry his
sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire. His
winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his
threshing floor and
gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn
with unquenchable
fire."
Priest: The Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus
Christ.
The Priest's Sermon:
The
priest develops, explains, and comments upon the Master's
words, so our minds
may be enlightened, and our hearts
enriched.
(A
priestly reflection upon
this Gospel)
Profession of Faith:
We
state in the Nicene Creed the principles of our faith in
precise and definite
terms.
All: We
believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that
is seen and
unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son
of God,
eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from
Light, true God from
true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the
Father. Through him
all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he
came down from
heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the
Virgin Mary, and
became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius
Pilate; he
suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose
again in
fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is
seated at the
right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to
judge the living
and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe
in the Holy
Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the
Father and the
son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and
glorified. He
has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy
catholic and
apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the
forgiveness of
sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the
life of the world
to come. Amen.
General Intercessions:
We pray for the needs of the pope,
civic leaders, our
own needs, those of others, the sick, the dying, those who
have died, the
church, and the world. The response of all to each
intercession:
Lord, hear our prayer.
All: Lord,
hear our prayer.
The Liturgy of the Eucharist
Gifts of bread and wine symbolizing
ourselves are
presented to the priest who will offer them to God the
Father. Through
the Holy Spirit, they will become the Body and Blood of
Jesus Christ whom we
receive in Holy Communion. Jesus unites Himself with
us for our spiritual
nourishment and strength. Today, when individuals do
not present their
own personal offerings of bread and wine, the monetary
contribution symbolizes
the material of their united sacrifice. The priest
makes and offering of
the bread and wine to God.
Preparation of the Bread and
Wine:
Priest: Blessed
are you, Lord
God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received
the bread we
offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will
become for us
the bread of life.
All: Blessed
be God for ever.
Priest: By the
mystery of this
water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ,
who humbled
himself to share in our humanity.
Priest: Blessed
are you, Lord
God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received
the wine we
offer you; fruit of the vine and work of human hands it will
become our
spiritual drink.
All: Blessed
be God for ever.
Priest: With
humble spirit and
contrite heart may we be accepted by you, O Lord, and may our
sacrifice in your
sight this day be pleasing to you, Lord God.
The Priest's Hands are
Washed: This
act was traditionally necessary because the priest
handled the various gifts presented by the people.
Now, the cleansing act
using water reminds the priest and ourselves of the need to
cleanse not only
the hands but the soul. Soon, the priest's hands will
hold the actual
body of Christ, and we will become His dwelling place.
Priest: Wash me
O Lord, from my
iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be
acceptable to God,
the almighty Father.
All: May the
Lord accept the
sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name,
for our good and
the good of all his holy Church.
Prayer over the Gifts:
Speaking
in our name, the priest asks the Father to accept the gifts
we offer through
him.
Priest:
Be
pleased, O Lord, with our humble prayers and offerings, and,
since we have no
merits to plead our cause, come, we pray, to our rescue with the
protection of
your mercy. Through Christ our Lord.
Eucharistic Prayer:
(Number Three: The priest may
select from
several forms).
Priest: The Lord be with you.
All: And
with your
spirit.
Priest: Lift up your hearts.
All: We lift them up to the
Lord.
Priest: Let us
give thanks to
the Lord, our God.
All: It is
right and
just.
Preface Prayer:
It is
truly right and
just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give
you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Christ our
Lord. For
all the oracles of the prophets foretold him, the Virgin Mother
longed for him
with love beyond all telling, John the Baptist sang of his
coming and
proclaimed his presence when he came. It is by his gift
that already we
rejoice at the mystery of his Nativity, so that he may find us
watchful in
prayer and exultant in his praise. And so, with Angels and
Archangels,
with Thrones and Dominions, and with all the hosts and Powers of
heaven, we
sing the hymn of your glory, as without end we acclaim:
Acclamation:
Priest
and
All:
Holy,
Holy, Holy Lord,
God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your
glory. Hosanna in
the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Priest:
You
are
indeed Holy, O Lord, and all you have created rightly gives you
praise, for
through your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, by the power and working
of the Holy
Spirit, you give life to all things and make them holy, and you
never cease to
gather a people to yourself, so that from the rising of the sun
to its setting
a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name.
Priest:
Therefore,
O
Lord, we humbly implore you: by the same Spirit graciously make
holy these
gifts we have brought to you for consecration, that they may
become the Body
and Blood of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, at whose command we
celebrate
these mysteries.
The priest repeats the words which
Christ used at his
Last Supper when He changed the bread into His Body and the
wine into His
Blood. His Body and Blood are truly present but under
the appearance of
bread and wine. The death of Christ is prolonged in
each of those who
receive Him worthily. We apply His death to ourselves
so that we may
share His glory. This moment is the most solemn on
earth because it is
Divine act which enables us to apply to ourselves the Cross
which Christ willingly
took upon Himself.
We are called to die to sin and lift
our very selves to
God so that we become changed; to do as God would have us
do, to become what
God would have us become.
Our
own little cross can lift us into union with Christ's Cross
so we may earn the
joys of everlasting happiness with God the Father.
The Lord's Supper:
At
the
time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his Passion, he
took bread and,
giving thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take
this,
all of you, and eat of it, for this is my Body, which will
be given up
for you.
In a
similar way, when
supper was ended, he took the chalice and, once more giving
thanks, he gave it
to his disciples, saying:
Take
this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice
of my Blood, the
Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured
out for you and for
many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of
me.
Memorial Acclamation: (The
priest may select from several forms).
Priest: The
mystery of faith.
Priest / All: When we eat this Bread
and drink this Cup, we
proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.
Memorial Prayer: (The
priest may select from several forms).
Priest:
Recalls
Christ's
Passion, Resurrection, Ascension, the Church, the dead, and
ourselves.
Therefore,
O
Lord, as we celebrate the memorial of the saving Passion of your
Son, his
wondrous Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, and as we look
forward to his
second coming, we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living
sacrifice. Look, we pray, upon the oblation of your Church
and,
recognizing the sacrificial Victim by whose death you willed to
reconcile us to
yourself, grant that we, who are nourished by the Body and Blood
of your Son
and filled with his Holy Spirit, may become one body, one spirit
in Christ.
May he
make of us an
eternal offering to you, so that we may obtain an inheritance
with your elect,
especially with the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of
God, with blessed
Joseph, her Spouse, with your blessed Apostles and glorious
Martyrs and with
all the Saints, on whose constant intercession in your presence
we rely for
unfailing help.
May
this Sacrifice of
our reconciliation, we pray, O Lord, advance the peace and
salvation of all the
world. Be pleased to confirm in faith and charity your
pilgrim Church on
earth, with your servant, _____ our Pope and, _____ our Bishop,
the Order of
Bishops, all the clergy, and the entire people you have gained
for your
own. Listen graciously to the prayers of this family, whom
you have
summoned before you: in your compassion, O merciful Father,
gather to yourself
all your children scattered throughout the world.
To our
departed brothers
and sisters and to all who were pleasing to you at their passing
from this
life, give kind admittance to
your
kingdom. There we hope to enjoy for ever the fullness of
your glory
through Christ our Lord, through whom you bestow on the world
all that is good.
Doxology
Prayer of Praise:
Through
him, with him,
and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, all glory
and honor is yours, for ever and ever.
All:
Amen.
Communion
Rite
In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we
symbolically offer
ourselves to the Lord through the gifts of bread and
wine. At the
Consecration, we offer our very lives to be united the God
the Father through
the Cross of Christ. In Communion, we find that we
have not died at all,
but have come to life. We have surrendered ourselves
to God through His
Divine Son, Jesus Christ. In return become ennobled
and enriched.
We give up time and we get eternity, we give up our sin and
we receive grace,
we surrender our self-will and receive the strength of the
Divine Will, we give
up ourselves and we receive everything. For the Son of
God says to us
that unless we receive Him we shall not have Divine life in
us. But it is
not really we who receive Christ as it is Christ who
receives us, bringing us
into Himself.
God makes His Cross the very means
of our salvation and
our life. While we have crucified Him, His eternal
love cannot be
extinguished. Christ willed to give us the very life
we crucified in our
Redemption, the Consecration of Holy Thursday into
Communion, His death into
our everlasting life.
The Lord's Prayer:
Priest:
At
the
Savior's command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say:
Priest
and
All: Our
Father,
who art in heaven, hallowed be they name; Thy kingdom come; Thy
will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread, and
forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass
against us; and
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Priest:
Deliver
us,
Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our
days, that,
by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and
safe from all
distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our
Savior, Jesus
Christ.
All:
For
the
kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever.
Prayer for Peace:
Priest:
Lord
Jesus
Christ, who said to your Apostles: Peace I leave you, my peace I
give
you, look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and
graciously
grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will.
Who live and
reign for ever and ever.
All: Amen.
Priest:
The
peace
of the Lord be with you always.
All: And with your spirit.
Priest: Let us offer each other the sign of
peace.
Breaking of the Bread:
Priest: May
this
mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring
eternal life
to us who receive it.
Priest
and
All: Lamb
of
God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have
mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us
peace.
Priestly
Preparation:
May the receiving of
your Body and Blood, Lord
Jesus Christ, not bring me to judgment and condemnation, but
through your loving
mercy
be for me protection in mind and body and a healing remedy.
Priest: Behold
the Lamb of God,
behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed
are those called
to the supper of the Lamb.
Priest
and
All: Lord, I
am not worthy
that you should enter under my roof, but only say the world and
my soul shall
be healed.
Priest: May the
Body of Christ
keep me safe for eternal life.
May
the
Blood of Christ keep me safe for eternal life.
Communion
Antiphon:
Bar 5:5; 4:36
Jerusalem,
arise and
stand upon the heights, and behold the joy which comes to you
from God.
Communion of the Faithful:
Priest: The
Body of Christ.
The
Faithful: Amen.
Priest/Deacon/
Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister: The Blood of
Christ.
The Faithful: Amen.
Cleansing
of the Vessels:
Priest:
What
has
passed our lips as food, O Lord, may we possess in purity of
heart, that
what has been given to us in time may be our healing for
eternity.
Prayer after Communion:
Priest: Let us
pray.
Priest: Replenished by the food of spiritual
nourishment, we
humbly beseech you, O Lord, that, through our partaking in this
mystery, you
may teach us to judge wisely the things of earth and hold firm
to the things of
heaven. Through Christ our Lord.
Concluding Rite
Greeting:
Priest: The
Lord be with you.
All: And with your
spirit.
Priest: Bow
down for the
blessing.
Final Blessing:
Priest:
May
the
almighty and merciful God, by whose grace you have placed your
faith in the
First Coming of his Only Begotten Son and yearn for his coming
again, sanctify
you by the radiance of Christ's Advent and enrich you with his
blessing.
All: Amen.
Priest: As you run the race of this present life,
may he make you
firm in faith, joyful in hope and active in charity.
All: Amen.
Priest: So that, rejoicing now with devotion at the
Redeemer's coming
in the flesh, you may be endowed with the rich reward of eternal
life when he
comes again in majesty.
All: Amen.
Priest: And may the blessing of almighty God, the
Father, and the
Son, and the Holy Spirit, come down on you and remain with you
for ever.
All: Amen.
Dismissal Prayer:
O
my
Jesus, forgive us our sins.