Sunday Liturgy: November 30, 2025

Texts taken from the Missalette “On Your Word” November -December 2025

1st Sunday of Advent (A)
1st week, alternate cycle

First Reading

From the book of the prophet Isaiah (Is 2:1-5)

The message that Isaiah, son of Amoz, received in a vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In days to come, the mountain of the temple of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains and raised above the hills; all nations shall stream toward it. Many peoples shall come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For from Zion shall go forth the law, and from Jerusalem the word of the Lord. He shall judge between the nations and shall impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord

The word of God.

Commentary on the First Reading

Among the prophets, Isaiah is the one with the broadest vision. He speaks to the Israelites, but always has in the background the coming of all peoples to the one God and Lord. Yes, because there are not various deities around, but one God, and he must be known by all peoples so that they may turn toward him. All nations, Isaiah says, set out toward Jerusalem, where the temple of the Lord is. Then the vision expands further and announces a time of universal peace (kingdoms that no longer fight one another). This will come, because prophecies do not lie, but it will be fulfilled only in the eternal life of the blessed who have welcomed and accepted God’s grace and forgiveness. Here, then, is the great proclamation solemnly made every year at the beginning of Advent: peace and the conversion of all peoples to the one God are possible only in Christ, because it is only through the God-man that human beings can share in divine life. “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either” (1 Jn 2:23). Everything, then, is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, in his death and resurrection.

Second Reading

From the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Romans (Rom 13:11-14a)

Brothers and sisters, you know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day: not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ. – The word of God.

The word of God.

Commentary on the Second Reading

How does one put on the Lord Jesus Christ? We must take this invitation from the apostle Paul seriously; otherwise these remain merely words. For us, putting on clothes, hats, and coats is something external, covering the body without entering the soul. Perhaps the Lord Jesus is meant to remain on the surface, in our outward appearance? Certainly not. The meaning of putting on Christ is this: our soul must be filled with the Holy Spirit, in the new life that Jesus gives us. The Spirit is within, in our soul, and from there it overflows outward with its light and sets us apart. If we live the new life of the Holy Spirit, everything is transfigured: from bad we become good, from foolish we become wise, and from gloomy, sad, and depressed we become radiant and courageous. And just as others judge us by our outward clothing (whether we are rich or poor, elegant or untidy, and so on), so they will also notice whether we are “clothed in Christ,” as the apostle Paul understands it. The beautiful thing is that while outward clothing costs quite a lot, Christ’s clothing is free!

Gospel

From the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 24:37-44)

At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So it will be also at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour at which the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come”

The word of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel

Advent begins. The dominant theme of the reminder we will hear in the liturgies during these weeks will be to remain attentive and ready, because the Son of Man must come. If we understand this as the birth of Jesus in the cave at Bethlehem, this appeal seems out of place, because how can we await something that has already happened? Can I wait for, say, Julius Caesar or Napoleon? No, I can remember them and study their lives, but they have already come into the world and done what they did; I certainly do not have to await them. The coming of Jesus that we must await, then, is not the one represented in the Nativity scene, but the coming of the Last Judgment. Thus, the first coming at Bethlehem points toward the second. It is in view of the latter that the appeal to be ready is made, since sin continually threatens to make us settle for the things of this world and expect nothing extraordinary. This is why we celebrate Advent every year: we prepare for our encounter with Christ at the moment of our death and at the final moment of the Last Judgment, and we do so by celebrating with love and gratitude the Lord Jesus, who comes into the world by becoming a child in the womb of the Virgin Mary.