The Bethlehem Candle — calls to mind Mary’s and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem

Readings

Is 40:1-5, 9-11

Ps 85:9-14

2 PT 3:8-14

Mk 1:1-8

Begins: Dec. 10, 2017

Theme: Promise, prophecy and return

Details: God kept the first promise that He would send a Savior, so the faithful should trust Him to keep the second promise that He will come again and take the holy ones to be with Him for eternity. Advent marks a time of preparation through repentance, but also a time of joy for what awaits.

Like the tap of a dinner glass at a crowed banquet, Advent “comes to us with a cry of the prophets over the noise of people with their own agendas and concerns,” Fr. Herb Weber, a priest in Ohio wrote for Catholic News Service. “Isaiah reminds the people of Israel that their time of service is at an end and their guilt expiated. This is followed by the promise that the glory of the Lord is to be revealed.”

The priest went on to suggest that the world needs modern-day prophets like Isaiah “who continue to declare hope during bleak times.” They, like Pope Francis, remind people that God has not forgotten them.