As well as being a season of prayerful expectation and anticipation of Christ’s second coming, it is also a time when we recall and celebrate the wonderful events of Jesus’ first coming.
In Year B, we read Mark’s Gospel – which contains no account of the birth of Christ. So on the 3rd Sunday of Advent we hear ‘a voice that cries in the wilderness‘, from John’s Gospel. On the 4th Sunday, we hear the Annunciation account from Luke’s Gospel.
As ever, the psalms provide a reliable sound track for our journey through Advent:
- 1st Sunday of Advent, Year B ~ “God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.” (Psalm 79)
- 2nd Sunday of Advent, Year B ~ “Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your saving help.” (Psalm 84)
- 3rd Sunday of Advent, Year B ~ “My soul rejoices in my God.” (Luke 1:46-50, 53-54)
- 4th Sunday of Advent, Year B ~ “I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.” (Psalm 88)
Following the pattern of the readings, the responsorial psalms in the first two Sunday’s of Advent capture our longing for the One who is to come. On the 3rd and 4th Sunday’s the mood changes as we rejoice in the nearness of our Emmanuel.
- Click here for Responsorial Psalms for Advent, Year A
- Click here for Responsorial Psalms for Advent, Year C
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