During the holiday season, the Christian community observes a special time called Advent. It lasts for four Sundays and helps us prepare for celebrating Jesus’ birth and the promise of His return.
Advent represents a spiritual journey of hope, renewal, and change. Through prayer, reading the Bible, and worshipping together, we reconnect with the most important values of our faith: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.
In this article, we’ll guide you through the themes of the four Sundays of Advent, focusing on:
- Hope: Trusting in God’s promises
- Peace: Embracing reconciliation and harmony
- Joy: Celebrating salvation and love
- Love: Embodying Christ’s selfless love
You’ll also find prayers, Bible passages, and reflections to help you feel closer to God and your community during this special time.
1st Week of Advent
Hope Prayer: Almighty God, please give us the grace to trust in you with unwavering hope. As we start this Advent season, may our hearts be filled with hope from knowing your promises are true. Amen.
2nd Week of Advent
Peace Prayer: Prince of Peace, in a world filled with trouble, give us the calmness that only your peace can bring. Help us to bring reconciliation and harmony in our relationships and communities. Amen.
3rd Week of Advent
Joy Prayer: Heavenly Father, fill our hearts with joy from knowing your love. May we celebrate the good news of salvation and share that joy with others during this Advent season. Amen.
4th Week of Advent
Love Prayer: God of love, as we approach the celebration of the birth of your Son Jesus, help us to show the love that He brought into the world. Teach us to love one another as you have loved us. Amen.
Collect for Advent
First Sunday of Advent:
“Stir up your power, O Lord, and come to our help with mighty strength, that what our sins impede, the grace of your mercy may hasten. Through our Lord Jesus Christ…”
Second Sunday of Advent:
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the paths of your Only Begotten Son, that through His coming, we may be found worthy to serve You with minds made pure. Through our Lord Jesus Christ….
Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday):
Incline a merciful ear to our cry, we pray, O Lord, and, casting light on the darkness of our heart, visit us with the grace of Your Son. Who lives and reigns….
Fourth Sunday of Advent:
Stir up thy power and come, we pray Thee, O Lord, and with great might succor us; that by the help of Thy grace that which hindered by our sins may be hastened by Thy merciful forgiveness. Who lives and reigns….
General Prayer and Hymn
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel”
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appears.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
“Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”
Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
“Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending”
Lo, He comes with clouds descending,
Once for favored sinners slain;
Thousand, thousand saints attending
Swell the triumph of His train.
“The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns”
The King shall come when morning dawns,
And light the world with glory born;
The eastern hills shall hear His voice,
And nations shall His glory see.
General prayer:
“O Lord Jesus Christ, at your first coming you sent your messenger to prepare your way before you. Grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries may also prepare and make ready your way. Turn the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, so that at your second coming to judge the world, we may be found an acceptable people in your sight. You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”
Scripture Readings for the First Sunday
First Reading: Isaiah 2:1-5
The word that Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come,
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and shall be raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it;
many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may instruct us in his ways
and we may walk in his paths.”
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and 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.
Psalm: Psalm 122:1-9
I rejoice because they said to me,
“We will go to the house of the Lord.”
Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, built as a city,
walled round about.
There the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
a witness to Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
For there are the thrones of judgment,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love you prosper!
May peace be within your walls,
prosperity within your towers.
For the sake of my brothers and friends
I pray for your good!
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.
Second Reading: Romans 13:11-14
Besides this, you know what hour it is,
how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep.
For salvation is nearer to us now
than when we first believed;
the night is advanced,
the day is at hand.
Let us therefore throw off the works of darkness
and put on the armor of light;
let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day,
not in revelry and drunkenness,
not in debauchery and licentiousness,
not in quarreling and jealousy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision for the flesh,
to gratify its desires.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 24:37-44
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 that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came
and swept them all away.
So too will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out 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 of night
when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect,
the Son of Man will come.
Scripture Readings for the Second Sunday
First Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10
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.
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 the belt around 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.
Psalm: Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
O God, give your judgment to the king;
your justice to the king’s son.
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
Justice shall flourish in his time,
and fullness of peace forever.
He shall rescue the poor when they cry,
and the afflicted when they have no one to help.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun lasts may his name endure.
Second Reading: Romans 15:4-9
Whatever was written previously
was written for our instruction,
that by endurance and by the encouragement of the scriptures
we might have hope.
May the God of endurance and encouragement
grant you to think in harmony with one another,
in accord with Christ Jesus,
that with one accord you may with one voice
glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Welcome one another, then,
as Christ welcomed you,
for the glory of God.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 3:1-12
In those days John the Baptist appeared,
preaching in the desert of Judea.
“Repent,” he proclaimed,
“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.
Scripture Readings for the Third Sunday
First Reading: Isaiah 35:1-6, 10
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.”
He will come and save you.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 11:2-11
When John the Baptist heard in prison about the works of the Messiah,
he sent word by his disciples and asked him,
“Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”
Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:
the blind regain their sight, the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear,
the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”
As they were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John,
“What did you go out to the wilderness to see?
A reed swayed by the wind?
Then what did you go out to see?
Someone dressed in fine clothing?
Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.
Then why did you go out?
To see a prophet?
Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom it is written:
‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way before you.’
Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
Scripture Readings for the Fourth Sunday
First Reading: Micah 5:1-4
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah,
least among the clans of Judah,
from you for me one will go out
to be ruler over Israel;
his origins are from old,
from ancient times.
Thus the Lord will abandon them
until the time when she who is to give birth
has borne.
Then the rest of his brethren will return
to the children of Israel.
He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
They will live secure,
for now his greatness will reach
to the ends of the earth.
Psalm: Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
O Lord of hosts, restore us;
if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved.
Turn to us, O Lord of hosts;
look down from heaven and see.
Visit this vine and protect it,
the vine your right hand has planted.
May your hand be on the man
at your right hand, on the son of man
whom you made strong for yourself.
Then we will not withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
Second Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10
When Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me.
Holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight in.”
Then I said, “As is written of me
in the scroll of the book,
I have come to do your will, O God.”
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this “will,” we have been consecrated
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Gospel Reading: Luke 1:39-45
Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste
to the town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said:
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
How does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.”