Memory of the apostle Andrew

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

You are a chosen race
A royal priesthood, a holy nation
People chosen by God
To proclaim his wonders.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Isaiah 1, 21-26

The faithful city, what a harlot she has become! Zion, once full of fair judgement, where saving justice used to dwell, but now assassins!
Your silver has turned into dross, your wine is watered.
Your princes are rebels, accomplices of brigands. All of them greedy for presents and eager for bribes, they show no justice to the orphan, and the widow's cause never reaches them.
Hence, the Lord Yahweh Sabaoth, the Mighty One of Israel, says this, 'Disaster, I shall get the better of my enemies, I shall avenge myself on my foes.
'I shall turn my hand against you, I shall purge your dross as though with potash, I shall remove all your alloy.
'And I shall restore your judges as at first, your counsellors as in bygone days, after which you will be called City of Saving Justice, Faithful City.'

 

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

You will be holy
Because I am holy, thus says the Lord.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

How Jerusalem has changed! According to God�s plan, Jerusalem was meant to be the city of peace and justice, but instead it practices injustice and violence. And so, like a prostitute, it has betrayed the Lord�s love. Indeed, Jerusalem is no longer habitable. It has lost all its value, like silver that has become slag or wine that has turned into water. Only God�s forceful intervention can restore the city to its original state. In these prophetic words, we can see the many cities and countries of our world that have become sad because of war, violence, and injustice, like the Jerusalem of which the prophet is speaking. The bitter price is paid most of all by the poor and the weak, the widows and orphans mentioned by Isaiah. Nonetheless, God does not abandon Jerusalem to a life without meaning or future. He comes quickly to save the world, not to condemn it, but to renew its life and its heart. The season of Advent exists to give our lives a dimension of hope in a new future for the world. And so our prayer becomes more intense, more insistent, and more coherent: let us pray that the Lord Jesus, prince of peace, will come into our world.