Weekly Mass Discussion Thread #68

!catholics !christians happy Fourth Sunday of Advent!

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First Reading

Thus says the LORD:

You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah

    too small to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

    one who is to be ruler in Israel;

whose origin is from of old,

    from ancient times.

Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time

    when she who is to give birth has borne,

and the rest of his kindred shall return

    to the children of Israel.

He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock

    by the strength of the LORD,

    in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;

and they shall remain, for now his greatness

    shall reach to the ends of the earth;

    he shall be peace.

-Micah 5:1-4a

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Responsorial Psalm

R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

O shepherd of Israel, hearken,

from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.

Rouse your power,

and come to save us.

R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Once again, O LORD of hosts,

look down from heaven, and see;

take care of this vine,

and protect what your right hand has planted

the son of man whom you yourself made strong.

R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

May your help be with the man of your right hand,

with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.

Then we will no more withdraw from you;

give us new life, and we will call upon your name.

R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

-Psalms 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

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Second Reading

Brothers and sisters:

When Christ came into the world, he said:

"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,

    but a body you prepared for me;

in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.

Then I said, 'As is written of me in the scroll,

behold, I come to do your will, O God.'"

First he says, "Sacrifices and offerings,

holocausts and sin offerings,

you neither desired nor delighted in."

These are offered according to the law.

Then he says, "Behold, I come to do your will."

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.

Hebrews 10:5-10

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Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.

May it be done to me according to your word.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

-Luke 1:38

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Gospel

Mary set out

and traveled to the hill country in haste

to a 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,

"Blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And 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.

Blessed are you who believed

that what was spoken to you by the Lord

would be fulfilled."

-Luke 1:39-45

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