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Message from the desk of the Pastor:

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Sunday, December 7, 2025

Gospel Reading 

Matthew 3:1-12

John the Baptist appears in Judea preaching a message of repentance.

Background on the Gospel Reading

In this week's Gospel Reading and next week's, our Advent preparation for Christmas invites us to consider John the Baptist and his relationship to Jesus. In this week's Gospel, Matthew describes the work and preaching of John the Baptist.

John the Baptist appears in the tradition of the great prophets of Israel, preaching repentance and reform to the people of Israel. In fact, the description of John found in this reading is reminiscent of the description of the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1:8). In this reading, John directs a particularly pointed call to repentance to the Pharisees and Sadducees, parties within the Jewish community of the first century.

John marks the conversion of those who seek him out with a baptism of    repentance. Other groups in this period are thought to have practiced ritual    washings for similar purposes, and John's baptism may have been related to the practices of the Essenes, a Jewish sect of the first century. John's baptism can be understood as an anticipation of Christian baptism. In this passage, John himself alludes to the difference between his baptism and the one yet to come: “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance . . . He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11).

In this reading, John makes very clear that his relationship to the Messiah yet to come (Jesus) is one of service and subservience: “. . . the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals” (Matthew 3:11). In the context of Matthew's Gospel, today's passage is followed by Jesus' baptism by    John, an event that is attested to in all four of the Gospels and appears to have    been the start of Jesus' public ministry.

John's preaching of the coming of the Lord is a key theme of the Advent season.      As John's message prepared the way for Jesus in the first century, we, too, are    called to prepare ourselves for Jesus' coming. We respond to John's message by    our repentance and reform of our lives. We are also called to be prophets of Christ, who announce by our lives, as John did, the coming of the Lord.

Family Connection

We do many things to get ourselves ready for our celebration of Christmas:      purchase gifts, prepare Christmas cards, decorate our homes. John's call of repentance in preparation for Jesus reminds us that our repentance is another        way in which we can prepare for the Lord's coming and our celebration of    Christmas. Parish communities often offer a communal celebration of the  Sacrament of Reconciliation during the Advent season. Your family might          choose to participate in the communal celebration of the sacrament, or you          might seek out the sacrament on an individual basis.

Read together today's Gospel. Talk about how John reminds the people that they prepare for the reign of God by reforming their lives. As a family, prepare a simple reconciliation service in preparation for Christmas such as the following: Gather in      a prayerful space, perhaps around your family Advent wreath. Read again today's Gospel: Matthew 3:1-3. Invite each family member to pray silently, asking God to forgive their sins. Pray together an Act of Contrition. Then celebrate God's forgiveness by sharing a Sign of Peace with each other.