Reflection:
First Reading (Jer 33:14-16). The prophet assures the people that God will send the promised one, the Messiah.
Second Reading (1 Thess 3:12-4:2). Paul prays that the Lord may deepen the love the Thessalonians have for each other, and thus prepare them for the second coming of Christ.
Gospel (Lk 21:25-28, 34-36). In language borrowed from the Old Testament, Luke describes the second coming of Christ. Christians should prepare for it with confidence, vigilance and prayer.

Advent: The Lord invites us to ‘stay awake’ in a spirit of preparation, expectation and waiting. The word “advent,” from the Latin adventus, means the “coming” or “arrival.” The Advent Season of four weeks is focused on the “coming” of Jesus as Messiah, the Christ. Our Liturgy and prayer not only prepare us spiritually for Christmas, his first coming, but also for his eventual second coming. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes Advent this way: When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Saviour’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming. By celebrating the precursor’s birth and martyrdom (ie John the Baptist), the Church unites herself to his desire: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (CCC, 524).