Responsorial Psalm
Would that I hear God's proclamation,
that he promise peace to his people,
his saints - lest they come back to their folly.
Yet his salvation is near to those who fear him,
and his Glory will dwell in our land.
Love and faithfulness have met;
righteousness and peace have embraced.
Faithfulness will reach up from the earth
while justice bends down from heaven.
The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its fruit.
Justice will go before him,
and peace will follow along his path.
2nd. READING (2P 3,8-14)
Do not forget, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a
thousand years is like one day. The Lord does not delay in fulfilling his promise,
though some speak of delay; rather he gives you time because he does not want
anyone to perish, but that all may come to conversion. The Day of the Lord is to come
like a thief. Then the heavens will dissolve with a great noise; the elements will melt
away by fire, and the earth with all that is on it will be burned up. Since all things are
to vanish, how holy and religious your way of life must be, as you wait for the Day of
God and long for its coming, when the heavens will dissolve in fire and the elements
melt away in the heat. We wait for a new heaven and a new earth in which justice
reigns, according to God's promise. Therefore, beloved, as you wait in expectation of
this, strive that God may find you rooted in peace, without blemish or fault.
Gospel
This is the beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in
the book of Isaiah, the prophet, "I am sending my messenger ahead of you to prepare
your way. Let the people hear the voice calling in the desert: Prepare the way of the
Lord, level his paths." So John began to baptise in the desert; he preached a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins. All Judea and all the people from the city of
Jerusalem went out to John to confess their sins and be baptized by him in the river
Jordan. John was clothed in camel's hair and wore a leather garment around his waist.
His food was locusts and honey. He preached to the people saying, "After me comes
one who is more powerful than I am; I have baptized you with water, but he will
baptize you in the Holy Spirit. As for me, I am not worthy to bend down and untie his
sandals."
