Podcast: 1st Sunday of Advent, Year A

Hi and welcome to the beginning of Season 5 of the Modern Psalmist Podcast. I’m Rebecca De La Torre.

This weekend we are celebrating the beginning of a new liturgical year, cycle A, with the First Sunday of Advent.

O come, Emmanuel.

The entrance antiphon helps us prepare our hearts to worship the Lord at the beginning of mass. Taken from Psalm chapter 25 verses 1 through 3, we sing:

“To you, I lift up my soul, O my God.
In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame.
Nor let my enemies exult over me;
and let none who hope in you be put to shame.”

The readings for today continue to turn our minds to the Lord’s coming, and the new Jerusalem.

In the first reading from Isaiah chapter 2, the new Jerusalem is described as being established on Mt Zion, where all nations “shall stream toward it”. In verse 2 we read:

“Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths.”

and in verse 5:

“come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!”

The psalm for today from chapter 122 is appropriately chosen as the song the people of God will sing when entering the new Jerusalem, where Isaiah tells us:

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
one nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.”

This psalm is, interestingly, the same refrain as last Sunday – the Feast of Christ the King:

“Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.”

However, this version of the Psalm has two additional verses, making it a 5-verse psalm. (That’s the maximum verses we see for psalms in the Catholic liturgy.)

These additional verses emphasize the peace and prosperity in the new Jerusalem.

As we move to the Gospel reading for today, the gospel acclamation prepares our hearts to receive the word of God. Taken from Psalm chapter 85, verse 8, we sing:

“Show us Lord your love;
and grant us your salvation.”

The gospel itself is from Matthew chapter 24. Jesus is prophesying about the end of times, and how unexpectedly the Lord’s final coming will be. In verses 41 and 42 he tells us:

“Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”

Like the gospel acclamation, the communion antiphon for today is also from Psalm chapter 85. Verse 13 tells us:

“The Lord will bestow his bounty,
and our earth shall yield its increase.”

In the context of the Advent season, I interpret this antiphon as referring to the Christ child himself, and his coming being bestowed upon the world.

One old Advent hymn that I chose for my masses this weekend is set to the MORNING SONG tune by Elkanah Dare in the early 1800s. Titled “The King Shall Come”, the original English lyrics were composed by John Brownlie about 100 years later than the melody itself.

I find this hymn to be fitting with the readings for today that continually proclaim the Lord’s coming.

That was my recording of “The King Shall Come” with lyrics by John Brownlie and music by Elkanah Dare for the 1st Sunday of Advent, year A.

Check out the show notes for links to the recordings and sheet music of all the songs featured on today’s podcast.

I hope you have enjoyed the first episode of my Advent series. The Modern Psalmist is also sponsoring a bilingual Advent vespers each Tuesday evening of Advent in conjunction with Queen of Peace Parish in Mesa, AZ. You can find more information on TheModernPsalmist.com.

Here’s wishing you a beautiful beginning to your Advent season of prayer. God bless you!