Our Sabbath Scripture Stories – First Sunday of Advent – Cycle B

Read or listen to this Sunday’s Mass readings here.

  • Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7
  • 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
  • Mark 13:33-37

The Pauline family woke up as usual on Sunday morning, had breakfast, and read out loud the Sabbath Scripture for the day from the Gospel of Mark.  As they were just finishing up the reading, the telephone rang through the house.

Dad got up to answer the phone.  He was talking very quietly to someone on the other end, saying, “Yes, I understand,” and “thank you very much for calling.”  He hung up the phone and just stood by the wall awhile.  Then Dad returned to the table and addressed his family.

“I have some sad news for all of you.  That was your Aunt Ellen calling to tell us Great-Grandma Pauline died in her sleep last night.”

The entire family felt numb.  “But Dad,” Mary Clare said, “we were over at Aunt Ellen’s just yesterday, and Great-Grandma looked fine!  How could this have happened?”

“Well, Mary, we just finished reading about this very thing in our Scripture for today.  No one knows the time or the hour that Jesus will call us home.  As believers of Jesus Christ, we should always be prepared for that call.  I know that it is hard to think about Great-Great-Grandma and not be sad.  I am sad too that she will no longer be with us here on Earth.  But Great-Grandma loved Jesus and we can pray that she is with Him now.  That is what she lived her entire life for.  I hope she is singing and dancing up a storm.”

“But Dad,” said Lucy, “she was 95!”

“She is rejoicing now, Lucy, and her age doesn’t matter.  But what we have to do now is get ready for Mass.  We have special prayers to say for Great-Grandma, and now we can ask her to intercede for us in a new and wonderful way.  Then we will all go over to Aunt Ellen’s to help make arrangements for Great-Grandma’s funeral.”

The family quietly stood up and started to get ready.

Lucy stopped and turned to everyone.  “Dad, I am really going to miss Great-Grandma,” she said with tears in her eyes.  “When we go to Mass this morning, I am going to pray and ask Jesus to make me as holy as Great-Grandma was.  I want to be at the very same dance she is at some day!”

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B – 1 AdventDownload

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