Second Week of Advent
Children’s Missal — December 8 2013
The prophet Isaiah was making a comparison between a branch that seemed withered and dead, and the hope of the people. When he referred to the appearance of a shoot that would give the tree life, he was referring to Jesus.
To have the spirit of fear of the Lord does not mean to be afraid of God. Rather, it signifies having a heart that is full of respect for the greatness of the Creator.
Hope is an attitude by which Christians live with the confidence that God will always support us. God made this promise in many ways, but especially when he sent us his son, Jesus Christ.
The patriarchs were the ancestors of the people of Israel. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were all known by this name. They received the promise that the people would become a great nation.
John the Baptist was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, who was a cousin of the Virgin Mary. He was known as “the precursor” because he preached that the Messiah was about to arrive. He was called John the Baptist because those who were converted by his preaching were baptized in order to prepare themselves for the coming of the Saviour.
The Pharisees and the Sadducees were people who belonged to two Jewish religious sects. Pharisees were very strict and believed religion consisted in obeying the rules, forgetting that love is the greatest rule. The Sadducees believed themselves to be better than others, and did not believe in the resurrection.
When another person was recognized as being much more important than you, then you were not worthy to carry his sandals. That is because untying and carrying the sandals of a visitor was a job that slaves carried out.
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