First Week of Advent

Thursday of the First Week of Advent

Thursday, December 3, 2026

About today

Francis Xavier (1506–1552), companion of Ignatius Loyola, was sent to the East and died in sight of China. He baptized, preached, and wrote home with a missionary urgency that still startles. The Church keeps his memorial on 3 December, in Advent, as a man who could not stay home once he had been sent. Distance did not make the Gospel thinner. Ask today for a heart that will go, and for a Church that does not keep the Gospel as a private language.

Original – Prayer on Fire.

Scripture

Office of Readings

Isaiah 7:10–14

The Lord spoke further to Ahaz, saying: Ask for a sign for yourself from the Lord your God, from the depths below, even to the heights above. And Ahaz said, “I will not ask, for I will not tempt the Lord.” And he said: “Then listen, O house of David. Is it such a small thing for you to trouble men, that you must also trouble my God? For this reason, the Lord himself will grant to you a sign. Behold, a virgin will conceive, and she will give birth to a son, and his name will be called Immanuel.

Text: Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV) · Office of Readings

Today's Prayers

Reflect in journal

Journal notes stay private on your account. Sign in if you would like to keep a reflection here.