A desert road at first light, a pillar of golden light rising from the mesa.

Sunday, December 6, 2026

Second Sunday of Advent

The liturgical day

Second Sunday of Advent

  • Advent
  • Liturgical color: Violet

The Mass readings

First reading
Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14
Second reading
2 Peter 3:8-14
Gospel
Mark 1:1-8

Read today's Mass readings on the USCCB site

The readings open on the USCCB website. They follow the Lectionary for Mass approved for the United States, a different translation from the Douay-Rheims we use on this site. Desert Road Catholic is not affiliated with the USCCB.

First reading: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

Douay-Rheims: Isaias 40:1-5, 9-11

1Be comforted, be comforted, my people, saith your God. 2Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her: for her evil is come to an end, her iniquity is forgiven: she hath received of the hand of the Lord double for all her sins. 3The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God. 4Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways plain. 5And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see, that the mouth of the Lord hath spoken.

9Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion: lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem: lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God: 10Behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule: Behold his reward is with him and his work is before him. 11He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14

Douay-Rheims: Psalm 84:9-14 (Psalm 85 at Mass)

9I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me: for he will speak peace unto his people: And unto his saints: and unto them that are converted to the heart. 10Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him: that glory may dwell in our land. 11Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed. 12Truth is sprung out of the earth: and justice hath looked down from heaven. 13For the Lord will give goodness: and our earth shall yield her fruit. 14Justice shall walk before him: and shall set his steps in the way.

Second reading: 2 Peter 3:8-14

Douay-Rheims: 2 Peter 3:8-14

8But of this one thing be not ignorant, my beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9The Lord delayeth not his promise, as some imagine, but dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance. 10But the day of the Lord shall come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and the elements shall be melted with heat, and the earth and the works which are in it, shall be burnt up. 11Seeing then that all these things are to be dissolved, what manner of people ought you to be in holy conversation and godliness? 12Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of the Lord, by which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with the burning heat? 13But we look for new heavens and a new earth according to his promises, in which justice dwelleth. 14Wherefore, dearly beloved, waiting for these things, be diligent that you may be found before him unspotted and blameless in peace.

Gospel: Mark 1:1-8

Douay-Rheims: Mark 1:1-8

1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2As it is written in Isaias the prophet: Behold I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare the way before thee. 3A voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. 4John was in the desert baptizing, and preaching the baptism of penance, unto remission of sins. 5And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all they of Jerusalem, and were baptized by him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. 6And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7And he preached, saying: There cometh after me one mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. 8I have baptized you with water; but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

The same passages in the Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), the translation we use on this site. The words read at Mass come from the Lectionary for Mass and differ. Where a reading begins or ends partway through a verse, the whole verse is shown. For the official text, open the readings on the USCCB site.

December 2026

December 2026
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
1, Tuesday of the first week of Advent, liturgical color violet2, Wednesday of the first week of Advent, liturgical color violet3, Saint Francis Xavier, Priest, liturgical color white4, Friday of the first week of Advent, liturgical color violet5, Saturday of the first week of Advent, liturgical color violet
6, Second Sunday of Advent, liturgical color violet, this page7, Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, liturgical color white8, The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patroness of the USA, liturgical color white, Holy day of obligation (also a solemnity)9, Wednesday of the second week of Advent, liturgical color violet10, Thursday of the second week of Advent, liturgical color violet11, Friday of the second week of Advent, liturgical color violet12, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, liturgical color white
13, Third Sunday of Advent, liturgical color rose or violet14, Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church, liturgical color white15, Tuesday of the third week of Advent, liturgical color violet16, Wednesday of the third week of Advent, liturgical color violet17, December 17, liturgical color violet18, December 18, liturgical color violet19, December 19, liturgical color violet
20, Fourth Sunday of Advent, liturgical color violet21, December 21, liturgical color violet22, December 22, liturgical color violet23, December 23, liturgical color violet24, December 24, liturgical color violet25, The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas), liturgical color white, Holy day of obligation (also a solemnity)26, Saint Stephen, the First Martyr, liturgical color red
27, The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, liturgical color white28, The Holy Innocents, Martyrs, liturgical color red29, Fifth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord, liturgical color white30, Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord, liturgical color white31, Seventh Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord, liturgical color white

Key

  • Violet
  • White
  • Rose
  • Red
  • ObligHoly day of obligation (also a solemnity)

The dot shows the liturgical color of the day. Fridays outside Lent carry no marker.

A word for the day

It is better to be unknown and take heed to oneself than to neglect oneself and work wonders.

The Rosary today

The Glorious Mysteries, prayed on Wednesday and Sunday.

Keep this day

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This calendar follows the General Roman Calendar for the United States. Some feasts are kept on other days in some provinces and dioceses, so check your parish calendar.

Calendar computed with romcal (MIT License). Reading citations from the Catholic Readings API (MIT License), with gaps checked against the USCCB pages. Douay-Rheims text courtesy of eBible.org.