Gospel (Mk 1,1-8) - Beginning of the gospel of Jesus, Christ, Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah: «Behold, before you I send my messenger: he will prepare your way. Voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths", there was John, who baptized in the desert and proclaimed a baptism of conversion for the forgiveness of sins. The whole region of Judea and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem flocked to him. And they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. John was dressed in camel hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. And he proclaimed: «The one who is stronger than me comes after me: I am not worthy to stoop down to untie the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

«Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus, Christ, Son of God». They are the first words of the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel that will accompany us throughout this liturgical year. It is the smallest of the Gospels and almost certainly the first to have been written. Scholars tell us that it arrived in Rome very soon and from there it immediately spread throughout the entire territory of the Roman Empire. It was the first "good news of Jesus, Christ, Son of God", to have traveled the streets of the world of the time starting from Rome. As we know well, the word Gospel means "good news". And this news is announced to us even today, while our time is marked by wars and conflicts, by injustice and violence, by abandonment and cruelty which are especially visited upon the poorest. The place of this first announcement is the desert. We could compare today's evangelical passage to the Baptist who speaks in the desert and who warns us to prepare to welcome Jesus. As in the time of the exile of the Jewish people, the prophet Isaiah warned the people that God was returning to free them, so today the Gospel tells us warns that Jesus is about to come. John, who dressed in camel hair, who did not live in luxury and who did not live in the palaces of power, is just a "voice" speaking in the desert. Thus the Gospel is just a "word" that speaks in the desert of this world and calls everyone to prepare the way for Jesus who is about to be born among us. The sobriety of the Gospel, its simple language, however, has the strength to undermine any closure. The Gospel of this Advent season is in a hurry for hearts to open and welcome the Lord. His word fills the voids of hearts, smooths out the mountains of selfishness that crush one another, breaks down the walls that separate, tears out the bitter roots that poison relationships, straightens the distorted paths of hatred, slander, envy , of indifference, of pride. The evangelist Mark, speaking of John and his preaching, notes: "The whole region of Judea and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem flocked to him" to be baptized, each confessing their sins. The announcement of the Gospel becomes an opportunity to rally around the Baptist and his preaching. When the Holy Scriptures are opened and the Word of God is announced and preached, in that moment the path of the Lord opens; Blessed are we if we know how to welcome it and follow it because it will certainly lead us to meet the Lord who comes.