Response Reading: 117. Advent Sunday (3)
PRES: The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus.
CONG: it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. the glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; 
PRES: they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God
CONG: Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;
PRES: say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come,
CONG: he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.
PRES: Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped
CONG: Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy
PRES: Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert
CONG: The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs
PRES: In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
CONG: And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness.
PRES: The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walks in that Way.