Catholic Daily Mass Reading, 9th December 2022
FIRST READING
“O that you had listened to my commandments!”
A reading from the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 48:17-19)
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. O that you had listened to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea; your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me.”
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM (Psalm 1:1-2.3.4 and 6 (R. see John 8: 12)
R/. He who follows you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Blessed indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the path with sinners,
nor abides in the company of scorers,
but whose delight is the law of the LORD,
and who ponders his law day and night. R/.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper. R/.
R/. He who follows you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they, like winnowed chaff,
shall be driven away by the wind.
For the Lord knows the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked will perish. R/.
ALLELUIA
Alleluia. Alleluia The Lord is coming, run out to meet him; he is the prince of peace
Alleluia.
GOSPEL
They listened neither to John nor to the Son of man.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Matthew 11:16-19)
At that time: Jesus said to the crowds, “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates, ‘We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
TODAY’S REFLECTION
In the first reading those who fail to live in the way of the Lord are blamed. Their painful situation is due to the fact that they have abandoned the way of the Lord. The second reading exposes further the fate of those who fail to follow the Lord. They are always complaining, no matter what. At the end however, wisdom, which is the fear of the Lord, will vindicate the innocent. Lesson: stop complaining. Face reality and face your own existential situation, always trusting in the Lord.
Lord, grant that our thoughts, words and actions will always testify to the fact that the only way to be happy is to trust and obey.
TODAY’S SAINT
ST JUAN DIEGO CUAUHTLATOATZIN: Juan Diego (1474-1548) was an Amerindian convert who lived in Mexico. The Virgin Mary appeared to him and he received the miraculous image of Our Lady on his tilma (cloak). He showed great courage in going to the local bishop and to present Mary’s request for a church to be built in today’s Guadalupe. After it was built, he lived nearby and took care of the grounds, received the many pilgrims who were coming to the shrine and dedicated himself to prayer and works of service.
PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. … Deuteronomy 28:1-68
– Our Father, I come to you as your child; please save me from all forms of attitude that makes me to pride about life.
– Guide me O Lord, with a humble and obedient spirit so that I will always seek you in simplicity of heart and mind in Jesus name.
Let Us Pray,
Dear Lord, I thank you for this day, I thank you for my being able to see and hear this morning. I am blessed because you are a forgiving and an understanding God.
You have done so much for me and kept on blessing me. Grant me the grace Father not to offend you or my neighbour today. When the enemy of my soul comes to seduce me to sin against you please help me to run to your Son Jesus.
Please keep me safe from all dangers and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of this day with a clear mind, so that I can hear from you. Please broaden my mind that I can accept all things. Let me not whine and whimper over things that I have no control over. Moreover, this is the best response when I am pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I cannot pray, you listen to my heart.
Continue to use me O Lord to do your will. Please Lord continue to use me that I may be a blessing to others especially those who are hurt and do not have any person to help them. Keep me strong that I may help the weak, keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others.
I pray Father for those that are lost and cannot find their way. I pray Father for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who do not know you intimately. God changes people and changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers, for each family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are not of debt and all their needs met, in Jesus name Amen. I pray that every human creature of yours would know that there is no circumstance, or situation greater than you O’ God. Every battle is in your hands for you to fight and so I will not be afraid.
O Lord I surrender my whole being to you today. Use me to glorify your name today in Jesus name. Amen.