December 9, 2021

Readings for the Optional Memorial of Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin

Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

Lectionary: 184

Reading I

Is 41:13-20

I am the LORD, your God,
    who grasp your right hand;
It is I who say to you, “Fear not,
    I will help you.”
Fear not, O worm Jacob,
    O maggot Israel;
I will help you, says the LORD;
    your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
I will make of you a threshing sledge,
    sharp, new, and double-edged,
To thresh the mountains and crush them,
    to make the hills like chaff.
When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off
    and the storm shall scatter them.
But you shall rejoice in the LORD,
    and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain,
    their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the LORD, will answer them;
    I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will open up rivers on the bare heights,
    and fountains in the broad valleys;
I will turn the desert into a marshland,
    and the dry ground into springs of water.
I will plant in the desert the cedar,
    acacia, myrtle, and olive;
I will set in the wasteland the cypress,
    together with the plane tree and the pine,
That all may see and know,
    observe and understand,
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
    the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Responsorial Psalm

145:1 and 9, 10-11, 12-13ab

1.  (8)  The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.
   I will extol you, O my God and King,
       and I will bless your name forever and ever.
   The LORD is good to all
       and compassionate toward all his works.
   R.    The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.
   Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
       and let your faithful ones bless you.
   Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
       and speak of your might.
   R.    The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.
   Let them make known to men your might
       and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
   Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
       and your dominion endures through all generations.
   R.    The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.

Alleluia

See Is 45:8

1. Alleluia, alleluia.
   Let the clouds rain down the Just One,
   and the earth bring forth a Savior.
   R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mt 11:11-15

Jesus said to the crowds:
“Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 
From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent are taking it by force. 
All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. 
And if you are willing to accept it,
he is Elijah, the one who is to come. 
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Reflection: THE GIFT OF FAITH

John the Baptist was no doubt a great prophet. He was the bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament. He had the singular grace of being the precursor to the Lord. Like Mary who was chosen by God to be the Mother of our Saviour, God chose John to be His forerunner. John stood for truth and was willing to pay the ultimate price for it. Jesus' affirmation about the least in the kingdom of God, does not in any way belittle John the Baptist's greatness, but affirms the dignity of every Christian. We have been saved by Jesus and we are expected to live as his disciples. The world is full of falsity, post-truth and injustice. Like John, we have to be fearless in standing up for truth and justice.