Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection December 10, 2024
Second Week of Advent
10th December 2024 (Tuesday)
Psalter: Week 2
Readings of the Day
First Reading: Isaiah 40:1-11
Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins. A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; The rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. A voice says, “Cry out!” I answer, “What shall I cry out?” “All flesh is grass, and all their glory like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it. So then, the people is the grass. Though the grass withers and the flower wilts, the word of our God stands forever.” Go up onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; Cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! Here comes with power the Lord GOD, who rules by his strong arm; Here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, Carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.
Psalm 96:1-2, 3 and 10ac, 11-12, 13 (R. see Isaiah 40:10ab)
R/. The Lord our God comes with power.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. The day of the Lord is near; behold, he comes to save us.
R/. Alleluia.
Gospel: Matthew 18:12-14
Jesus said to his disciples: “What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Tuesday – Second Week of Advent
Guidelines: The mercy and forgiveness of God are unimaginable and incomparable. He never condemns us mercilessly. He waits for our return endlessly
1. The world of today is more and more steeped in negativity and unforgiveness. This leads to retaliation and violence. Sadly, this human spirit of hostility, condemnation, and destruction is projected on God also. Consequently, people can easily condemn and destroy others, all in the name of God as if they obtained a licence from God.
2. This is clearly a distorted image of God and a falsified way of religion. In such a context, the word of God presents a refreshing and empowering image of God. Our God is not a God who condemns and punishes. He is not a God who forsakes the strayed to their fate. He never takes delight in the destruction of even the greatest sinner.
3. He pardons the iniquities of the strayed. He is the true shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep. He finds it and rejoins it to his fold. He is totally faithful to his Father’s will that wills no one to perish. He will tend the sheep tenderly and intimately.
4. Jesus is the perfect embodiment and fulfillment of this image of God. He came to seek and restore the lost. He came to give personally the taste of the abundant tenderness and mercy of God.
5. He appeals to us to repent and return. He assures us that God is patiently waiting to re-embrace us. He wants to forgive us, heal us and renew our lost dignity and joy. For he is the shepherd who carries us in his bosom and gently leads.
6. In response to such a merciful God, what is our duty? First, confide deeply in this abiding mercy and tenderness of God. Develop a personal intimacy with him. Change the perspective from fear and dry duty to love and joyful loyalty. Realise the transience of human life and the earthly things: “All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower”.
Practice: The greatest call for each one of us is, “Prepare the way of the Lord” in the wilderness of the world. Make straight what is crooked, and level what is uneven. Live a changed life!
