In today’s first reading we can all take comfort in the promises of the Lord our God for His living Word is active today as it was for Israel then. We need not be afraid for He will take our hand and lead us out of the wilderness into His loving embrace.
Yet there are many and at this very time of the year, who are lost, drained of all hope and have no one to turn to. They do not yet know our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who can give them peace that the world cannot give. Hope, joy, love and life to the full! Can we not be Saint John the Baptist for them? To help prepare the way of the Lord into their hearts. To reconcile them with the Lord our God through repentance and forgiveness of heart.
For just at the Lord is our Shepherd, we must be shepherds after His heart for His flock. Amen
Saint Juan Diego pray for us…
First reading
Isaiah 41:13-20 ·
I, the Holy One of Israel, am your redeemer
I, the Lord, your God,
I am holding you by the right hand;
I tell you, ‘Do not be afraid,
I will help you.’
Do not be afraid, Jacob, poor worm,
Israel, puny mite.
I will help you – it is the Lord who speaks –
the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.
See, I turn you into a threshing-sled,
new, with doubled teeth;
you shall thresh and crush the mountains,
and turn the hills to chaff.
You shall winnow them and the wind will blow them away,
the gale will scatter them.
But you yourself will rejoice in the Lord,
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
The poor and needy ask for water, and there is none,
their tongue is parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, will answer them,
I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
I will make rivers well up on barren heights,
and fountains in the midst of valleys;
turn the wilderness into a lake,
and dry ground into waterspring.
In the wilderness I will put cedar trees,
acacias, myrtles, olives.
In the desert I will plant juniper,
plane tree and cypress side by side;
so that men may see and know,
may all observe and understand
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Gospel
Matthew 11:11-15
A greater than John the Baptist has never been seen
Jesus spoke to the crowds: ‘I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is. Since John the Baptist came, up to this present time, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and the violent are taking it by storm. Because it was towards John that all the prophecies of the prophets and of the Law were leading; and he, if you will believe me, is the Elijah who was to return. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen!’
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