Once again in today’s first reading, we hear how God our Heavenly Father assures His people of their redemption. “Do not be afraid, I will help you.” “Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.” “I, the Lord, will answer You, I, the God of Israel, will not abandon you.”
The same promises are fulfilled today for us through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! And so, as we hear our Lord’s voice, let us listen and obey Him. Let us go out preparing the way of the Lord just as St John the Baptist, proclaiming that His Kingdom is at hand, let us repent of our sins and stand ready to greet Him when He comes again. Amen
Saint John of the Cross pray for us…
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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.
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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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