09
December
St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin
(1474 – 1548)
Violet / White
He was born in 1474 in Mexico. As an adult he embraced Christianity and he and his wife were baptized. In 1531 the Mother of God appeared to him. Through the purity of his faith, his humility and his fervour, a church was built, in honour of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He devoted himself to the care of the sanctuary and the reception of pilgrims until his death in 1548.
Entrance Antiphon : Ps 118: 151-152
You, O Lord, are close, and all your ways are truth. From of old I have known of your decrees, for you are eternal.
Collect
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the paths of your Only Begotten Son, that through his coming, we may be found worthy to serve you with minds made pure. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Isaiah 41:13-20
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.
Psalm 144(145):1,9-13a
R/ The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love.
1. I will give you glory, O God my king, I will bless your name forever. How good is the Lord to all, compassionate to all his creatures.
2. All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and your friends shall repeat their blessing. They shall speak of the glory of your reign and declare your might, O God, to make known to men your mighty deeds and the glorious splendour of your reign.
3. Yours is an everlasting kingdom; your rule lasts from age to age.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! Come, Lord, with your peace that we may rejoice in your presence with sincerity of heart. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 11:11-15
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!’
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, we pray, O Lord, these offerings we make, gathered from among your gifts to us, and may what you grant us to celebrate devoutly here below gain for us the prize of eternal redemption. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ti 2: 12-13
Let us live justly and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of the glory of our great God.
Prayer after Communion
May these mysteries, O Lord,in which we have participated,profit us, we pray,for even now, as we walk amid passing things,you teach us by themto love the things of heavenand hold fast to what endures.Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Jesus presents John the Baptist to his followers. In so doing, he cites Elijah, one of the Old Testament Prophets. By designating John the Baptist as Elijah, Jesus presents himself as the expected Messiah. Elijah, in fact, lifted up to heaven in a chariot of fire, was to return and thus precede the coming of the Messiah. John the Baptist led an austere life in the desert and preached repentance with fervour in preparation for the coming of the Lord. Despite his ruggedness, his attention was focused, like Elijah who was able to recognise God’s presence in “the sound of a gentle breeze” (1Kg19:12). John the Baptist recognised the expected Messiah in a man who had come among a crowd of sinners to receive the baptism in the Jordan River. May we, like John the Baptist and Elijah, recognise and welcome the small signs of God’s presence in our lives!