November 29
Monday of the First Week of Advent
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intention
7:45 AM – Mary Dougherty / Altar Rosary Society
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Readings
First Reading
Isaiah 2:1-5
This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come, The mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it; many peoples shall come and say: “Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.
O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 122:1-2, 3-4b, 4cd-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love you prosper!
May peace be within your walls,
prosperity in your buildings.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Because of my relatives and friends
I will say, “Peace be within you!"
Because of the house of the LORD, our God,
I will pray for your good.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
See Psalms 80:4
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come and save us, LORD our God;
let your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Matthew 8:5-11
When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”
He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”
The centurion said in reply,
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes;
and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes;
and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
“Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”
“Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.”
Reflection
A great template for our Advent season right in our first reading!
“Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
That he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths.”
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
Think about it…climbing a mountain—such a place of encounter with God all throughout Scripture. I wonder why? Is it the need for some worthwhile journey to get us there? Whatever it is, there is an important implication here. We encounter the Lord on the mountain, not just for our own enjoyment, but rather the reality that there is a particular path that belongs to Him. The encounter is specifically something formative—it changes us. From Zion, aka from US shall go forth instruction [to the other nations, to the world around us, to our family members, coworkers, friends, strangers!] Our encountering the Lord is not simply for our own benefit but it is especially for the benefit of others! This is not all that unlike the faith of the Centurion in the Gospel today…he would’ve been an ‘outsider’ remember. Someone must have witnessed to him about the power going forth from this man, Jesus, and he believed! May all those we encounter this day be lifted up and pointed toward Jesus because of the witness and goodness of our faith! The faithful witness of our life, can be itself an ‘Advent’, a path…the preparation for the Lord to enter in and do the rest…powerfully encounter, and transform…
Peace,
Fr. Foley
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