Today’s Readings

On that day,A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,and from his roots a bud shall blossom.The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,A Spirit of counsel and of strength,a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.Not by appearance shall he judge,nor by hearsay shall he decide,But he shall judge the poor with justice,and decide aright for the land's afflicted.He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.Justice shall be the band around his waist,and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;The calf and the young lion shall browse together,with a little child to guide them.The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,together their young shall rest;the lion shall eat hay like the ox.The baby shall play by the cobra's den,and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair.There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,as water covers the sea.On that day,The root of Jesse,set up as a signal for the nations,The Gentiles shall seek out,for his dwelling shall be glorious.

R. (see 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.O God, with your judgment endow the king,and with your justice, the king's son;He shall govern your people with justiceand your afflicted ones with judgment. R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.Justice shall flower in his days,and profound peace, till the moon be no more.May he rule from sea to sea,and from the River to the ends of the earth.R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.He shall rescue the poor when he cries out,and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;the lives of the poor he shall save. R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.May his name be blessed forever;as long as the sun his name shall remain.In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.Behold, our Lord shall come with power;he will enlighten the eyes of his servants.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,"I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,for although you have hidden these thingsfrom the wise and the learnedyou have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father,and who the Father is except the Sonand anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."Turning to the disciples in private he said,"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you,many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,but did not see it,and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."

This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz,saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.In days to come,The mountain of the LORD's houseshall be established as the highest mountainand 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 plowsharesand 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!

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 footwithin 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 friendsI 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.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.Come and save us, LORD our God;Let your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

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 Jacobat the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven."

The days are coming, says the LORD,      when I will fulfill the promise      I made to the house of Israel and Judah. In those days, in that time,      I will raise up for David a just shoot ;      he shall do what is right and just in the land. In those days Judah shall be safe      and Jerusalem shall dwell secure;      this is what they shall call her:      “The LORD our justice.”

R. (1b)  To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;    teach me your paths, Guide me in your truth and teach me,    for you are God my savior,    and for you I wait all the day.  R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. Good and upright is the LORD;    thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice,    and teaches the humble his way.  R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy    toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees. The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,    and his covenant, for their instruction.  R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Brothers and sisters: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you,  so as to strengthen your hearts,  to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father  at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones.  Amen.

Finally, brothers and sisters,  we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that, as you received from us  how you should conduct yourselves to please God and as you are conducting yourselves you do so even more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

R. Alleluia, alleluia. Show us, Lord, your love; and grant us your salvation. R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to his disciples: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,  and on earth nations will be in dismay,  perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright  in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,  for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man  coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen,  stand erect and raise your heads  because your redemption is at hand.

“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy  from carousing and drunkenness  and the anxieties of daily life,  and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times  and pray that you have the strength  to escape the tribulations that are imminent  and to stand before the Son of Man.”