FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 11:1-10)
“The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.”
On that day: There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little Child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall feed; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The sucking child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious.
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM (Psalm 72:1-2.7-8.12-13.17(R.7)
R. In his days shall justice flourish, and great peace forever.
O God, give your judgement to the king,
to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in justice,
and your poor in right judgement. R
In his days shall justice flourish,
and great peace till the moon is no more.
He shall rule from sea to sea,
from the River to the bounds of the earth. R
For he shall save the needy when they cry,
the poor, and those who ate helpless.
He will have pity on the weak and the needy,
and save the lives of the needy. R
May his name endure forever,
his name continue like the sun.
Every tribe shall be blest in him,
all nations shall call him blessed. R
ALLELUIA (Psalm 80:3b-4)
Alleluia. Alleluia. Behold, our Lord will come with power,
and enlighten the eyes of his servants.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 10:21-24)
“Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit”
At that hour: Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Today’s Reflections
The mind of little ones is admirable! It is so innocent and spontaneous. A child can grab a snake as well as play with a lion. The first reading depicts that ideal situation: of all creatures of varied characteristics living together as one family with no disharmony or discord. This is how the home of God is. Any soul that has found the Lord can live in peace with anyone, anywhere. This why, in the Gospel, Jesus thanks his father for revealing good things to little children and hiding them from the learned and the wise.
Lord, grant us the innocent and pure heart of a child, for the beatitudes teach us that such are the ones who will see God!