FIRST READING
“The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.”
A reading from the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah11:1-10)
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 Psalm72:1-2.7-8.12-13-17 (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/.
R/. In his days shall justice flourish, and great peace forever.
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
Alleluia. Alleluia. Behold, our Lord will come with power, and enlighten the eyes of his servants. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
“Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 10:2 1-24)
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 REFLECTION
As we begin this new month, the prophet Isaiah has an encouraging message for us, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots” (Isa 11:1). A stump is the last part of the tree that is left on the ground when the main tree has been cut down. Normally, it is expected that it should die off but a shoot rather grows from it.
Can you see? From any seemingly hopeless situation you may find yourself, God is going to lift you up and make you stand out as a sign of his glory to the nations (cf Isa 11:10). Only try and dispose yourself for that by upholding justice in your little way and living in peace with others, and it shall be well with you.