Mass Readings for December 14, 2023

Isaiah 41:13-20
Psalms 145:1,9-13
Matthew 11:11-15

Isaiah 41:13-20
(13) For I, Yahweh your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I will help you.’ (14) Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you,” says Yahweh, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. (15) Behold, I have made you into a new sharp threshing instrument with teeth. You will thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and will make the hills like chaff. (16) You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them. You will rejoice in Yahweh. You will glory in the Holy One of Israel. (17) The poor and needy seek water, and there is none. Their tongue fails for thirst. I, Yahweh, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. (18) I will open rivers on the bare heights, and springs in the middle of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. (19) I will put cedar, acacia, myrtle, and oil trees in the wilderness. I will set cypress trees, pine, and box trees together in the desert; (20) that they may see, know, consider, and understand together, that Yahweh’s hand has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Psalms 145:1,9-13
(1) I will exalt you, my God, the King. I will praise your name forever and ever. (9) Yahweh is good to all. His tender mercies are over all his works. (10) All your works will give thanks to you, Yahweh. Your saints will extol you. (11) They will speak of the glory of your kingdom, and talk about your power; (12) to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, the glory of the majesty of his kingdom. (13) Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Your dominion endures throughout all generations. Yahweh is faithful in all his words, and loving in all his deeds.

Matthew 11:11-15
(11) Most certainly I tell you, among those who are born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. (12) From the days of John the Baptizer until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. (13) For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. (14) If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, who is to come. (15) He who has ears to hear, let him hear.