Reading 1 Is 10:5-7, 13b-16
Woe to Assyria! My rod in anger,
my staff in wrath.
Against an impious nation I send him,
and against a people under my wrath I order him
To seize plunder, carry off loot,
and tread them down like the mud of the streets.
But this is not what he intends,
nor does he have this in mind;
Rather, it is in his heart to destroy,
to make an end of nations not a few.
For he says:
“By my own power I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I am shrewd.
I have moved the boundaries of peoples,
their treasures I have pillaged,
and, like a giant, I have put down the enthroned.
My hand has seized like a nest
the riches of nations;
As one takes eggs left alone,
so I took in all the earth;
No one fluttered a wing,
or opened a mouth, or chirped!”
Will the axe boast against him who hews with it?
Will the saw exalt itself above him who wields it?
As if a rod could sway him who lifts it,
or a staff him who is not wood!
Therefore the Lord, the LORD of hosts,
will send among his fat ones leanness,
And instead of his glory there will be kindling
like the kindling of fire.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 94:5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 14-15
Your people, O LORD, they trample down,
your inheritance they afflict.
Widow and stranger they slay,
the fatherless they murder.
R. The Lord will not abandon his people.
And they say, “The LORD sees not;
the God of Jacob perceives not.”
Understand, you senseless ones among the people;
and, you fools, when will you be wise?
R. The Lord will not abandon his people.
Shall he who shaped the ear not hear?
or he who formed the eye not see?
Shall he who instructs nations not chastise,
he who teaches men knowledge?
R. The Lord will not abandon his people.
For the LORD will not cast off his people,
nor abandon his inheritance;
But judgment shall again be with justice,
and all the upright of heart shall follow it.
R. The Lord will not abandon his people.
Alleluia Mt 11:25
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mt 11:25-27
At that time Jesus exclaimed:“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you 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 the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
BATHED IN THE LIGHT
"Father, Lord of heaven and earth, to You I offer praise; for what You have hidden from the learned and the clever You have revealed to the merest children." –Matthew 11:25
The minds of little children are like sponges. They absorb and remember so much of what's going on around them. We Christians can be like little children in our receptivity to divine revelation. We can be sensitive to, and pregnant with, God's presence. The teachings of the Church can impact and change our lives. The words of the Bible can seem to almost jump off the pages.
We will be very receptive to divine revelation if we are like "the merest children," that is, if we are like infants in our awareness of our dependence on God (Mt 11:25). When we know that without the Lord we can do nothing (Jn 15:5), we will constantly ask Him for help. Also, we will be very thankful for His graces and blessings because we know we need them and He alone has given them. Moreover, if we are aware of our own utter dependence on God, we will realize that everyone else desperately needs the Lord, whether they know it or not. Therefore, in love we will share the Lord, our faith, and His blessings.
Are you constantly praying, thanking the Lord, and sharing His good news? If so, you are a "merest child" bathed in the light of divine revelation.
| PRAYER: | Father, Your words are spirit and life (Jn 6:63). |
| PROMISE: | "The Lord will not cast off His people, nor abandon His inheritance." –Ps 94:14 |
| PRAISE: | St. Henry is the patron of dukes, those rejected by religious orders, the childless and the handicapped. |
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