Liturgical Readings for : Wednesday, 13th December, 2023
Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent
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Memorial of St Lucy, virgin and martyr,
We should never feel weary, loosing trust in the Lord. He has promised rest for the weary and overburdened
FIRST READING
A reading from the prophet Isaiah 40:25-31
The Lord almighty gives strength to the wearied.
‘To whom could you liken me and who could be my equal?‘ says the Holy One.
Lift your eyes and look. Who made these stars if not he who drills them like an army, calling each one by name?
So mighty is his power, so great his strength, that not one fails to answer.
How can you say, Jacob, how can you insist, Israel,
‘My destiny is hidden from the Lord, my rights are ignored by my God’?
Did you not know? Had you not heard?
The Lord is an everlasting God, he created the boundaries of the earth.
He does not grow tired or weary, his understanding is beyond fathoming.
He gives strength to the wearied, he strengthens the powerless.
Young men may grow tired and weary, youths may stumble,
but those who hope in the Lord renew their strength, they put out wings like eagles.
They run and do not grow weary, walk and never tire.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 102
Response My soul, give thanks to the Lord.
1. My soul, give thanks to the Lord, all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord and never forget all his blessings. Response
2. It is he who forgives all your guilt, who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave, who crowns you with love and compassion. Response
3. The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.
He does not treat us according to our sins nor repay us according to our faults. Response
Gospel Acclamation Ps 84:8
Alleluia, alleluia!
Behold our Lord will come with power and will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
Alleluia!
Or
Alleluia, alleluia!
Look the Lord will come to save his people. Blessed those ready to meet him.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 11:28-30 Glory to you, O Lord
Come to me, all you who labour.
Jesus exclaimed,
‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,
and I will give you rest.
Shoulder my yoke and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Wednesday, Second Week of Advent Matthew 11:28-30
We can all grow tired and weary, especially as we get older. We sense that our physical energy levels are not what they were. We may feel the need for a nap in the afternoon. According to the first reading, even ‘young men may grow tired and weary, youths may stumble’. The weariness in question there is not so much a physical weariness but a weariness of spirit. We can suffer from a weariness of spirit at any age. We struggle to get up and go, to invest ourselves in the task at hand, to give of ourselves to others. Physically we may be strong, but there is a lethargy about us. It is often part of the human condition. That first reading suggests it is not part of God’s condition, ‘He does not grow tired or weary’. The Lord is always actively engaged with us. He is always coming towards us. We pray the simple prayer during Advent, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’, a prayer that recognizes that the Lord is always on the way towards us. The Lord never retreats into himself in a kind of weariness of spirit. He is always fully alive, vibrant and dynamic. In the gospel reading, he invites us to come to him in our weariness of spirit and draw life from his presence to us, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest’. The word ‘rest’ suggests not so much inactivity but revival and renewal, as in one of the lines of the Psalm, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’, ‘Near restful waters he leads me to revive my drooping spirit’. Each day, in prayer, we can turn to the Lord in our weariness of spirit and open ourselves to his reviving presence. When we turn to the Lord in hopeful trust, the promise at the end of today’s first reading can come to pass for us, ‘those who hope in the Lord renew their strength; they put out wings like the eagles’.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd.
