Catholic Missal of the day: Thursday, December 14 2017
Thursday of the Second week of Advent
Thursday of the Second week of Advent
1. ReadingBook of Isaiah
41,13-20.]I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, "Fear not, I will help you."
]Fear not, O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel; I will help you, says the LORD; your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
]I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and double-edged, To thresh the mountains and crush them, to make the hills like chaff.
]When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off and the storm shall scatter them. But you shall rejoice in the LORD, and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
]The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain, their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
]I will open up rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the broad valleys; I will turn the desert into a marshland, and the dry ground into springs of water.
]I will plant in the desert the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive; I will set in the wasteland the cypress, together with the plane tree and the pine,
]That all may see and know, observe and understand, That the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Psalms
145(144),1.9.10-11.12-13ab.]I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
]The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
]Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
]Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
]Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
]Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
]and your dominion endures through all generations.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew
11,11-15.]Jesus said to the crowds: "Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
]From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force.
]All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John.
]And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come.
]Whoever has ears ought to hear."
St. John of the Cross(Doctor of the Church (1542-1591))
SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS Doctor of the Church (1542-1591) The father of St. John was disowned by his kin for marrying a poor orphan. Sr. John was raised amidst poverty, but possessed a rich interior world. He loved himself in obedience to Christ and transcended his disordered appetites. While pursuing his sacred studies, he became a servant of the poor in the hospital of Medina. At the age of 21, St. John petitioned to be a lay-brother of the Carmelite friars. After becoming a priest, he attempted to transfer to the Carthusian Order, but was persuaded to stay and reform the Carmelites by St. Teresa. Thus, St. John became the first prior of the Barefooted Carmelites. St. John's reforms were approved by the general, but rejected by the elder friars. They condemned him as an apostate and cast him into prison. He escaped after nine months' suffering at the risk of his life. Twice again, the friars shamefully persecuted and publicly disgraced St. John. However, his complete abandonment by creatures only deepened his interior peace and devout longing for heaven. St. John's works include "The Dark Night of the Soul," a spiritual classic. He intercedes before God: having proven his love in the darkest of nights for the King of Kings.
St. Nicasius(Bishop and Companions, Martyrs (5th century))
SAINT NICASIUS Archbishop and Companions Martyrs (5th century) In the fifth century, an army from Germania ravaged a part of Gaul and plundered the city of Rheims. St. Nicasius, the holy bishop, foretold the invasion. When St. Nicasius saw the enemy at the gates and in the streets, he went from door to door warning and encouraging other. While doing so, he exposed himself to the swords of the invaders, who harmed him and later beheaded him. Florens, his deacon, and Jocond, his lector, were martyred by his side. St. Nicasius' sister, Eutropia, a virtuous virgin, feared that she might be enslaved. She called upon God and was martyred together with her friends. Their sacrifices were not in vain: God grants the prayers of those who love Him until the end.
St. Venantius()
Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2017 / Catholic Missal of december 2017
Published: 2026-07-14T18:16:13Z | Modified: 2026-07-14T18:16:13Z