December 3, 2025
Memorial of Saint Francis
Xavier, Priest
Lectionary: 177
Reading
1
On this mountain
the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples
A feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken.
On that day it will be said:
"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain.
Responsorial
Psalm
R. (6cd) I
shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Behold, the Lord comes to save his people;
blessed are those prepared to meet him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
At that time:
Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee,
went up on the mountain, and sat down there.
Great crowds came to him,
having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute,
and many others.
They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.
The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking,
the deformed made whole,
the lame walking,
and the blind able to see,
and they glorified the God of Israel.
Jesus summoned his disciples and said,
"My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way."
The disciples said to him,
"Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place
to satisfy such a crowd?"
Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"
"Seven," they replied, "and a few fish."
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish,
gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120325.cfm
Commentary on Isaiah
25:6-10
Both readings today are about the abundance that comes from
God. The theme of an eschatological banquet is common in early Jewish and early
Christian literature. In Matthew’s Gospel, after healing the centurion’s
servant, Jesus says:
I tell you, many will come from east and west and will
take their places at the banquet with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the
kingdom of heaven… (Matt 8:11-12)
And again, in Matthew (22:1-14) and in Luke (14:16-24),
Jesus tells the parable of the banquet to which those invited made excuses not
to come.
As in the Gospel parables, in our First Reading from Isaiah,
there is a universal tone to the words:
The Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,
of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.
It is not just for God’s people. People from all nations
will pour in to join this immense banquet with the Lord. God calls every single
person to experience his love and share his eternal presence.
It is not surprising that this image should be used as a
vision of the future life. It was used by peoples who all too often experienced
hunger and thirst brought on by drought, floods and poverty. A future life
beyond death was easily conceived as an unending banquet at a table groaning
with rich food and the finest drinks, things which in this life only the tiny
minority of the rich could enjoy. Today’s Gospel about the feeding of the 4,000
in the desert confirms what the prophet is foretelling.
At the same time, the Lord will put an end to death,
symbolised by the shroud that envelops the peoples and the sheet covering the
nations. In fact, “Death has been swallowed up in victory”, a phrase quoted by
Paul (1 Cor 15:54).
Later, in the Book of Revelation we read in the hymn to
those who have sacrificed their lives for the gospel that:
God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (Rev
7:17)
And again in Revelation:
He will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more. (Rev 21:4)
In the Third Eucharistic Prayer, when we pray for the dead,
we also say:
There we hope to share in your glory when every tear will
be wiped away.
Then, about Mount Zion on which the Temple of Jerusalem was
built, the prophet says:
For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.
With the coming of God (remember we are in Advent and Jesus
is on the way), there comes comfort in all our sorrows—”Every tear will be
wiped away”. This is what salvation means—the fulfilling of all our needs:
spiritual, emotional, social and physical. What is promised in Isaiah will
become a reality in Jesus.
In our world today we live with abundant food production
that serves us even with our population growth. Yet, there is hunger,
malnutrition and other unmet needs. We, God’s stewards, are failing in our task
of distribution. It is certainly not the fault of God that our brothers and
sisters go hungry—it is ours.
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Commentary on
Matthew 15:29-37
In today’s Gospel, full of trust and confidence, people
bring the disabled, the blind, those unable to speak and those unable to hear.
Jesus healed them all and the crowds were amazed. There then comes a scene
which is a kind of parable of what Jesus stands for: the compassion of God and
his desire that the needs of all be supplied. The people have been with him for
three days and are hungry. They must be fed. There’s not much to feed them
with—seven loaves of bread and a few fish. It is enough for Jesus. And again
and again people who have dedicated themselves to caring for the hungry and
homeless have found what they needed turning up on their doorstep.
At the end, seven (a perfect number) baskets are still left
uneaten. All this symbolises the care God takes of his people. And yet, is it
happening in many parts of the world today? There is a crucial element in
today’s Gospel we cannot overlook. It was not Jesus, but his disciples who
distributed the food. In our world there is an abundance. Food production
outpaces population growth. If there is hunger, malnutrition and other unmet
needs, it is because we, God’s stewards, are failing in our task of
distribution. If there is hunger and suffering and death, it is not the work of
God—it is our failure to work.
Christmas is a time of giving. We could ask ourselves: To
whom are we giving? With whom are we sharing what we have or can afford to buy?
Perhaps we could widen the circle this Christmas with gifts that mean life or
death for the receivers. Beneficiaries who will never know who their
benefactors are, and who will not be able to give anything back. Did Jesus not
say something about giving so quietly that the left hand will not know what the
right hand is doing?
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/a1014g/
Wednesday,
December 3, 2025
1st Week of
Advent
Opening Prayer
God of all people,
You know how people hunger and thirst for truth, love and
acceptance. If we accept You and believe in You we see our deepest trust and
aspirations being fulfilled by You as we work for the coming of Your kingdom.
Help us to let the cup that You pour for us overflow on all Your people, that
all may praise You now and for ever.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 15: 29-37
Jesus went on from there and reached the shores of the Lake of
Galilee, and
He went up onto the mountain. He took His seat, and large
crowds came to Him bringing the lame, the crippled, the blind, the dumb and
many others; these they put down at His feet, and He cured them. The crowds
were astonished to see the dumb speaking, the cripples whole again, the lame
walking and the blind with their sight, and they praised the God of
Israel. But Jesus called His disciples
to Him and said, “I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with Me for
three days now and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them off hungry,
or they might collapse on the way.” The disciples said to Him, “Where in a
deserted place could we get sufficient bread for such a large crowd to have
enough to eat?” Jesus said to them, “How many loaves have you?” They said,
“Seven, and a few small fish.” Then He instructed the crowd to sit down on the
ground, and He took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks He
broke them and began handing them to the disciples, who gave them to the
crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected what was left
of the scraps, seven baskets full.
Reflection
Today’s Gospel is like the
rising sun. It is always the same sun every day which renews life and renders
plants fertile. The greatest danger is routine. Routine kills the Gospel and
extinguishes the sun of life.
•
The elements which form the picture of the
Gospel are always the same: Jesus, the mountain, the sea, the crowds, the sick,
the needy, the problems of life. However, despite their familiarity they, like
the sun, bring a life-giving message.
•
Like Moses, Jesus goes up to the mountain and
the people gather around Him. They bring their problems with them: sickness,
blindness, deafness, etc. They are the new People of God who gather around the
new Moses.
Jesus cures all of them.
•
Jesus calls the disciples. He has compassion for
the people who have nothing to eat . According to the disciples, the solution
must come from outside: “Where to find bread to feed so many people?” According
to Jesus, the solution must come from the people through His help: “How many
loaves have you?” They answer “seven and a few small fish.” With these few
loaves of bread and fish, Jesus satisfies the hunger of all, and there are even
some left over. If today people would share what they have, there would be no
hunger in the world. Many things would be left over! Truly, another world is
possible!
•
The account of the multiplication of the loaves
foretells the Eucharist : “Jesus, took the bread in His hands, gave thanks,
broke it and gave it to His disciples.”
Personal Questions
•
Jesus feels compassion. Is there compassion in
me when facing the problems of humanity? Do I do something about it?
•
The disciples expect the solution to come from
outside. Jesus shows differently. Where do I look for solutions?
•
Is every day routine for me, or do I thank God
for another day and creatively seek to do His will?
Concluding Prayer
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures
He gives me repose. (Ps 23)
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