Daily Catholic Mass Readings for December 7, 2025
First Reading: Isaiah 11.1-10
1And a rod will go forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower will ascend from his root2And the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety3And he will be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. He will not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears4Instead, he will judge the poor with justice, and he will reprove the meek of the earth with fairness. And he will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and he will slay the impious with the spirit of his lips5And justice will be the belt around his waist. And faith will be the warrior’s belt at his side6The wolf will dwell with the lamb; and the leopard will lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion and the sheep will abide together; and a little boy will drive them7The calf and the bear will feed together; their young ones will rest together. And the lion will eat straw like the ox8And a breastfeeding infant will play above the lair of the asp. And a child who has been weaned will thrust his hand into the den of the king snake9They will not harm, and they will not kill, on all my holy mountain. For the earth has been filled with the knowledge of the Lord, like the waters covering the sea10In that day, the root of Jesse, who stands as a sign among the people, the same the Gentiles shall beseech, and his sepulcher will be glorious
Psalm 72
1A Psalm according to Solomon2Give your judgment, O God, to the king, and your justice to the king’s son, to judge your people with justice and your poor with judgment3Let the mountains take up peace for the people, and the hills, justice4He will judge the poor of the people, and he will bring salvation to the sons of the poor. And he will humble the false accuser5And he will remain, with the sun and before the moon, from generation to generation6He will descend like rain upon fleece, and like showers showering upon the earth7In his days, justice will rise like the sun, with abundance of peace, until the moon is taken away8And he will rule from sea to sea and from the river to the limits of the whole world9In his sight, the Ethiopians will fall prostrate, and his enemies will lick the ground10The kings of Tarshish and the islands will offer gifts. The kings of Arabia and of Seba will bring gifts11And all the kings of the earth shall adore him. All nations will serve him12For he will free the poor from the powerful, and the poor one who has no helper13He will spare the poor and the indigent, and he will bring salvation to the souls of the poor14He will redeem their souls from usuries and from iniquity, and their names shall be honorable in his sight15And he will live, and to him will be given from the gold of Arabia, and by him they will always adore. They will bless him all day long16And there will be a firmament on earth, at the summits of mountains: its fruits will be extolled above Lebanon, and those of the city will flourish like the grass of the earth17May his name be blessed forever; may his name remain before the sun. And all the tribes of the earth will be blessed in him. All nations will magnify him18Blessed is the Lord, God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things19And blessed is the name of his majesty in eternity. And all the earth will be filled with his majesty. Amen. Amen20The praises of David, the son of Jesse, have reached an end
Second Reading: Romans 15.4-9
4For whatever was written, was written to teach us, so that, through patience and the consolation of the Scriptures, we might have hope5So may the God of patience and solace grant you to be of one mind toward one another, in accord with Jesus Christ6so that, together with one mouth, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ7For this reason, accept one another, just as Christ also has accepted you, in the honor of God8For I declare that Christ Jesus was the minister of circumcision because of the truth of God, so as to confirm the promises to the fathers9and that the Gentiles are to honor God because of his mercy, just as it was written: "Because of this, I will confess you among the Gentiles, O Lord, and I will sing to your name.
Gospel: Matthew 3.1-12
1Now in those days, John the Baptist arrived, preaching in the desert of Judea2and saying: "Repent. For the kingdom of heaven has drawn near.3For this is the one who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, saying: "A voice crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight his paths.4Now the same John had a garment made from the hair of camels, and a leather belt around his waist. And his food was locusts and wild honey5Then Jerusalem, and all Judea, and the entire region around the Jordan went out to him6And they were baptized by him in the Jordan, acknowledging their sins7Then, seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees arriving for his baptism, he said to them: "Progeny of vipers, who warned to you to flee from the approaching wrath8Therefore, produce fruit worthy of repentance9And do not choose to say within yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God has the power to raise up sons to Abraham from these stones10For even now the axe has been placed at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not produce good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire11Indeed, I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who will come after me is more powerful than me. I am not worthy to carry his shoes. He will baptize you with the fire of the Holy Spirit12His winnowing fan is in his hand. And he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. And he will gather his wheat into the barn. But the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.
Sermon
The ancient prophet Isaiah paints a vivid picture of a future king, a descendant of Jesse, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord will rest in its fullness. This Messiah will bring forth justice for the poor and meek, and establish a kingdom of profound peace, where even natural enemies coexist in harmony. It is a vision of creation transformed by divine wisdom and righteousness. Into this anticipation, the Gospel presents John the Baptist, crying out in the wilderness, urging us to "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near." John serves as the immediate herald, preparing the path for this very Messiah described by Isaiah. His stark call to "produce fruit worthy of repentance" is not merely about acknowledging past wrongs, but about a radical turning of the heart, a necessary purification to welcome the transformative reign that Isaiah foretold.
Saint Paul, in his letter to the Romans, builds upon this foundation, reminding us that all Scripture is written to teach us, to fill us with patience and hope. He connects the prophetic vision of Isaiah and the urgent call of John to the universal embrace of Christ. Paul explains that Christ came to confirm God’s promises to the Jewish people and, in His mercy, to extend salvation to the Gentiles. This is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy that the "root of Jesse" would be a sign for all nations. Just as John called for individual repentance, Paul calls for collective unity, urging us to accept one another, just as Christ has accepted us, so that "together with one mouth, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." This mutual acceptance, rooted in Christ's own inclusive love, is the very essence of the harmonious kingdom Isaiah envisioned.
These readings challenge us to embody this coming kingdom in our daily lives. The call to repentance remains ever-present, reminding us that we must continually examine our hearts and align our actions with God's will. We are invited to cultivate the gifts of the Spirit—wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord—to become instruments of justice and peace in a world that hungers for it. In accepting one another, especially those different from us, we begin to live out the unity that Christ established and the reconciliation that marks His reign. Through humble repentance and active love, we prepare the way for the Lord not just in our own souls, but in our families, communities, and indeed, the entire world, allowing the knowledge of the Lord to fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.