Daily Catholic Mass Readings for December 9, 2025
First Reading: Isaiah 40.1-11
1"Be consoled, be consoled, O my people!" says your God2Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call out to her! For her malice has reached its end. Her iniquity has been forgiven. She has received double for all her sins from the hand of the Lord3The voice of one crying out in the desert: "Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight the paths of our God, in a solitary place4Every valley will be exalted, and every mountain and hill will be brought low. And the crooked will be straightened, and the uneven will become level ways5And the glory of the Lord will be revealed. And all flesh together will see that the mouth of the Lord has spoken.6The voice of one saying, "Cry out!" And I said, "What should I cry out?" "All flesh is grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field7The grass has dried up, and the flower has fallen. For the Spirit of the Lord has blown over it. Truly, the people are like grass8The grass has dried up, and the flower has fallen. But the Word of our Lord remains for eternity.9You who evangelize Zion, climb a high mountain! You who evangelize Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it up! Do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah: "Behold, your God!10Behold, the Lord God will arrive in strength, and his arm will rule. Behold, his reward is with him, and his work is before him11He will pasture his flock like a shepherd. He will gather together the lambs with his arm, and he will lift them up to his bosom, and he himself will carry the very young
Psalm 96
1A Canticle of David himself, when the house was built after the captivity. Sing to the Lord a new song. Sing to the Lord, all the earth2Sing to the Lord and bless his name. Announce his salvation from day to day3Announce his glory among the Gentiles, his miracles among all peoples4For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. He is terrible, beyond all gods5For all the gods of the Gentiles are demons, but the Lord made the heavens6Confession and beauty are in his sight. Sanctity and magnificence are in his sanctuary7Bring to the Lord, you natives of the nations, bring to the Lord glory and honor8Bring to the Lord glory for his name. Lift up sacrifices, and enter into his courts9Adore the Lord in his holy court. Let the entire earth be shaken before his face10Say among the Gentiles: The Lord has reigned. For he has even corrected the whole world, which will not be shaken. He will judge the peoples with fairness11Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth exult; let the sea and all its fullness be moved12The fields and all the things that are in them will be glad. Then all the trees of the forest will rejoic13before the face of the Lord: for he arrives. For he arrives to judge the earth. He will judge the whole world with fairness and the peoples with his truth
Gospel: Matthew 18.12-14
12How does it seem to you? If someone has one hundred sheep, and if one of them has gone astray, should he not leave behind the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go out to seek what has gone astray13And if he should happen to find it: Amen I say to you, that he has more joy over that one, than over the ninety-nine which did not go astray14Even so, it is not the will before your Father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should be lost
Sermon
The Prophet Isaiah brings a message of profound comfort to a people in distress, assuring Jerusalem that her time of punishment is over, her iniquity forgiven. He speaks of a voice crying out to prepare the way for the Lord, whose glory will be revealed, and who will come as a gentle shepherd, gathering and carrying His flock with immense tenderness. This vision contrasts the fleeting nature of all human glory with the eternal, enduring Word of our God. In the Gospel, we hear Jesus' parable of the lost sheep, illustrating the extraordinary joy of a shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to tirelessly seek and find the one that has strayed, concluding that it is not the will of our heavenly Father that even one of His little ones should be lost.
Both readings reveal the depth of God's compassionate heart and His active pursuit of His people. Isaiah's prophecy of God's coming as a shepherd finds its fulfillment and deepest meaning in Christ's teaching about His Father's relentless love for each individual soul, particularly those who are lost or vulnerable. The call to "prepare the way" in Isaiah is a call for us to prepare our hearts for this loving God who seeks us out. In our daily lives, this means trusting in His promise of forgiveness and consolation when we feel burdened by our failings, and recognizing that even in our wanderings, we are not abandoned, but actively sought by a God who desires our salvation above all else.
Let us take to heart the profound truth that our God is one who relentlessly pursues us, not with judgment, but with an overwhelming desire to bring us home. He gathers us tenderly, even carrying us when we are weakest. This divine concern for the one lost sheep reminds us of the infinite worth of every soul in God's eyes. Our spiritual journey, then, is not merely about finding our way back to God, but more fundamentally, about allowing ourselves to be found by Him, trusting in His patient and joyful search for us, and extending that same compassionate spirit to those we encounter who may be feeling lost or overlooked.