Daily Catholic Mass Readings for December 3, 2025
First Reading: Isaiah 25.6-10a
6On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.7And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.8He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.9It will be said on that day, "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."10For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain, and Moab shall be trampled down in his place, as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.
Psalm 23
1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.2He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.3He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Gospel: Matthew 15.29-37
29Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there.30And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them,31so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.32Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."33And the disciples said to him, "Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?"34And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish."35And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground,36he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.37And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.
Sermon
The prophet Isaiah paints a majestic vision of a future feast on Mount Zion, a divine banquet for all peoples. Here, God promises to destroy death forever, wipe away every tear, and remove the disgrace of His people from the entire earth. It is a powerful prophecy of ultimate salvation and restoration, where God Himself will triumph over all suffering and evil, offering an abundance of joy and purified wine, a glorious reversal of all human hardship. In the Gospel, we see a concrete manifestation of this divine compassion as Jesus, on a mountain by the Sea of Galilee, performs numerous healings for the mute, blind, lame, and disabled. Moved by their hunger after three days, He takes seven loaves and a few small fish, gives thanks, and miraculously feeds a vast multitude, with plenty left over.
These two readings, separated by centuries, resonate profoundly with one another. Isaiah foretells a spiritual feast of liberation and abundance, while Matthew shows Jesus literally providing for physical hunger and healing physical ailments on a mountain, offering a tangible foretaste of God's promised salvation. The mountain in both passages symbolizes a place of divine encounter and revelation—Isaiah's mountain is where God’s ultimate victory is declared, and Jesus’ mountain is where His divine power and compassion are vividly displayed, preparing the way for that eternal banquet. We are reminded that God's compassion extends to both our spiritual longings and our everyday needs.
In our own lives, we often experience various forms of hunger or brokenness, be they physical, emotional, or spiritual. These passages invite us to bring these needs to the Lord with trust, just as the crowds brought their sick to Jesus. They assure us that God is not indifferent to our suffering; rather, He desires to feed us, heal us, and ultimately free us from all that binds us. Like the disciples with their few loaves, we may feel our resources are meager in the face of immense needs. Yet, when we offer what little we have to Christ with gratitude, He has the power to multiply it beyond our imagination, satisfying not only our own deepest hungers but also enabling us to be instruments of His abundant provision for others.