Daily Catholic Mass Readings for December 9, 2025
First Reading: Isaiah 40.1-11
1Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.3A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.4Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.5And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."6A voice says, "Cry out." And I said, "What shall I cry?All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.7The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass.8The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."9You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!"10See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.11He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
Psalm 96
1Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.2Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.3Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.4For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.5For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.6Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.7Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.8Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.9Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.10Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.11Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it;12let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;13they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.
Gospel: Matthew 18.12-14
12"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any 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.