Catholic Daily Readings

Daily Mass Readings For Thursday, December 11, 2025

Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

Reading I: Isaiah 41:13-20

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 145:1 and 9, 10-11, 12-13ab

Alleluia: See Isaiah 45:8

Gospel: Matthew 11:11-15

Liturgical vestments: Purple

Thursday, December 11, 2025: Readings & Responsorial Psalm & Gospel

Each day, the Mass readings invite us into a deeper encounter with God. Through Scripture, we hear His voice speaking to our hearts, guiding us, comforting us, and calling us to a life of holiness. The Word of God is not just a story from the past; it is alive, relevant, and transformative.

Every reading is an opportunity for grace. Some days, the words challenge us to grow; other days, they console us in our struggles. But always, they nourish our souls, strengthening our faith and drawing us closer to Christ.

Let us open our hearts to the Word of God daily. May we not just hear it but live it, allowing it to shape our actions and deepen our love for Him. Lord, speak to us today, and help us to follow You more faithfully. Amen.

Reading I

Isaiah 41:13-20

I am the LORD, your God,
   who grasp your right hand;
It is I who say to you, “Fear not,
   I will help you.”
Fear not, O worm Jacob,
   O maggot Israel;
I will help you, says the LORD;
   your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
I will make of you a threshing sledge,
   sharp, new, and double-edged,
To thresh the mountains and crush them,
   to make the hills like chaff.
When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off
   and the storm shall scatter them.
But you shall rejoice in the LORD,
   and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain,
   their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the LORD, will answer them;
   I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will open up rivers on the bare heights,
   and fountains in the broad valleys;
I will turn the desert into a marshland,
   and the dry ground into springs of water.
I will plant in the desert the cedar,
   acacia, myrtle, and olive;
I will set in the wasteland the cypress,
   together with the plane tree and the pine,
That all may see and know,
   observe and understand,
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
   the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 145:1 and 9, 10-11, 12-13ab

R.   (8) The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.
I will extol you, O my God and King,
   and I will bless your name forever and ever.
The LORD is good to all
   and compassionate toward all his works.
R.   The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
   and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
   and speak of your might.
R.   The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.
Let them make known to men your might
   and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
   and your dominion endures through all generations.
R.   The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.

Alleluia

See Isaiah 45:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let the clouds rain down the Just One,
and the earth bring forth a Savior.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Matthew 11:11-15

Jesus said to the crowds:
“Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent are taking it by force.
All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John.
And if you are willing to accept it,
he is Elijah, the one who is to come.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Reflection

“Moses was a very great lawgiver, and all the Prophets were admirable, but not greater than John. It is not I that dare to compare Prophets with Prophets: but their Master and ours declared it” (St Cyril of Jerusalem)

“I have always been struck by the Lord’s encounter with Elijah. The Lord was not in the hail, in the rain, in the storm, in the wind... The Lord was in the still soft breeze. This is the music of the Lord’s language. As we prepare for Christmas, we should listen to it.” (Francis)

“St. John the Baptist (...), going before Jesus ‘in the spirit and power of Elijah’ (Lk 1:17), bears witness to Christ in his preaching, by his Baptism of conversion, and through his martyrdom.” (Catechism Of The Catholic Church, Nº 523)