Monday of the 1st Week of Advent
Mass Readings
First Reading – Is 4:2-6
On that day, the branch of the LORD will be luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor for the survivors of Israel. He who remains in Zion and he who is left in Jerusalem Will be called holy: every one marked down for life in Jerusalem. When the LORD washes away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purges Jerusalem’s blood from her midst with a blast of searing judgment, Then will the LORD create, over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her place of assembly, a smoking cloud by day and a light of flaming fire by night. For over all, the LORD’s glory will be shelter and protection: shade from the parching heat of day, refuge and cover from storm and rain.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 122:1-2, 3-4b, 4cd-5, 6-7, 8-9 (R.1b)
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD.”
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem. R.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD. R.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David. R.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love you prosper!
May peace be within your walls,
prosperity in your buildings. R.
Because of my relatives and friends
I will say, “Peace be within you!”
Because of the house of the LORD, our God,
I will pray for your good. R.
Gospel – Mt 8:5-11
When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”
Featured Saints
St. Edmund Campion, Ralph Sherwin and Alexander Briant, priests and martyrs (†1581). Jesuit religious who suffered martyrdom in England during the reign of Elizabeth I.
St. Eligius (Eloi), bishop (†660). A goldsmith from Limoges, France, and counsellor to King Dagobert I. He entered religious life, was ordained, and founded several monasteries before being elected Bishop of Noyon.
St. Domnolus, bishop (†581). He was abbot of the Monastery of St. Lawrence in Paris, and later Bishop of Le Mans, France. He was known for his gift of miracles.
St. Nahum, prophet of the Old Testament. In his exhortations, he portrays God as the director of History and Judge of nations.
St. Florence, virgin (†fourth century). A pagan converted to the Faith by St. Hilary of Poitiers during his exile in Asia Minor. She followed him on his return to France and became an anchoress in Comblé.
Blessed Casimiro Sykulski, martyr († 1941). Polish priest, military chaplain in the First World War. He laboured with great dedication in social and apostolic work. For his continuous charitable activity, he was arrested during World War II and taken to Auschwitz concentration camp, where he was shot.
Blessed Maria Clara of the Child Jesus, virgem (†1899). She founded the Franciscan Hospitallers Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in Lisbon.
Blessed Liduina Meneguzzi, virgem (†1941). A Sister of St. Francis de Sales from Italy, who worked as a missionary in Ethiopia, where she practised the virtue of Christian charity towards the poor, sick and imprisoned.
Blessed Marie-Clémentine Anuarite Nengapeta, virgin and martyr († 1964). Religious of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family, martyred during a bloody persecution in the Republic of Congo.
