Mass Readings

First Reading – Is 2:1-5

This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In days to come, the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it; many peoples shall come and say: “Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may instruct us in His ways, and we may walk in His paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!

Responsorial Psalm – Ps 122:1-2, 3-4b, 4cd-5, 6-7, 8-9

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. Barbara, virgin and martyr († 3rd century). From Nicomedia, currently Izmit (Turkey), her father was enraged when she became a Christian and handed her over to the judges to be killed.

St. Bernard, bishop († 1133). Appointed cardinal by Pope Urban II, he carried out important missions for the Holy See. Named Bishop of Parma, Italy, he governed his diocese with extraordinary discernment.

St. Osmund, bishop († 1099). Bishop of Salisbury, England, he celebrated the cathedral’s dedication and standardized the customs of his diocese.

St. Anno (Annan), bishop († 1075). He founded many churches and monasteries in his Diocese of Cologne, Germany. A man of courage and talent, he won the esteem of many in ecclesiastical and civilian circles, at the time of Emperor Henry IV.

St. John the Wonderworker, Bishop († 9th century). In Phrygia (Turkey) He actively defended the cult of sacred images, opposing the iconoclastic Emperor Leo, the Armenian.

St. John Calabria, priest († 1954). In Verona, Italy, he founded the Congregation of the Poor Servants of Divine Providence.

Blessed Simon Yempo, martyr († 1623). As a Japanese youth he entered a Buddhist monastery, but later embraced the Catholic Faith and became a Jesuit religious. During the anti-Christian persecutions in his country, he was arrested and sentenced to be burned to death.

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Saints of December 4

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