December 3, 2013

Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest 
Lectionary: 176

Reading 1 IS 11:1-10

On that day,

A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,

The shoot or branch that will sprout from the stump of Jesse is Jesus Christ.

and from his roots a bud shall blossom.

From Jesse's roots Jesus Christ shall bud and blossom throughout the world.

The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:

a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

A Spirit of counsel and of strength,

a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,

and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.

Jesus Christ is one God but the Father and the Holy Spirit. Therefore Jesus Christ contains the fullness of the Spirit, the fullness of faith, in the fullness of love for God, the Father who was the source of all.

Not by appearance shall he judge,

nor by hearsay shall he decide,

but he shall judge the poor with justice,

and decide aright for the land' s afflicted.

He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.

Justice shall be the band around his waist,

and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.

This is a reference to the judgment which shall come upon all men at the end of time. Jesus Christ will be our judge and all men will stand before his judgment seat where he will judge not according to appearances, but according to what we have done whether good or evil in the body.

Two Corinthians 5:10

for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;

the calf and the young lion shall browse together,

with a little child to guide them.

The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,

together their young shall rest;

the lion shall eat hay like the ox.

The baby shall play by the cobra' s den,

and the child lay his hand on the adder' s lair.

There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;

for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord,

as water covers the sea.

At that time, the old world will pass away and a new one will be born from the fire. The new Jerusalem, the bride of Christ, the Catholic Church will rise up to meet the eternal groom, Jesus Christ.

On that day,

the root of Jesse,

set up as a signal for the nations,

the Gentiles shall seek out,

for his dwelling shall be glorious.

At that time, all who seek God will see the sign of Jesus Christ, who was crucified for the salvation of all mankind. And those righteous people from every nation will turn to him and live.

Responsorial Psalm PS 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17

R (see seven) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

O God, with your judgment endow the king,

and with your justice, the king' s son;

he shall govern your people with justice

and your afflicted ones with judgment.

R Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

Justice shall flower in his days,

and profound peace, till the moon be no more.

May he rule from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

R Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

He shall rescue the poor when he cries out,

and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.

He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;

the lives of the poor he shall save.

R Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

May his name be blessed forever;

as long as the sun his name shall remain.

In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;

all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.

R Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

At the end of time, Jesus Christ will judge the hearts of all new with perfect justice.

Gospel LK 10:21-24

Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,

“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,

for although you have hidden these things

from the wise and the learned

you have revealed them to the childlike.

Jesus Christ was always united to the Holy Spirit, so to say that he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit is redundant.

However, he reveals that those were wise in the wisdom of the world for themselves. The childlike, look to God as their father who provides for them everything and do not look to themselves, but they were truly wise in the eyes of God.

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father.

No one knows who the Son is except the Father,

and who the Father is except the Son

and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Those who are childlike will recognize the Father in the Son. Because it is to them that the  Father wishes to reveal him.

Turning to the disciples in private he said,

“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.

For I say to you,

many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,

but did not see it,

and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

Then Jesus reveals to his disciples that they have been given a great gift. They have been granted the blessing of having seen the Christ and heard his Gospel from his very lips.