Mass Readings
Liturgical Readings for : Thursday, 11th December, 2025Léachtaí Gaeilge
Next Sunday’s Readings
Thursday of the Second Week of Advent
The people must not grow weary and tired of waiting for God’s saviour.
Saint of the day; Dec 11th: St Damasus I, pope in the fourth century.
Damasus commissioned St Jerome to to prepare the Vulgate version of the Bible. He died aged 80
c/f short history of today’s saint can be found below today’s Readings and Reflection.
FIRST READING
A reading from the prophet Isaiah 41:13-20
I, the Holy One of Israel, am your redeemer.
For I, the Lord, your God, I am holding you by the right hand; I tell you, ‘Do not be afraid, I will help you’
‘Do not be afraid, Jacob, poor worm, Israel, puny mite. I will help you’
– it is the Lord who speaks – the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.
See, I turn you into a threshing-sled, new, with doubled teeth;
you shall thresh and crush the mountains, and turn the hills to chaff.
You shall winnow them and the wind will blow them away, the gale will scatter them.
But you yourself will rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
The poor and needy ask for water, and there is none,
their tongue is parched with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer them,
I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
I will make rivers well up on barren heights, and fountains in the midst of valleys;
turn the wilderness into a lake, and dry ground into water springs.
In the wilderness I will put cedar trees, acacias, myrtles, olives.
In the desert I will plant juniper, plane tree and cypress side by side;
so that men may see and know, may all observe and understand
that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 144: 1. 9-13, R/v 8
Response The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love.
How good is the Lord to all, compassionate to all his creatures. Response
2. All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign and declare your might, O God,
to make known to men your mighty deeds and the glorious splendour of your reign. Response
3. Yours is an everlasting kingdom; your rule lasts from age to age. Response
Gospel Acclamation Is 45:8:8
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come to us, Lord, with your peace that we may rejoice in your presence
with sincerity of heart.
Alleluia!
or
Alleluia, alleluia!
Send victory like a dew, you heavens, and let the clouds rain it down.
Let the earth open and bring forth the saviour.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 11:11-15 Glory to you, O Lord.
A greater than John the Baptist has never been seen.
Jesus spoke to the crowds:
I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women,
yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.
Since John the Baptist came, up to this present time, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and the violent are taking it by storm.
Because it was towards John that all the prophecies of the prophets and of the Law were leading;
and he, if you will believe me, is the Elijah who was to return. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen!
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Thursday, Second Week of Advent Matthew 11:11-15
In the gospel reading, Jesus says something very striking about John the Baptist, ‘Of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen’. The greatness of John consists in his willingness to embrace the role that the prophet Elijah was expected to play in the age of the coming of the Messiah. It was believed that Elijah would be sent ahead of the Lord to prepare a way for him. In referring to John as the promised Elijah, Jesus is implicitly referring to himself as the promised Messiah. Having made that striking statement about John the Baptist, Jesus then makes an even more striking statement, declaring that the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist.
John did not live to see the coming of God’s kingdom through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. He was executed by Herod Antipas shortly into the public ministry of Jesus. Jesus is reminding his disciples of how privileged they are. We are all being reminded of how greatly graced we have been, graced in a way that even John the Baptist wasn’t. We have been given a great deal through the life, death, resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit, not on the basis of anything we have done, but purely as an expression of God’s love for the world. In the language of the fourth gospel, Jesus has come among us full of grace and truth and from his fullness we have all received. We spend our lives trying to fully appreciate all we have received and are receiving from God through the life, death and resurrection of his Son and then learning to give generously to the Lord and others out of all that we have received.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks to Martin Hogan’s book Reflections on the Weekday Readings : The Word is Near to You, on your lips and in your heart published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/_
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Saint of the Day: December 11: St Damasus I, pope
Damasus, born in Rome about 305, the son of a priest. He died there on this day in 384. He was elected bishop of Rome amid violent rivalry and was very active in opposing fourth century heresies.
Patrick Duffy tells his story.
After Christianity became the official religion of the Roman state and Latin was becoming the principal liturgical language, he is also remembered for promoting the cult of the Roman martyrs, inscribing their tombs with epitaphs in verse and commissioning St Jerome to prepare a new Latin translation of the Bible.
Controversies on doctrine and the papacy
Controversy had become quite common both with regard to the Arian heresy and with regard to the papacy itself by the time Damasus was named pope in 366. Having the emperors supporting the Church was not always an unmixed blessing, especially when they had their own opinions on doctrine and if there was a split in the imperial family.
Controversies during the pontificates of Julius (337-352) and Liberius (352-366)
Constantine died in 337. Of the two sons who succeeded him, Constans ruling in the West from Milan was an ardent Catholic, whereas Constantius in the East ruling from Constantinople was a declared Arian. A council was called in 343 at Sardica (modern Sofia in Bulgaria) to resolve the differences. Eighty bishops from each side attended, but when the Eastern delegation, who were mostly Arians, saw Athanasius, their great opponent from Alexandria, sitting with the Western bishops, they refused to take part and set up their own rival council, excommunicating Athanasius, Hosius of Cordoba, the leader of the Western delegation, who had presided also at Nicea and the pope himself, Pope Julius (337-352).
The Western delegation counteracted by restoring Athanasius to his bishopric at Alexandria, excommunicating his opponents and passing some canons saying that Rome had the final say in matters of dispute.
St Damasus domestic prayer: “Turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons“
Interference in the papacy of the emperor Constantius
When Constans was killed in 350, Constantius became master of the whole empire and strengthened the Arians during the papacy of Pope Liberius (352-366). He actually exiled Liberius in 355 and installed his archdeacon Felix as pope. Although some of Roman clergy supported Felix, the Roman people rebelled. Constantius wanted both to function jointly. But in the end Felix withdrew.
Damasus election as Pope
When Damasus, a deacon first under both Liberius and then under Felix, was elected, his election was contested and he was confronted by a rival pope, Ursinus. A violent struggle followed in which Damasus won out with the help of the Roman police.
Damesus Supports Orthodoxy, Snubs the East
Soon supporters of Nicea in the East, like Basil of Caesarea, wrote to Damasus asking for his support against Arianism, but the manner in which he replied to them, addressing them not as “brothers”, as was the traditional formula, but as “sons”, contained an unveiled claim to superiority that did not escape notice and was deeply resented.
Supported by Emperor Theodosius
However, when the Spanish general, Theodosius, a devout Catholic who hated Arianism, became co-emperor with Gratian in 379, Damasus’s position was greatly strengthened. In February 380 Theodosius issued an edict requiring all the citizens of the empire to follow the Christian religion, “which Holy Peter delivered to the Romans… as the Pontiff manifestly observes”. In 381 Theodosius called the Council of Constantinople which confirmed Nicea, effectively ending Arian opposition, and formulating the Creed as it is now recited by most Christians at their Sunday liturgy.
The Apostolic See
Friendship with St Jerome
St Jerome (342-420) attended this synod in Rome and subsequently became Damasus’s secretary, advisor and friend. Damasus commissioned him to revise the Latin translations of the Bible. This work subsequently became known as the Vulgate.
Other Achievements
It was during Damasus’s pontificate that Latin replaced Greek as the language of the Mass. He was also notable for his work in discovering the tombs of martyrs, for which he wrote many verse inscriptions. He was also an active builder and restorer of major churches in Rome and took responsibility for restoring the Roman catacombs.
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Memorable Saying for Today
Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position or prestige.
It is discovered in goodness, humility, service and character.
~ Author unknown ~
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