Entrance Antiphon
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.
Indeed, the Lord is near.
First Reading: Isaiah 35:1-6, 10. A reading from the prophet Isaiah
God himself will come and save us.
Let the wilderness and the dry-lands exult,
let the wasteland rejoice and bloom,
let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil,
let it rejoice and sing for joy.
The glory of Lebanon is bestowed on it,
the splendour of Carmel and Sharon;
they shall see the glory of the Lord,
the splendour of our God.
Strengthen all weary hands,
steady all trembling knees
and say to all faint hearts,
‘Courage! Do not be afraid.
‘Look, your God is coming,
vengeance is coming,
the retribution of God;
he is coming to save you.’
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
the ears of the deaf unsealed,
then the lame shall leap like a deer
and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy,
for those the Lord has ransomed shall return.
They will come to Zion shouting for joy,
everlasting joy on their faces;
joy and gladness will go with them
and sorrow and lament be ended.
Responsorial Psalm: Lord, come and save us.
- It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free. (R.)
- It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan. (R.)
- It is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
Zion’s God, from age to age. (R.)
Second Reading: James 5:7-10. A reading from the letter of St James
You also must be patient; do not lose heart, the Lord’s coming will be soon.
Be patient, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. Think of a farmer: how patiently he waits for the precious fruit of the ground until it has had the autumn rains and the spring rains! You too have to be patient; do not lose heart, because the Lord’s coming will be soon. Do not make complaints against one another, brothers, so as not to be brought to judgement yourselves; the Judge is already to be seen waiting at the gates. For your example, brothers, in submitting with patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia! The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he sent me to bring Good News to the poor. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 11:2-11. A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
Are you the one who is to come, or must we wait for someone else?
John in his prison had heard what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or have we got to wait for someone else?’ Jesus answered, ‘Go back and tell John what you hear and see; the blind see again, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor; and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.’
As the messengers were leaving, Jesus began to talk to the people about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? No? Then what did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? Oh no, those who wear fine clothes are to be found in palaces. Then what did you go out for? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet: he is the one of whom scripture says: Look, I am going to send my messenger before you; he will prepare your way before you. I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.’
Reflection
by Nick Brodie
‘A Church that sets no limits to love, that knows no enemies to fight but only men and women to love, is the Church that the world needs today’, says Pope Leo.
The Pope is very concerned to bring us back to the essentials of our Faith. He speaks of ‘caring for the poor’, for instance, as ‘a beacon as it were of evangelical light.’
Similarly, he speaks of how ‘love for the poor – whatever the form their poverty may take – is the evangelical hallmark of a Church faithful to the heart of God.’
In short, the Pope is reminding us that we proclaim Christ most effectively when we are Christ-like in our attitudes and actions towards others. This is most especially true when we are dealing with those in need or otherwise on the margins of society.
‘The dominant culture’, the Pope suggests, ‘would have us abandon the poor to their fate and consider them unworthy of attention, much less our respect.’ But, through our faith we see them differently. In the poor, we see the suffering of Our Lord himself. This is a message worth proclaiming to the world.
‘For Christians,’ the Pope affirms, ‘the poor are not a sociological category, but the very “flesh” of Christ.’ In that sense, we are always challenged to prepare for our Lord by being open to encountering him anywhere there is need.
[Quotes from Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te, 4 October 2025: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/apost_exhortations/documents/20251004-dilexi-te.html]