Friday of the First Week of Advent
Reading 1 Isaiah 29:17-24
Thus says the Lord GOD:
But a very little while,
and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,
and the orchard be regarded as a forest!
On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a book;
And out of gloom and darkness,
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD,
and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
For the tyrant will be no more
and the arrogant will have gone;
All who are alert to do evil will be cut off,
those whose mere word condemns a man,
Who ensnare his defender at the gate,
and leave the just man with an empty claim.
Therefore thus says the LORD,
the God of the house of Jacob,
who redeemed Abraham:
Now Jacob shall have nothing to be ashamed of,
nor shall his face grow pale.
When his children see
the work of my hands in his midst,
They shall keep my name holy;
they shall reverence the Holy One of Jacob,
and be in awe of the God of Israel.
Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding,
and those who find fault shall receive instruction.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, our Lord shall come with power;
he will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Matthew 9:27-31
As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out,
"Son of David, have pity on us!"
When he entered the house,
the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,
"Do you believe that I can do this?"
"Yes, Lord," they said to him.
Then he touched their eyes and said,
"Let it be done for you according to your faith."
And their eyes were opened.
Jesus warned them sternly,
"See that no one knows about this."
But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Saturday, August 23, 2025
Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord.
Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days
Saturday, August 23 (today!) // Optional Memorial of Saint Rose of Lima, Virgin
Sunday, August 24 // Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday, August 25 // Optional Memorial of Saint Louis of France // Optional Memorial of Saint Joseph Calasanz, priest
Wednesday, August 27 // Memorial of Saint Monica
Thursday, August 28 // Memorial of Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Friday, August 29 // Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist
Letter from the Editor //
Dear Sister,
On this Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Readings open with a beautiful image of the Lord gathering people from “nations of every language,” and then sending from them fugitives out to “distant coastlands” so that His glory is proclaimed to the nations (Isaiah 66:18-19). We see how from before the coming of Christ, the Lord planned to bring all people to Himself and to His “holy mountain” to make an offering of worship (Isaiah 66:20). We see this same hope repeated by Jesus in the Gospel as He prophesies that “people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God” (Luke 13:29).
Sister, the Lord invites us to be a part of the people coming to live with Him forever. However, responding to His invitation is only the first step. The second step is the actual journey—the journey of our lives as daughters of God. In the Gospel, Jesus tells us how many will strive for Heaven “but will not be strong enough” (Luke 13:24). Thankfully, the Lord offers us His grace to help us on the way. He loves us so much as His children, that He helps us love Him more through offering us “discipline” which we receive with docility and let it change us. The Lord allows us to experience our hardships so that we can offer them to Him, unite them with Jesus’ redemptive act of suffering. They can become a means of sanctification if we “endure [our] trials as ‘discipline’” (Hebrew 12:7). When we think about it in this way we can see that “the fidelity of the LORD endures forever” (Psalm 117:2).
In Christ’s Love,
Susanna
Read the Readings for the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time:
First Reading // Isaiah 66:18-21
Psalm // Psalm 117:1, 2
Second Reading // Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13
Gospel // Luke 13:22-30
Susanna Spencer holds a master's in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and is the Devotions Editor for Blessed is She. She is a freelance writer and editor and a teacher-in-training living with her philosopher husband and four kids in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She loves reading theology, attending beautiful liturgies, cooking delicious food, and casually following baseball. She is the author of the Gospel Studies including Seek His Kingdom: A Meditation on Matthew , Listen to Him: A Meditation on Mark, and Abide in His Love: A Meditation on John. She was narrator for Found: Advent With the Good Shepherd and Rescued: Lent With the Lamb of God and a contributing author and editor for our children’s devotional prayer book, Rise Up. She was the Theological Editor of the Blessed Conversations Studies. Find out more about her here.
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