Monday, November 28, 2011 {St. James of the Marsh, Priest (Optional Memorial)}

REFLECTION FOR TODAY
If I wish to please God, I must do His Will and not my own.
-- St Alphonsus de Liguori

READINGS FOR TODAY
First Reading: Isaiah 2:1-5
(Peace That Lasts Forever)
1 This is the message  that I was given about Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In the future, the mountain with the Lord's temple will be the highest of all. It will reach above the hills; every nation will rush to it.
3 Many people will come and say, “Let's go to the mountain of the Lord God of Jacob and worship in his temple.”The Lord will teach us his Law from Jerusalem, and we will obey him.

4 He will settle arguments between nations. They will pound their swords and their spears into rakes and shovels; they will never make war or attack one another.
5 People of Israel, let's live by the light of the Lord.
Psalms: Psalm 122:1-9
(In Praise of Jerusalem)
1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the Lord's house.”
2 And now we are here, standing inside the gates of Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem is a city restored in beautiful order and harmony.
4 This is where the tribes come, the tribes of Israel, to give thanks to the Lord according to his command.
5 Here the kings of Israel sat to judge their people.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you prosper.
7 May there be peace inside your walls and safety in your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my relatives and friends I say to Jerusalem, “Peace be with you!”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God I pray for your prosperity.
Gospel: Matthew 8:5-11
(Jesus Heals a Roman Officer's Servant)
5 When Jesus entered Capernaum, a Roman officer met him and begged for help:
6 “Sir, my servant is sick in bed at home, unable to move and suffering terribly.”
7 “I will go and make him well,” Jesus said.
8 “Oh no, sir,” answered the officer. “I do not deserve to have you come into my house. Just give the order, and my servant will get well.
9 I, too, am a man under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was surprised and said to the people following him, “I tell you, I have never found anyone in Israel with faith like this.
11 I assure you that many will come from the east and the west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of heaven.