Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection December 03, 2025
Wednesday – First Week of Advent
03rd December 2025 (Wednesday)
Psalter: Week 1
Readings of the Day
First Reading: Isaiah 25:6-10a
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.
Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 R. (6cd)
R/. In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for length of days unending
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Behold, the Lord comes to save his people, blessed are those prepared to meet him
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: Luke 10:21-24
At that time: Jesus went on from Tyre and Sidon and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Wednesday – First Week of Advent
Main Point: The mission of Jesus is without bounds and boundaries. And it requires a real passion without bounds and boundaries
1. Today we celebrate solemnly the feast of St Francis Xavier, the patron of India. The word of God in both readings fits him. The first reading is replete with exuberant hope whereby things will totally turn out to be joyful from the pit of misery.
2. Certain expressions make it clear: “The produce of the ground will be rich and plenteous.” “Livestock will graze in large pastures, and the oxen and the donkeys will eat seasoned fodder.” “On every mountain and hill, there will be brooks running with water.” “The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold.” “The Lord binds up the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds.”
3. It is for such a mission of actualising such comforting and renewing times that St Francis Xavier was chosen and sent. He was called to work as a ‘great labourer’ in the plentiful harvest. In his life and preaching, he always showed the people, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
4. Like the Twelve, Francis too was empowered to heal those sick by sin, raise the dead from their spiritual-moral death, cleanse lepers from their impurities and defilements, and cast out demons, those evil forces that surround and fight against us.
5. Like his Master, he too had compassion for the people who were like sheep without a shepherd. They were truly harassed by sin and they feel helpless. Therefore, he would work tirelessly to remove their burden of sin and despair.
My Practice: St Francis Xavier remained faithful to the end. Thus he even embraced martyrdom joyfully. He ceaselessly laboured for his master selflessly, never expecting any reward. Can we imitate him?
