12 December 2025 (Friday, 2nd Week of Advent)

 

📖 Mass Readings — 12 December 2025 (Friday, 2nd Week of Advent)




🕊 Opening Prayer

Lord our God, as we journey through Advent, calm our hearts and make them homes where Your Word can rest. Give us grace to listen, the courage to repent, and the joy to hope. Lead us toward Your Son, who comes gently yet powerfully to save. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.




📜 1st Reading: Isaiah 48:17–19

“If only you had been attentive to my commandments.”

Text:
Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
“I, the Lord your God,
teach you what is good for you,
and lead you in the way you should go.
If only you had paid attention to my commandments,
your happiness would have been like a river,
your vindication like the waves of the sea;
your descendants would have been like the sand,
your offspring like its grains.
Their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.”

Explanation

Israel stands at a crossroads. God speaks not as a distant judge, but as a Redeemer, a Teacher who leads His people toward flourishing. The sorrowful phrase "If only…" reveals a divine lament: disobedience has robbed Israel of peace, justice, and fruitfulness. God wanted to give abundance, like a river or the sea.

Advent reminds us: God still teaches, still leads, still calls.

CCC References

  • CCC 1730–1738 Human freedom and responsibility

  • CCC 2055–2070 Commandments as path to life

  • CCC 1442 God as Redeemer

Application for Today

God’s “If only…” can echo in our lives too. Not as condemnation, but invitation. He wants us to experience peace like a flowing river. Ask:

  • Where have I resisted God’s guidance?

  • What command or teaching have I neglected?

Return to Him today with small acts of obedience.

🎶 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 1:1–4, 6

R: Anyone who follows you, Lord, will have the light of life.

Blessed is the one who does not walk in the wicked’s counsel…
But delights in the law of the Lord…
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
yielding fruit in due season…
The Lord watches over the way of the just.

Explanation

The psalm paints a vibrant contrast:
• The righteous are rooted, fruitful, stable.
• The wicked are light as chaff, blown away.

Following God’s law anchors the soul.

CCC References

  • CCC 2705–2708 Meditation on Scripture

  • CCC 1716–1729 Beatitudes and true happiness

Application

Let this Psalm be a spiritual mirror:
Am I planted or drifting?
Do I feed on God’s Word or mere noise?
Daily Scripture is water for the roots.

✝ Gospel: Matthew 11:16–19

“Wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

Jesus said to the crowds:
“To what will I compare this generation?
They are like children sitting in the marketplace calling to one another:
‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’;
the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say,
‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

Explanation

The people rejected both John’s stern call to repentance and Jesus’ joyful invitation to mercy. Their hearts were closed, impossible to please.

This Gospel warns us: spiritual stubbornness blinds us to God’s saving work.
But Christ ends with hope: Wisdom will prove true through its fruits. God’s plan succeeds even when misunderstood.

CCC References

  • CCC 547–550 Signs of the Kingdom

  • CCC 561 Jesus reveals the Father’s mercy

  • CCC 1806 Virtue of prudence / wisdom

Application

Advent is a time to soften the hardened places within us.
Are we like the children in the marketplace who refuse every invitation?
Let Jesus’ words shake off spiritual indifference.

Practical step:
Invite Christ into one area where you’ve been resisting change.

🌿 Summary Theme for Preaching or Reflection

“Let God lead you into wisdom, peace, and fruitfulness.”
Isaiah invites us to obedience, the Psalm to rootedness, and the Gospel to openness.
Together, they whisper:
God longs to bless His people, if only they will listen, respond, and follow.

🔗 Source Links (Singapore Lectionary References)

These match the reading sequence used by Catholic.sg:

🙏 Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, You call us to dance to the melody of Your grace and to mourn over sin with honest hearts. Teach us to recognise Your wisdom in every season of our lives. Water our roots with Your Word, strengthen our steps with Your Spirit, and prepare our hearts for Your coming. Amen.

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