First Reading
Isaiah 40:1-11
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 96:1-3,10AC-13
O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD,
all the earth.
Sing unto the LORD, bless his name;
shew forth his salvation from day to day.
(R) The Lord our God comes with power
Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.
Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth:
he shall judge the people righteously.
(R) The Lord our God comes with power
Let the heavens rejoice,
and let the earth be glad;
let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.
Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice
(R) The Lord our God comes with power
Before the LORD: for he cometh,
for he cometh to judge the earth:
he shall judge the world with righteousness,
and the people with his truth.
(R) The Lord our God comes with power
Alleluia
Alleluia alleluia
The day of the Lord is near; Behold ,he comes to save Alleluia
Gospel
Matthew 18:12-14
Jesus said to his disciples;
How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.