St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin

I am a nobody. I am a small rope, a tiny ladder, the fail end, a leaf, and you send me to a place I would never visit. 

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Isaiah 40:1-115g

Be comforted,

My people, be strengthened, says your God.

Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, proclaim to her that her time of bondage is at an end,

that her guilt has been paid for, that from the hand of the Lord she has received double punishment for all her iniquity.

A voice cries, "In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley will be raised up; every mountain and hill will be laid low. The stumbling blocks shall become level and the rugged places smooth.

The glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mortals together will see it; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." A voice says, "Cry." and I say, "What shall I cry?"

"All flesh is grass, and all its beauty as the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it.

 

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will forever stand."

Go up onto the high mountain, messenger of good news to Zion,

lift up your voice with strength, fear not to cry aloud when you tell Jerusalem and announce to the cities of Judah: Here is your God!

Here comes the Lord Sabaoth with might; his strong arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and here before him is his booty.

Like a shepherd he tends his flock: he gathers the lambs in his arms, he carries them in his bosom, gently leading those that are with young.

 

Ps 96:1-2, 3 & 10ac, 11-12, 13 

 The Lord our God comes with power.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊       

Matthew 18:12-14

What do you think of this? If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them strays,

won't he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside, and go to look for the stray one?

And I tell you, when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it, than about the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

It is the same with your Father in heaven. Your Father in heaven doesn't want even one of these little ones to perish.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

 "The word of our God will forever stand."

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will forever stand."

The first reading from Isaiah reminds us that all things fade and decay, but God's word is everlasting.

Saint Teresa of Avila in her famous prayer from her breviary says the same thing "All things pass, but God never changes."

It's a message to encourage our confidence in God's providence and that his merciful love will endure for ever (Ps 136:1).

Jesus presents that care for each one of us in terms of a shepherd searching for the lost sheep and rejoicing when it is found.

 

Today as we celebrate the feast of Saint Juan Diego, we remember his devotion to Our Lady,

who had appeared to him and left an imprint on his cloak or mantle. His cloak then became Our Lady's mantle, a sign of her protection.

Therefore, we might think of God's everlasting love and Mary's loving intercession in terms of the shepherd's crook and the mantle.

Thus, to fly to Our Lady's protection is never to ignore the Lord and his infinite care. Mary intercedes for us and leads us to him.