Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

Reading 1 and//usccb.org/bible/isaiah/41:13 IS 41:13-20 I am the LORD, your God,who grasp your right handIt is I who say to you, Fear not,I will help you.”Fear not, O worm Jacob,O maggot IsraelI will help you, says the LORDyour redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.I will make of you a threshing sledge,sharp, new, and double-edged,To thresh the mountains and crush them,to make the hills like chaff.When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them offand the storm shall scatter them.But you shall rejoice in the LORD,and glory in the Holy One of Israel.The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain,their tongues are parched with thirst.I, the LORD, will answer themI, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.I will open up rivers on the bare heights,and fountains in the broad valleysI will turn the desert into a marshland,and the dry ground into springs of water.I will plant in the desert the cedar,acacia, myrtle, and oliveI will set in the wasteland the cypress,together with the plane tree and the pine,That all may see and know,observe and understand,That the hand of the LORD has done this,the Holy One of Israel has created it. Responsorial Psalm and//usccb.org/bible/psalms/145and1 PS 145and1 AND 9, 10-11, 12-13AB R. The Lord is gracious and merciful slow to anger, and of great kindness. I will extol you, O my God and King,and I will bless your name forever and ever.The LORD is good to alland compassionate toward all his works. R.The Lord is gracious and merciful slow to anger, and of great kindness .Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,and let your faithful ones bless you.Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdomand speak of your might. R.The Lord is gracious and merciful slow to anger, and of great kindness. Let them make known to men your mightand the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,and your dominion endures through all generations. R.The Lord is gracious and merciful slow to anger, and of great kindness. Alleluia and//usccb.org/bible/isaiah/45and8 SEE IS 45and8 R.Alleluia, alleluia.Let the clouds rain down the Just One,and the earth bring forth a Savior.R.Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel and//usccb.org/bible/matthew/11:11 MT 11:11-15 Jesus said to the crowdsand Amen, I say to you,among those born of womenthere has been none greater than John the Baptistyet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.From the days of John the Baptist until now,the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,and the violent are taking it by force.All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John.And if you are willing to accept it,he is Elijah, the one who is to come.Whoever has ears ought to hear.”