The following is a commentary on the first reading this Sunday from Fr Denny Dempsey. He writes:
“Going up on mountains was considered getting closer to God. Believing the world to be flat with God or gods being up above controlling everything, it is understandable that people in all cultures and religions went up on mountains to communicate with their gods. Where no natural mountains existed, people built ziggurats in Mesopotamia and pyramids in Egypt, the Americas and many other locations around the world. The mountain in this reading is Mount Zion, the mountain on which the temple was constructed. It was a symbol of the heavenly Jerusalem, a perfect city of complete unity between God and his people.
What, however, are the “veil that veils all people” and the “web that is woven over all nations?” These could be interpreted as the attitudes which focus on our differences in ethnic, religious and national backgrounds and tend to divide us in this world. Isaiah foresees a time when that veil which keeps us from seeing things as they really are will be lifted and people will no longer be caught in a web of separation and competition among groups. The invitation to the great feast will be open to people of all nations.”