Invitation
May I draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation wants you to share in the joy
of the gospel. Everyone, no one excepted,
can experience that joy by opening his heart
for the healing effect of God’s word.
Available every morning from 7 a.m.
Opening word
Today we celebrate the feast of Revelation,
better known as Epiphany.
It is also the culmination of the Christmas season.
The wise men followed the star
which stood still over Bethlehem.
The extraordinary light brought them to a manger,
where a small and vulnerable child had been born:
God’s Child,
all love
to warm the hearts of all people.
May that love touch our hearts today
and grant us the wisdom
to let God’s revelation become truth in our lives.
FIRST READING IS 60, 1-6
The glory of the Lord has passed over you.
From the prophet Isaiah
Stand up, let the light shine upon you, Jerusalem,
for the sun is rising over you
and the glory of the Lord begins to shine upon you.
For behold:
darkness covers the earth, darkness covers the nations
but about you the Lord ascends
and his glory has appeared above you.
Peoples are coming towards your light,
kings on the splendor of your dawn.
Save your eyes and see around you:
from everywhere they flow towards you,
your sons come from far away,
your daughters are worn on the arm.
At the sight of this you will be filled with joy,
and your heart will be pounding and wide with joy.
For the treasures of the sea shall pass into your possession,
the riches of the nations will be paid to you.
A sea of camels covers you,
young camels from Midjan and Efa.
All the inhabitants of Sjeba will come to you;
they bring gold and incense
and loudly proclaim the glory of the Lord.
Responsorial Ps. 72(71), 1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
Refrain
All the nations of the earth honor You, Lord.
My God, grant the king your wisdom,
the king’s son your justice.
He may govern your people righteously,
your arms with fairness.
Justice will blossom in its days
and prosperity everywhere until the end of the months.
He will rule from sea to sea,
from the river to the border of the earth.
Princes of Tarsis, from distant shores, send gifts,
Arab rulers and Etiopes pay him cijns.
Honoring him all the princes of the earth
and all peoples serve him.
He will free the poor person who asks for support,
the unfortunate one without help.
He will take care of the wretched,
He gives the weak back life.
SECOND READING Eph. 3, 2-3a.5-6
It has now been revealed that the Gentiles are co-heirs of the promise.
From the letter of the holy apostle Paul to the Christians of Ephesus
Brothers and sisters,
Thou hast heard
how the grace of God has been realized
given to me for your sake;
by revelation the knowledge of the secret has been communicated to me,
as I have already briefly described.
Never is it under earlier genders
made known to the children of man,
as it is now revealed by the Spirit
to his holy apostles and prophets:
that the Gentiles in Christ Jesus are co-heirs,
fellow-members and fellow-parties of the promise
through the gospel.
Verse for the gospel Mt. 2,2
Alleluia.
We have seen his star in the east
and come to pay our homage to the Lord.
Alleluia.
Gospel Mt. 2, 1-12
We come from the east to pay homage to the king.
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judah,
at the time of King Herod,
there came to Jerusalem Sages from the east and asked;
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
“For we have seen his star in the east
and have come to pay our tribute to Him.”
When King Herod heard this, he became troubled
and all of Jerusalem with him.
He called all the high priests and scribes
of the people together
and put the question to them
where the Christ was to be born.
They answered him:
“At Bethlehem in Judah.
“For so it is written with the prophet:
And thou Bethlehem, region of Judah.
You are by no means the slightest among the leaders of Judah,
because out of you will emerge a leader,
who will be shepherd over my people Israel.”
Then Herod secretly summoned the Wise Men
and he asked them the exact time
at which the star had appeared.
Then he sent them to Bethlehem with the order:
“Go and make a careful search for the Child
and when you have found it, report it to me
so that I too can go and pay homage to it.”
After listening to the king, they left.
And behold,
the star they had seen in the east went out before them
until she was above the place where the Child was,
stood still.
At the sight of the star they were fulfilled
of overwhelming joy.
They entered the house,
saw the Child with his mother Mary
and falling down on their knees they paid it their respects.
They brought out their treasures
and offered it gifts:
gold, frankincense and myrrh.
And warned in a dream of God
not to return to Herod,
they left along a different road to their country.
________________________________
Laudato Si
Encyclics of
POPE FRANCIS
About caring for the common house
44. Today, for example, we observe a rampant and disorderly growth of many cities, which have become unlivable from a health point of view, not only because of pollution resulting from toxic emissions, but also because of urban chaos, transport problems and visual and acoustic pollution. Many cities are large inefficient structures that consume excessive amounts of water and energy. There are neighbourhoods that, although recently built, are congested and disordered, without enough green space. It does not suit residents of this planet increasingly to live buried under concrete, asphalt, glass and metal without physical contact with nature.
To be continued For all previous publications scroll down
The Bible text in this edition is a translation from De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling, ©
Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for the weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation