Invitation
May I hereby draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation wants to share with you the joy
of the Gospel. Everyone, no one excepted,
can experience that joy by opening their hearts
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day
Opening word
During Advent, and especially on this Sunday,
Welfare invites us
to be mindful of those living in poverty situations.
The living conditions of so many people in poverty
do not leave us unmoved.
Today’s liturgy challenges us to bring joy
to defeated hearts,
to prisoners and the chained,
to all who look forward to future and salvation.
We also light the third candle on the Advent wreath today.
More and more light is coming.
It warms our hearts and makes us joyful.
Let us rejoice, for the Lord is near!
FIRST READING Isa 61, 1-2a.10-11
I want to rejoice and rejoice in the Lord.
From the prophet Isaiah
The spirit of the Lord rests on me;
He has anointed me
to bring the Good News to the poor.
He has sent me
To heal all whose hearts are broken,
to report release to the captives,
to those who are imprisoned freedom;
to announce the Lord’s year of grace.
I want to rejoice and rejoice in the Lord,
my soul wants to rejoice in my God,
for He has clothed me with the garment of salvation
and put on me the mantle of righteousness,
like a bridegroom wrapping his head festively
or like a bride adorning herself with her ornaments.
For as the earth brings forth its fruit
and as a garden lets the seed ripen,
so the Lord makes righteousness blossom
and his glory before the eyes of the nations.
RESPONSORIAL Lk. 1, 46-48, 49-50, 53-54
Refrain
High now my soul exalts the Lord.
High now my soul exalts the Lord,
delighted is my spirit for God my redeemer.
His choice fell on His simple handmaid:
From now on every generation praises me blissfully.
Wonderful is what He did to me,
the Mighty One, great is His Name!
Merciful is He for ever and ever
To all who acknowledge Him.
The needy He grants abundance,
but the rich go away with empty hands.
He takes care of His servant Israel,
mindful of His gentle mercy.
SECOND READING I Thess. 5, 16-24
Your spirit, soul and body may be preserved pure at the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ
From the holy apostle Paul’s first letter to the Christians
of Thessalonica
Brothers and sisters,
Be joyful always.
Pray without ceasing.
Thank God for everything.
This is what God requires of you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit:
Do not belittle the prophetic gifts,
approve everything, retain the good.
Keep far from all kinds of evil.
The God of peace,
He may sanctify you, wholly and completely.
All your being: Spirit, soul and body
may be preserved untouched
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He who calls you is faithful:
He will keep His word.
Verse for the Gospel Isa 61:1 (cf. Lk 4:18)
Alleluia.
The Spirit of the Lord has come upon Me,
He has sent Me to bring to the poor
the Good News.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Jn 1:6-8,19-28
In the midst of you stands He whom ye know not.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
John
There appeared a man, a sent one from God;
his name was John.
This one came to witness,
to bear witness of the Light
that all might come to faith through him.
Not he was the Light
but he was to bear witness to the Light;
This then is the testimony of John,
when the Jews from Jerusalem
sent priests and Levites to him
to ask him:
“Who art thou?”
Thereupon he declared
without any reservation and with great firmness:
“I am not the Messiah.”
They asked him:
“Then what?
“Art thou Elijah?”
He said:
“I am not.”
“Art thou the prophet?”
He replied:
“Nay.”
Then they said to him:
“Then who art thou?
“Surely we must give an answer
to those who sent us.
What sayest thou about thyself?”
He spoke:
“I am, as the prophet Isaiah expresses it,
the voice of one crying out in the desert:
Make the way straight for the Lord!”
The emissaries were from the circle of the Pharisees.
They asked him:
“What then baptise ye
if thou art not the Messiah ,
nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”
John answered them:
“I baptize with water
but among you is He whom ye know not,
He who comes after me,
I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals.”
This happened at Bethany,
across the river Jordan
where John was baptising.
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Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On the care of the common home
139. When we speak of the “environment”, what we really mean is a relationship existing between nature and the society which lives in it. Nature cannot be regarded as something separate from ourselves or as a mere setting in which we live. We are part of nature, included in it and thus in constant interaction with it. Recognizing the reasons why a given area is polluted requires a study of the workings of society, its economy, its behaviour patterns, and the ways it grasps reality. Given the scale of change, it is no longer possible to find a specific, discrete answer for each part of the problem. It is essential to seek comprehensive solutions which consider the interactions within natural systems themselves and with social systems. We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature.
To be continued
The Bible text in this issue is taken from The New Translation of the Bible,
©Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation