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
Before we celebrate Christmas,
we consider in the liturgy Mary’s yes-word.
With a firm conviction
she accepts God’s offer of love.
She gives God a dwelling place among men.
In Jesus, He goes with us from now on
and is our fellow-traveller.
Today we light the fourth candle on the Advent wreath.
We are already praying in the light:
The light of the Lord that takes away our fears
and leads us to peace.
FIRST READING 2 Sam. 7, 1-5.8b-12.14a.16
The kingdom of David will stand forever before the face of the Lord.
From the second book of Samuel
When King David had taken up residence in his palace
and the Lord had provided
that all his enemies in all the circumference left him alone,
he said to prophet Natan:
“Now you must see!
“I myself live in a palace of cedar wood
and the ark of God is under tent cloth!”
Natan said to the king:
“Feel free to do what you intend;
the Lord stands by you.”
But that very night
the word of the Lord was addressed to Natan:
“Say to my servant David:
Thus speaks the Lord:
Thou wilt build for me a house
and make me dwell therein?
“Thus saith the Lord,
Lord of the heavenly powers:
I have brought thee out of the steppe, from behind the sheep
to be prince over my people Israel.
“On all your journeys I have stood by you,
all your enemies I have destroyed,
I have made your name great
as that of the great ones of the earth.
“I have given my people Israel an area
and planted it there to dwell.
“It will no longer be startled
and oppressed by no evildoers as before,
in the time
when I had appointed judges over Israel, my people.
“I have caused all your enemies to leave you alone.
“The Lord announces to you
that He will establish a house for you.
“When thy days are finished
and ye rest with your fathers,
I will highly exalt the offspring whom ye beget,
and uphold his royal power.
“I will be his father
and he shall be my son.
“So shall thy house and thy royal power stand forever;
thy throne shall stand firm for ever.”
Responsorial Ps 89(88), 2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29
Refrain
Your favours, Lord, I want to sing forever.
Your favours, Lord, I want to sing,
proclaiming Your faithfulness to every generation.
You have said, “My favour endures forever!”
Heaven is the foundation of Your faithfulness.
“I made a covenant with David,
promised my chosen servant with an oath:
I will uphold your posterity forever,
in all ages your throne shall endure.
He will call on Me: ‘Thou art my Father,
my God, the rock of my salvation.’
Forever he can count on My mercy,
forever My covenant with him remains in force.”
SECOND READING Rom. 16, 25-27
The secret that remained concealed for centuries has now been revealed.
From the letter of the holy apostle Paul to the Christians of
Rome
Brothers and sisters,
To Him
who is able to confirm you
in the gospel of Jesus Christ which I preach
– according to the revelation of the secret
which for centuries was concealed
but which has now been revealed,
and that by virtue of the command of the eternal God
by means of prophetic writings
has been made known to all the heathen nations
to bring them to the obedience of faith –
to Him, the only, all-wise God
be the glory
through Jesus Christ
throughout the ages of ages!
Amen.
Verse for the Gospel Lk. 1, 38
Alleluia.
Behold the handmaid of the Lord,
unto me be done according to thy word.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 1, 26-38
Thou shalt conceive and bring a son into the world.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
At that time
the angel Gabriel was sent by God
to a city in Galilee, Nazareth,
to a virgin who was betrothed to a man named Joseph,
from the house of David;
the virgin’s name was Mary.
The angel entered her and spoke:
“Rejoice, Gifted One, the Lord is with thee,
thou art blessed among women.”
She was startled by that word
and wondered what that greeting could mean anyway.
But the angel said to her:
“Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.
“Behold, thou shalt conceive and bring forth a son
and thou must give Him the name Jesus.
“He shall be great
and be called Son of the Most High.
“God the Lord will give Him the throne of His father David
and He shall be King over the house of Jacob for ever and ever
and His kingship will never come to an end.”
Mary, however, spoke to the angel:
“How shall this come about since I know no man?”
To this the angel answered her:
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
therefore also what is brought into the world,
shall be called holy, Son of God.
“Know that even Elisabeth, your kinswoman,
in her old age conceived a son
and, though she was called barren,
she is now in her sixth month;
for before God nothing is impossible.”
Now Mary said:
“Behold the handmaid of the Lord;
“”Behold the handmaid of the Lord;
unto me be done according to thy word.”
And the angel went from her.
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Laudato Si
Encyclic by
POPE FRANCIS
On caring for the common home
146. In this sense, it is indispensable to pay particular attention to the original communities with their cultural traditions. They are not simply one of the minorities among the others, but rather they must become the main interlocutors, especially at the time when one proceeds to major projects affecting their territories. After all, for them, land is not an economic asset but a gift from God and the ancestors who rest in it, a sacred space with which they must interact to nurture their identity and values. When they remain in their territories, it is they who best take care of this. In different parts of the world, they are the subject of pressure to leave their territories and release them for reclamation, agriculture and cattle ranching projects that pay no attention to the decay of nature and culture.
To be continued
The Bible text in this issue is taken from The New Bible Translation,
©Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation