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
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day.
Opening word
‘Arise!”, it sounds from the prophet’s mouth today,
‘Let the light shine upon you for the Sun is rising upon you’.
All nations, all people, are invited
to see the light born in the stable of Bethlehem.
All may rise and walk in the light.
The doors of the stable are wide open.
Let us hurry to meet the Christ
and open our hearts to his presence in this celebration.
FIRST READING IS 60, 1-6
The glory of the Lord has passed over you.
From the prophet Isaiah
Arise, let the light shine upon you, Jerusalem,
for the sun is rising over you
and the glory of the Lord is beginning to shine upon you.
For behold:
Darkness covers the earth, darkness covers the nations
but over you the Lord is ascending
and his glory has appeared above you.
Nations come to your light,
kings to the brilliance of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes and see all around you:
From everywhere they stream to you,
thy sons come from afar,
your daughters are carried on your arms.
At the sight of this you will be filled with joy,
and your heart will pound and be wide with joy.
For the treasures of the sea will pass into your possession,
the riches of the nations shall be yours.
A sea of camels will cover you,
young camels from Midian and Ephah.
All the inhabitants of Sheba will come to you;
They will bring gold and incense
and loudly proclaim the glory of the Lord.
INTERLUDIUM Hymns Ps. 72(71), 1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
Refrain
All the peoples of the earth honour You, Lord.
My God, give the king Your wisdom,
the king’s son thy righteousness.
He may rule your people justly,
your arms with justice.
Righteousness shall flourish in his 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, will send gifts,
Arab rulers and Etiopes pay him cijns.
Him all the princes of the earth honour
and all nations serve Him.
He will deliver the poor who ask for support,
the unfortunate without help.
He will take care of the wretched,
He will give life back to the weak.
SECOND READING Eph. 3, 2-3a.5-6
It is now 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,
Ye have heard
How the grace of God
has been bestowed on me for your sake;
by revelation the knowledge of the secret has been communicated to me,
as I have already briefly described.
Never among former generations was it
made known to the children of men,
as it is now revealed through the Spirit
To His holy apostles and prophets:
That the Gentiles in Christ Jesus are co-heirs,
fellow members and sharers of the promise
through the gospel.
Verse for the gospel Mt 2:2
Alleluia.
We have seen his star in the east
and have come to pay our respects 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 wise men from the east to Jerusalem and asked;
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
“For we have seen his star in the east
and have come to pay Him our homage.”
When King Herod heard this, he became alarmed
and all Jerusalem with him.
He called all the high priests and scribes
of the people together
and asked them the question
where the Christ was to be born.
They answered him:
“In Bethlehem in Judah.
“For thus it is written by the prophet:
And thou, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
You are certainly not the least among the leaders of Judah,
for out of thee shall come forth a leader,
who shall be shepherd over my people Israel.”
Then Herod secretly summoned the Magi
and he asked them the exact time
when 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 before them
until above the place where the Child was,
stood still.
On seeing the star, they were filled
with overwhelming joy.
They entered the house,
saw the Child with his mother Mary
and falling to their knees they paid homage to him.
They brought out their treasures
and offered it gifts:
gold, frankincense and myrrh.
And in a dream they were warned by God
not to return to Herod,
they left by another route to their country.
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Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On caring for the common home
Justice between generations
159. The concept of common good also concerns future generations. The international economic crises have shown inexorably the harmful effects of denying a common destiny, from which even those who will come after us cannot be excluded. Meanwhile, one can no longer speak of sustainable development without intergenerational solidarity. When we think about the situation of leaving the planet to future generations, we enter another logic, that of the selfless gift we receive and communicate. When the earth is given to us, we can no longer think only from a utilitarian criterion of efficiency and productivity for individual benefit. We are not talking here about an optional attitude, but an essential question of justice, since the earth we have been given also belongs to those who will come. The bishops of Portugal urged us to assume this duty of justice: “The environment finds its place in the logic of getting. It is a loan that each generation receives and must pass on to the next”. An integral ecology has this broad vision.
To be continued
The Bible text in this issue is a translation from The New Bible Translation, ©
Netherlands Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation
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