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
Today we close the Christmas season
with a striking event
at the beginning of Jesus’ public life.
He moves away from his father city
and is baptised in the River Jordan by John the Baptist.
At that moment, He becomes aware of who He is
and what He is to do in His life.
The feast of the Lord’s baptism
is also a feast of remembrance of our own baptism.
A prime time to reflect
at what it means to go through life as a baptised person.
FIRST READING Isa 55:1-11
Come to the water and listen, and you will live.
From the prophet Isaiah
This is how God the Lord speaks:
“Come to the water, all you who are thirsty!
“Even ye who have no money, yet come!
“Come and buy,
enjoy without money
and without paying.
“Come buy wine and milk.
“What give ye your money for something that is not bread?
“What give ye your labour for something that nourishes not?
“Listen, listen to Me:
Then ye eat that which is good,
then ye shall satisfy yourselves with delicious food.
“Turn down your ear and come to Me
and listen,
and ye shall live.
“A lasting covenant I am going to make with you;
The favour granted to David I will not deny.
“Him have I made a witness unto the nations,
a prince and ruler over the nations.
“Verily, a people thou shalt call that thou knowest not
and a people who know thee not, rush to thee
for the sake of Israel’s Holy One who glorifies thee.
“Seek the Lord now that He is found,
call on Him now that He is near.
“The unrighteous must leave his way,
the sinner his thoughts;
he must return to the Lord
– the Lord will have mercy –
back to our God, who always wants to forgive.
“Now thy thoughts are not my thoughts,
my ways not your ways
– so reads the Lord’s word of God -,
but as the heavens are high above the earth,
so high are my ways above your ways
and my thoughts your thoughts.
“As the rain and snow fall from heaven
and do not return there
When they have watered the earth,
have fertilised it so that it becomes green,
when they have given the seed to the sower
and the bread to the eater,
so shall it be with the word
that comes from My mouth:
It does not return to Me fruitlessly;
it will not return
when it has accomplished My will
and has fulfilled its mission.”
RESPONSORIAL Psalm Isa 12, 2cd-3, 4bcd, 5-6
Turner
Thou shalt draw water in joy
from the springs of salvation.
The Lord is my strength, Him I praise,
He has brought me salvation.
Joyful shalt thou draw water
from the springs of salvation.
Glorify the Lord, call upon His Name;
makes known to the nations His deeds,
remember how exalted His Name is.
Praise the Lord for his matchless work,
let all the earth know.
Rejoice and rejoice, who inhabit Zion,
for Israel’s Holy One, great in thy midst.
SECOND READING 1 Jn 5:1-9
The Spirit, the water and the blood.
From the first letter of the holy apostle John
Friends,
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Saviour,
is a child of God.
Well, whoever loves the father,
also loves the child.
If we are to love God and keep his commandments,
then we must also love God’s children.
That is our yardstick.
Loving God means:
Keeping his commandments,
and his commandments are not difficult to keep
for every one born of God
overcomes the world.
And the weapon with which we overcome the world
is none other than our faith.
No one can overcome the world but he who believes
that Jesus is the Son of God.
It is He who came with water and blood,
Jesus Christ.
He has come, not by water alone
but by water and blood.
The Spirit demonstrates it,
because the Spirit is truth.
For there are three witnesses,
the Spirit,
the water
and the blood,
and these three agree.
If we accept the testimony of men ,
then surely that of God,
which has so much greater authority;
God Himself guarantees this testimony
which He has given concerning His Son.
Verse for the gospel John 1:29
Alleluia.
John saw Jesus coming towards him and said:
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mk. 1, 7-11
You are my Son, my beloved; in you I am well pleased.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Mark
At that time John preached:
“After me comesHe who is stronger than I,
and I am not worthy to stoop down
and unbuckle the strap of his sandals.
“I have baptised you with water
but He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.”
At that time, Jesus left Nazareth in Galilee
and was baptised in the Jordan River by John.
And at the same moment He rose from the water,
He saw the heavens tear open
and the Spirit descended on Him like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven:
“Thou art my Son ,
my beloved;
in Thee do I delight.”
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Laudato Si
Encyclic by
POPE FRANCIS
On caring for the common home
160. What kind of world do we want to pass on to those who will come after us, to the children who are growing up? This question does not only concern the environment individually, because it cannot be asked in isolation. When we want to ask ourselves the question about the world we want to leave behind, we refer mainly to its overall purpose, its meaning, its values. If our ecological concerns do not reflect this fundamental question, I do not believe they can have significant effects. But if this question is boldly asked, it irrevocably leads us to other very direct questions. For what purpose are we going through this world? To what purpose did we come into this life? For what purpose do we work and struggle? Why does this earth need us? Therefore, it is no longer enough for us to worry about future generations. We must realise that our own dignity is at stake. We are the first stakeholders to pass on a planet that is habitable for the humanity that will come after us. It is a tragedy for ourselves as it refers to the meaning of our passage on this earth.
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.
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