Bank holidays in Italy. Mary is absolved of all sins.
Privilege given to her by God for becoming the mother of Jesus
Invitation
May I hereby draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation wants to make You partakers of 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
Consideration
Around Christmas lies a string of feasts where Mary is celebrated. But she is never alone: she carries the Child to show him to the world. That is the real image of Mary; the icon of the Mother with the Child. The living Lord, God’s Son who became man, cannot do without a mother. This time invites us to prepare for Jesus’ coming. From now until February, it’s about both of them again and again. Today, the Church celebrates that Mary was gifted by God, safeguarded from all evil. Today’s feast is about the very beginning: A child is received, who is one and all yes, addressed to God. A girl enters the world who will never say no, not to God and not to men. Even before she lived in her mother’s womb, God’s grace had already freed her from every possible ‘no’. Therefore, we too may be filled with joy: He has given us everything.
FIRST READING Gen 3:9-15.20
Enmity I will establish between you and the woman,
between thy offspring and hers.
From the Book of Genesis
After Adam had eaten from the tree
God the Lord called man and asked him :
‘Where art thou?’
He replied :
‘I heard thy thunder in the garden ,
and then I became afraid, because I am naked ;
therefore I hid myself.’
But God the Lord said :
‘Who told thee that thou art naked?
‘Hast thou sometimes eaten of the tree
which I have forbidden thee ?’
Man replied :
‘The woman whom Thou hast given me as a companion ,
she gave me of that tree,
and then I ate.’
Thereupon God the Lord asked the woman :
‘How hast thou been able to do that?’
The woman said :
‘The serpent tempted me ,
and then I ate.’
God the Lord then said to the serpent :
‘Because thou hast done this ,
thou art cursed among all domestic animals
And among all wild beasts !
‘On thy belly shalt thou crawl and dust shalt thou eat ,
all the days of thy life !
‘Enmity I put between thee and woman,
between thy offspring and hers.
‘This shall threaten thy head
and thou his heel !’
Man called his wife Eve,
for she became the mother of all living.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 98(97), 1, 2-3ab, 3c-4
Sing to the Lord a new song
Because He did wonders.
Sing to the Lord a new song
Because He did wonders.
His hand asserted itself mightily,
the power of His holy arm.
His benefits He made known to us,
His justice to the nations.
Once again His goodness and faithfulness proved
in favour of Israel’s house.
All the earth beheld
what our God did for us.
Glorify the Lord, all nations,
be glad, rejoice and sing.
SECOND READING Eph. 1:3-6,11-12
In Christ God chose us
before the foundation of the world.
From the holy apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians of Ephesus
Blessed is God,
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in heavenly places in Christ
with every spiritual blessing.
In him he has chosen us
Before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and spotless before Him.
In love He has predestined us
to become His children through Jesus Christ,
according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace.
With this He has endowed us in the Beloved,
in whom also we have received our inheritance,
predestined to it by the disposition of Him
Who brings all things into being according to the decision of His will,
so that we may spread the praise of his glory,
we who had already built up our hope in the Christ.
ALLELUIA Lk. 1, 28
Alleluia.
Rejoice, Mary, Blessed,
the Lord is with thee;
thou art blessed among women.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 1, 26-38
Rejoice, Gifted One, the Lord is with thee.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
In those days 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 the blessed one 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 whatever is brought into the world
shall be called holy, Son of God.
‘Know that even Elisabeth, thy 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 ,
unto me according to thy word be done.’
And the angel went from her.
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
122. Development should not aim at the increasing enrichment
of the few, but must ‘guarantee personal and social, economic and political
guarantee human rights, including the rights of nations
and peoples’. The right of the few to freedom of enterprise or the
free market cannot take precedence over the rights of peoples and the dignity
of the poor; nor above respect for the environment, because,
‘if anyone owns any part of it, it is only to manage it
for the benefit of all’.
To be continued
Every day at 1 am
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
Fratelli tutti Official English translation
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