On that first day of the civil calendar, the Church celebrates
the High Feast of St Mary, Mother of God
Invitation
May I hereby draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation wishes 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
On the high feast of Mary, the Mother of God,
the celebration of Christmas continues unabated.
Today, our gaze is particularly focused on Mary.
She plays a unique role in God’s history with man.
Through her receptivity and quiet trust
allows God’s salvation to become a reality in Jesus.
Also today she intercedes with us in the faith
that God brings deliverance and makes us his children.
In this celebration, let us pray for God’s blessing on the New Year
and for peace for every human child.
FIRST READING Num. 6, 22-27
They shall pronounce My name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.
From the book of Numbers
The LORD spoke to Moses:
‘Say to Aaron and his sons:
When you bless the Israelites ,
do it with these words:
May the LORD bless you and keep you!
May the LORD spread the radiance of his countenance over you
And be gracious to you!
May the LORD turn his face towards you and grant you peace!
‘If they thus pronounce My name on the Israelites
I will bless them.
RESPONSORIAL Ps 67(66), 2-3, 5, 6 and 8
Refrain
God, be merciful to us and bless us.
God be merciful to us and bless us,
Let his face shine upon us.
That on earth thy ways may be known,
in all lands thy salvation.
Let all nations rejoice for joy
because You rule the nations justly
and governs all things on earth.
Grant that the nations honour Thee, O God,
that all nations honour Thee.
God so grant us His blessing
That all the earth may fear Him.
SECOND READING Gal. 4, 4-7
God sent his own Son, born of a woman.
From the holy apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians
Brothers and sisters,
When the fullness of time had come,
God sent his own Son,
born of a woman,
born under the law,
to set us, slaves of the law, free,
so that we received the rank of children.
And because you are children ,
God has given the Spirit of his Son, who cries ‘Abba, Father!’ cries,
sent into our hearts.
So you are no longer a slave but a child
and as a child also heir
and this by the action of God.
Verse for the gospel Heb. 1, 1-2
Alleluia.
In many ways God has spoken to our fathers
through the prophets;
at the end of time He has spoken to us
through his Son.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 2, 16-21
They found Mary, Joseph and the child And after eight days He received the name Jesus.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
At that time the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem
and found Mary and Joseph
and the newborn child, who was lying in the manger.
When they had seen this ,
they announced what they had been told about this child.
All who heard were amazed
at what the shepherds told them.
Mary kept all these words in her heart
and considered them to herself.
The shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen;
it was just as they had been told.
When the eight days were over
and they had to circumcise the child
it received the name Jesus,
as it had been named by the angel
before it was received into the mother’s womb.
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
145. There is a false openness to the universal that results from the
hollow superficiality of those who are unable to penetrate deeply
to their own homeland, or of those who carry an unresolved resentment towards their people
carry with them. In any case, ‘one must always broaden one’s outlook to see
recognise a greater good that can provide benefits to us all.
However, one must do so without flight, without uprooting.
It is necessary to take root in fertile soil and in the
history of one’s own place, which is a gift from God. One works
in small with what is close at hand, but with a wider perspective. […] It is
not the global that obliterates us, nor the isolated partisanship that makes
barrenness’, it is the polygon, in which while each in its
value is respected, ‘the whole is more than the part, and also
is more than just the sum of its parts’.
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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