Invitation
May I take this opportunity to draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation aims to share with you the joy
of the Gospel. Everyone, without exception,
can experience that joy by opening their hearts
to the healing power of God’s Word.
Available every day
Consideration
The birth of John the Baptist is a feast day for the Church. The extraordinary circumstances surrounding his birth make it clear to us just how important this prophet will be. His mother, Elizabeth, bore the shame of infertility. God brought about a reversal of this situation. His father, Zechariah, an elderly priest, was struck dumb when he was told the news of the coming of a child. John received his name first from his mother, something which went against all customary practice. This whole sequence of events gives us pause for thought and indicates that this child will play an important role in the history of salvation!
FIRST READING Isa . 49:1–6
I have appointed you as a light to the nations.
From the Prophet Isaiah
Listen to me, you islands,
prick up your ears, you peoples from afar:
The Lord called me from the womb,
from my mother’s womb He named me.
He has made my mouth like a sharp sword,
with the shadow of His hand He has covered me.
He made me a sharpened arrow,
and He has hidden me in His quiver.
He spoke to me:
“You are My servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
And I said:
‘In vain have I toiled,
my strength is spent in emptiness and the wind,
but my righteousness is with the Lord,
and my reward is with my God.’
Now, however, the Lord spoke,
who formed me to be his servant from the womb,
to bring Jacob back to Him,
and that Israel might be gathered before Him.
—I am honoured in the sight of the Lord,
and my God is my strength.—
He said:
“It is too small a thing that you should be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the survivors of Israel.
I appoint you as a light to the nations,
to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
INTERLUDIUM Ps . 139(138), 1–3, 13–14, 15
I give thanks to You, Lord, for the wonder of my life.
You know me, Lord, and You see right through me,
You see me wherever I go or stand.
From afar You know my thoughts,
You know why I am busy or at rest.
For what is within me You have created,
You have fashioned me like a tapestry
in my mother’s womb.
I thank You for the wonder of my life,
for all the marvellous works You have made.
You also know everything that goes on in my mind,
my innermost being is not hidden from You.
When I was mysteriously brought forth,
the threads of my life were woven in the womb.
SECOND READING Acts 13:22–26
John was already preaching before the coming of Christ.
From the Acts of the Apostles
In those days, Paul said:
“After God had rejected Saul,
He raised David to be king over the people of Israel.
“Of him He bore witness, saying:
‘I have found David, the son of Jesse,
a man after my own heart,
who will carry out my will in every respect.’
“From his descendants, God,
in accordance with His promise,
has brought forth a Saviour for Israel,
Jesus;
after John had already, before his ministry began,
preached a baptism of repentance
to the whole people of Israel.
“When John was nearing the end of his ministry, he said:
‘I am not who you think I am;
but after me comes one
whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’
“Men and brothers,
sons of the house of Abraham and you who fear God:
to us this word of salvation has been sent.”
ALLELUIA Luke 1:76
Alleluia.
You, child,
shall be called a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord
and prepare his ways.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Luke 1:57–66, 80
His name is John.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
At that time, the time came for Elizabeth
to become a mother;
she gave birth to a son.
When the neighbours and relatives heard
how great was the mercy
which the Lord had shown her,
they shared in her joy.
On the eighth day, the child was to be circumcised,
and they wanted to name him after his father, Zechariah.
But his mother said:
‘No, he must be called John.’
They replied to her:
‘But there is no one in your family with that name.’
They then asked his father by means of gestures
what he wished to call him.
He asked for a writing tablet and wrote on it:
‘He shall be called John.’
They were all amazed.
Immediately afterwards, his mouth was opened,
his tongue was loosened,
and he proclaimed the praise of God.
Awe filled all the neighbours,
and throughout the hill country of Judea,
the story of what had happened was passed on.
Everyone who heard it pondered it and wondered:
“What will become of this child?”
For the hand of the Lord was with him.
The child grew up, and the Spirit took hold of him more and more.
He remained in the wilderness
until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.
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Laudato Si’
Encyclical of
Pope Francis
On Care for Our Common Home
The principle of the common good
156. Human ecology cannot be separated from the concept of the common
good, a principle which plays a central and unifying role in
social ethics. It is “the sum of those social conditions through which
both groups and individuals can achieve their own fulfilment more fully and
more rapidly”.