DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
DECEMBER 12, 2023
TUESDAY - FEAST OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
FIRST READING
ZECHARIAH 2:14-17 OR (REVELATION 11:19; 12:1-6, 10)
10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the LORD. 11 And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. 12 And the LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem." 13 Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
JUDITH 13:18-19
Response: Thou are the highest honor of our race.
And Uzzi′ah said to her, “O daughter,
you are blessed by the Most High God
above all women on earth;
and blessed be the Lord God,
who created the heavens and the earth,
who has guided you to strike the head of the leader of our enemies.
R. Thou are the highest honor of our race.
Your hope will never depart from the hearts of men,
as they remember the power of God.
R. Thou are the highest honor of our race.
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GOSPEL
For with God Nothing Will Be Impossible
LUKE 1:26-38 OR (LUKE 1:39-47 / MATTHEW 18:12-14)
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34 And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?" 35 And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. 36 And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible."38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Mary conceives the Creator of all things, by an anonymous early author from the Greek church.
"Gabriel flew down from the vault of heaven and came to Nazareth; standing before the virgin Mary, he cried to her, 'Rejoice! You shall conceive a son more ancient than Adam, the Creator of all things and Savior of those who cry to you. Rejoice, pure virgin!' Gabriel brought from heaven good tidings to the Virgin, and he cried out to her, 'Rejoice! You shall conceive him whom the world cannot contain; he shall be contained within your womb. You shall bear him who shone forth from the Father before the morning star!' (Psalm 110:3).
"The co-eternal Word of the Father who has no beginning, not being parted from the things on high, has now descended here below, in his boundless love taking pity on fallen humankind. He has assumed the poverty of Adam, clothing himself in a form strange to him."
(excerpt from STICHERA OF THE ANNUNCIATION)
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Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.