DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
DECEMBER 30, 2023
SATURDAY - THE SIXTH DAY IN THE OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS
FIRST READING
1 JOHN 2:12-17
12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his sake. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. 14 I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides for ever.
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 95(96):7-10
Response: Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name.
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
Bring an offering, and come into his courts!
Worship the LORD in holy array;
tremble before him, all the earth!
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!
Yea, the world is established, it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
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GOSPEL
Anna recognized the coming of Christ and gave thanks to God
LUKE 2:36-40
36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, 37 and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Jesus, though rich, became poor for us, by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.
"Anna, who, by reason of her years of widowhood and her virtues, is set before us as wholly worthy of belief, announces that the Redeemer of all people has come... Not without purpose, however, does he make mention of the eighty-four years of her widowhood, because both the seven twelves and the two forties seemed to imply a number that is sacred."
(excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 2.62)
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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.