DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
JANUARY 1, 2024
MONDAY - THE OCTAVE DAY OF CHRISTMAS SOLEMNITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, THE MOTHER OF GOD
FIRST READING
NUMBERS 6:22-27
22 The LORD said to Moses, 23 "Say to Aaron and his sons, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, 24 The LORD bless you and keep you: 25 The LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you: 26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. 27 "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 66 (67):2-3, 5-6, 8
Response: May God bless us in his mercy.
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
that thy way may be known upon earth,
thy saving power among all nations.
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for thou dost judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
Let the peoples praise thee, O God;
let all the peoples praise thee!
God has blessed us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
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SECOND READING
GALATIANS 4:4-7
4 But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir.
The Word of the Lord
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GOSPEL
He was called Jesus
LUKE 2:16-21
16 And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; 18 and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. 21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
By Christ's faith, hope, and love we are purified, by Bede the Venerable, 672-735 A.D.
"He therefore received in the flesh the circumcision decreed by the law, although he appeared in the flesh absolutely without any blemish of pollution. He who came in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3) - not in sinful flesh - did not turn away from the remedy by which sinful flesh was ordinarily made clean. Similarly, not because of necessity but for the sake of example, he also submitted to the water of baptism, by which he wanted the people of the new law of grace to be washed from the stain of sins...
"The reason 'the child who was born to us, the son who was given to us ' (Isaiah 9:6), received the name Jesus (that is, 'Savior') does not need explanation in order to be understood by us, but we need eager and vigilant zeal so that we too may be saved by sharing in his name. Indeed, we read how the angel interprets the name of Jesus: 'He will save his people from their sins' (Matthew 1:21). And without a doubt we believe and hope that the one who saves us from sins is not failing to save us also from the corruptions which happen because of sins, and from death itself, as the psalmist testifies when he says, 'Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases' (Psalm 103:3). Indeed, with the pardoning of all of our iniquities, all our diseases will be completely healed when, with the appearance of the glory of the resurrection, our last enemy, death, will be destroyed... We read that circumcision was done with knives made of rock (Joshua 5:2), and the rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). And by Christ's faith, hope and love the hearts of the good are purified not only in baptism but furthermore in every devout action. This daily circumcision of ours (that is, the continual cleansing of our heart) does not cease from always celebrating the sacrament of the eighth day.
(excerpt from HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 1.11)
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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.