DECEMBER 17-18, 2023 SUNDAY (Anticipated)* / MONDAY (Mass at Dawn)
Third Day of Simbang Gabi*/Misa De Gallo (White)
RDGS: JER 23:5-8/ PS 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19
GOSPEL: MT 1:18-25
Lectionary: 194
CYCLE B - YEAR II
(N.B: For the regular readings for December 17, 2023 (THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT), kindly look at the previous post.)
Reading I
Jer 23:5-8
Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
As king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”
Therefore, the days will come, says the LORD,
when they shall no longer say, “As the LORD lives,
who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt”;
but rather, "As the LORD lives,
who brought the descendants of the house of Israel
up from the land of the north”–
and from all the lands to which I banished them;
they shall again live on their own land.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (see 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
As king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”
Therefore, the days will come, says the LORD,
when they shall no longer say, “As the LORD lives,
who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt”;
but rather, "As the LORD lives,
who brought the descendants of the house of Israel
up from the land of the north”–
and from all the lands to which I banished them;
they shall again live on their own land.
Responsorial Psalm
72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous deeds.
And blessed forever be his glorious name;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Alleluia
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O Leader of the House of Israel,
giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai:
come to rescue us with your mighty power!
giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai:
come to rescue us with your mighty power!
Gospel
Mt 1:18-25
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
and he named him Jesus.
REFLECTION:
Saint Joseph had a very important part in the birth of Christ. Our salvation depends on Mary’s obedience to the will of God. It also depends on Joseph’s. Our own obedience is very important too.
Advent is seldom seen as a time of the Holy Spirit, but in the annunciation to Joseph, and to Mary earlier, the Spirit is alive and at work. In a mysterious, miraculous way, known only in faith, the Spirit's action brings the gift to the world of the God-person, the human in the divine and the divine in the human in a totally physical and spiritual way. In the humanity of Mary, Jesus is growing, from embryo to child. In the faith of Joseph, the call first came to all of us to believe the mystery. In prayer we might picture Mary and Joseph talking together about all that has happened and picture the Holy Spirit in the air, in the love and in the atmosphere around them. Bring that presence of the Spirit into your day today.
PRAYER:
Jesus, Emmanuel, strengthen our faith as we wait and for your second coming.
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