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Today's Readings
Reading I
2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16
The LORD spoke to Nathan and said: “Go, tell my servant David, ‘When
your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up
your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his
kingdom firm. It is he who shall build a house for my name. And I
will make his royal throne firm forever. I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall
endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.’”
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29
R. (37) The son of David will live for ever. The promises of
the LORD I will sing forever; through all generations my mouth shall
proclaim your faithfulness, For you have said, “My kindness is
established forever”; in heaven you have confirmed your
faithfulness. R. The son of David will live for ever. “I have
made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my
servant: Forever will I confirm your posterity and establish your
throne for all generations.” R. The son of David will live for
ever. “He shall say of me, ‘You are my father, my God, the Rock,
my savior.’ Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him, and my
covenant with him stands firm.” R. The son of David will live for
ever.
Reading II
Rom 4:13,
16-18, 22
Brothers and sisters: It was not through the law that the promise
was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the
world, but through the righteousness that comes from faith. For this
reason, it depends on faith, so that it may be a gift, and the
promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not to those who
only adhere to the law but to those who follow the faith of Abraham,
who is the father of all of us, as it is written, I have made you
father of many nations. He is our father in the sight of God, in
whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into being
what does not exist. He believed, hoping against hope, that he would
become the father of many nations, according to what was said, Thus
shall your descendants be. That is why it was credited to him as
righteousness.
Gospel
Mt 1:16,
18-21, 24a
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born
Jesus who is called the Christ. Now 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. ” When Joseph awoke, he did as
the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his
home.
or
Lk 2:41-51a
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of
Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according
to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were
returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his
parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they
journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and
acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to
look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting
in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them
questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding
and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and
his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your
father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he
said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I
must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he
said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was
obedient to them. |
