1ST READING
The
prophet Jeremiah reminds you again that the Messiah will descend from
David via Judah. The Church wants us to know that the identity of Jesus
as Messiah was prophesied many times in the history of Israel. It is
good for us to see that the work Jesus did was something expected by the
Jews — it was part of God’s plan and not just an accident in history.
Jeremiah 23:5-8
5 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. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security. This is the name they give him: “The Lord our justice.” 7 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”;
8 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.
P S A L M
Psalm 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19
R: Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
1 O God, with your judgment endow the king, and with your justice, the king’s son; 2 he shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment. (R) 12 For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. 13 He shall have pity
for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save. (R) 18 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous deeds. 19 And blessed forever be his glorious name; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. (R)
GOSPEL
Joseph
is a righteous man. It seems that he must have believed Mary’s
explanation for her pregnancy or at least did not want to disbelieve it,
as he chooses to walk away from her rather than demand that she be
punished according to the law. There are so many places where the plan
of God for the birth of Jesus could have gone wrong but it did not
through the holy responses of people like Mary and Joseph.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
O Leader of the House of Israel, giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai: come to rescue us with your mighty power!
Matthew 1:18-25
18 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. 19 Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. 20 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. 21 She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” 24 When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the
Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. 25 He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.
think: The work Jesus did was part of God’s plan and not just an accident in history.
Wisdom 5-8
T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: __________________
____________________________________
God’s special verse/thought for me today_
_____________________________________
READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Wisdom 5-8
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