Daily Gospel for Wednesday, 1 January 2014

Daily Gospel for Wednesday, 1 January 2014

“Peter replied, “Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life.”(John 6:68, The Message).

The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God – Solemnity

Feast of the Day:

MARY, MOTHER OF GOD

O marvelous exchange!

Man's Creator has become man,

born of a virgin.

We have been made sharers in the divinity of Christ

who humbled himself to share in our humanity.

Mary has given birth to a King

whose name is everlasting ;

hers the joy of motherhood,

hers the virgin's glory.

Never was the like seen before,

never shall it be seen again, alleluia.

By your miraculous birth of the Virgin

you have fulfilled the Scriptures :

like a gentle rain falling upon the earth

you have come down to save your people.

O God, we praised you.

Christian Prayer : The Liturgy of the Hours; Daughters of St. Paul * St. Paul Editions * 1976

The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God – Solemnity

Numbers 6: The Priestly Benediction

22 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 23 Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: 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 they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.

Psalm 67: 2 that your way may be known upon earth,

    your saving power among all nations.

3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;

    let all the peoples praise you.

5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;

    let all the peoples praise you.

6 The earth has yielded its increase;

    God, our God, has blessed us.

8 May God bless us still;

that the ends of the earth may revere him.

 Galatians 4: 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. 6 And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our[a] hearts, crying, “Abba![b] Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.[c]

Footnotes:

a. Galatians 4:6 Other ancient authorities read your

b. Galatians 4:6 Aramaic for Father

c. Galatians 4:7 Other ancient authorities read an heir of God through Christ

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 2:15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Jesus Is Named

21 After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God – Solemnity

Commentary of the Day:

Blessed John-Paul II, Pope from 1978 to 2005

Message Urbi et Orbi 25/12/2002 (trans. © copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

Mary, mother of the Prince of Peace (Is 9,5)

"To us a child is born,to us a son is given" (Is 9:5)... With Mary let us contemplate the face of Christ:in that Child... it is God himself who comes to visit us, “to guide our feet in the way of peace” (Lk 1,79). Mary watches him... pondering the meaning of the wondrous signs which surround the mystery of Christmas.

Christmas is a mystery of joy!: The angels... described the event to the shepherds as "a great joy for all the people" (Lk 2,10)... despite distance from home, the poverty of the manger, people’s indifference, the hostility of power.

Christmas is a mystery of love! : The love of the Father, who has sent into the world

his only-begotten Son, to bestow on us the gift of his own life (1 Jn 4,8-9). The love of "God-with-us", Emmanuel (Mt 1,23), who came to earth in order to die on the Cross. In the cold stable, wrapped in silence, the Virgin Mother... already tastes the violent drama of Calvary... The Prince of Peace, born today in Bethlehem, will give his life on Golgotha, so that love may reign on earth.

Christmas is a mystery of peace! : From the cave of Bethlehem there rises today an urgent appeal to the world not to yield to mistrust, suspicion and discouragement, even though the tragic reality of terrorism feeds uncertainties and fears. Believers of all religions, together with men and women of good will, by outlawing all forms of intolerance and discrimination, are called to build peace...

Together with you, O Virgin Mother, may we stop and reflect at the manger where the Child lies,to share your own amazement at the immense "condescension" of God. Grant us your own eyes, O Mary, that we may understand the mystery hidden within the frail limbs of your Son. Teach us to recognize his face in the children of every race and culture. Help us to be credible witnesses of his message of peace and love, so that the men and women of our own time, still torn by conflicts and unspeakable violence, may also recognize in the Child cradled in your arms the one Saviour of the world, the endless source of that true peace for which every heart profoundly yearns.

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