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| First Reading |
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Micah 5:1-4
The Lord says this:
You, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
the least of the clans of Judah,
out of you will be born for me
the one who is to rule over Israel;
his origin goes back to the distant past,
to the days of old.
The Lord is therefore going to abandon them
till the time when she who is to give birth gives birth.
Then the remnant of his brothers will come back
to the sons of Israel.
He will stand and feed his flock
with the power of the Lord,
with the majesty of the name of his God.
They will live secure, for from then on he will extend his power
to the ends of the land.
He himself will be peace.
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| Responsorial Psalm |
| Psalm 79:2-3.15-16.18-19
| Response: |
God of hosts, bring us back;
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved. |
- O shepherd of Israel, hear us,
shine forth from your cherubim throne.
O Lord, rouse up your might,
O Lord, come to our help.
- God of hosts, turn again, we implore,
look down from heaven and see.
Visit this vine and protect it,
the vine your right hand has planted.
- May your hand be on the man you have chosen,
the man you have given your strength.
And we shall never forsake you again:
give us life that we may call upon your name.
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| Second Reading |
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Hebrews 10:5-10
This is what Christ said, on coming into the world:
You who wanted no sacrifice or oblation,
prepared a body for me.
You took no pleasure in holocausts or sacrifices for sin;
then I said,
just as I was commanded in the scroll of the book,
'God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will.'
Notice that he says first: You did not want what the Law lays
down as the things to be offered, that is: the sacrifices, the
oblations, the holocausts and the sacrifices for sin, and you took
no pleasure in them; and then he says: Here I am! I am coming to
obey your will. He is abolishing the first sort to replace it with
the second. And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering
of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ.
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| Gospel |
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Luke 1 :39-45
Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the
hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah's house and greeted
Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the
child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, 'Of all women you are the
most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should
I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the
moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt
for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made
her by the Lord would be fulfilled.'
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Back to Scripture Readings
Readings from The Jerusalem Bible © 1966 by Darton
Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday and Company Ltd.
Psalm © The Grail (England) published by HarperCollins.
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