The Nativity of The Lord
25th December 2023 (Monday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 4
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6 (R. 3cd)
R/. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Second Reading: Hebrews 1:1-6
Long ago, at many times and in many ways God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God's angels worship him.”
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. A hallowed day has shone upon us: Come, O nations, and adore the Lord; for today a great light has come down to earth.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : John 1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only begotten Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only begotten God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Highlight: Give and love to give!
Guidlines: Christmas is not a matter of receiving but a matter of giving. It is not so much how many blessings, gifts, and happiness we receive at Christmas but how many blessings and happiness we give to others{alertSuccess}
1. Very often, the joy of life is seen and measured in terms of receiving. People feel happier when they receive more. Many are accustomed to such a culture of receiving and getting. This leads to a harmful spirit of greed and avarice, deception, and corruption.
2. This further results in grabbing, profiting, and accumulating. To such a society and culture, Christmas comes as a strong contrast and challenge because it is all about giving. The birth of Christ is a matter of giving!
3. John 3. 16 very clearly affirms: “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son as a ransom for the salvation of the world”. The birth of Christ as one of us, as human person, is the clearest sign of this spirit of love and giving. God loves us so much. That is why He gives His very self for our sake. That is why Phil 2.6 attests, “Even though Jesus is equal with God, yet he did not cling to his equality, as a thing to be grasped; rather he emptied himself”. 4. God gives us his presence, his solidarity, and his closeness. He gives our life the lost dignity, the lost vigour, the lost joy. He embraces our fragile human nature. Thereby God shows clearly that our human life is not something despicable and miserable. 5. It is something beautiful and honourable. We may fail and fall to sin. But We can be raised. For this, by sharing our human life, he wants to give us back that divine life lost due to sin. 6. Through his birth on earth, he gives us the greatest assurance that he is Emmanuel, God-is-with us. He never abandons us however weak and imperfect we are. He gives us his light to dispel the shades of darkness. He gives us his energy to make us more vibrant. He gives us his healing to make us sane and healthy. 7. He gives us his guidance to lead us on the right path. He gives us his comfort to boost our drooping spirits. He gives us his support to raise us up. He gives us his power to rejuvenate our dull hearts. He gives us his courage to cast away the tides of fear and discouragement. He gives us peace amidst all trouble and turmoil. He gives us his own joy to shatter the pangs of pain and sadness. 8. His whole life has been an unceasing act of giving. He gives sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the dumb, walking to the lame, healing to the leprous and paralysed, and life to the dead. He gives good news to the downcast. 9. As the culmination of all this giving, he gives us his own life, his total self on the cross. He gives us himself totally to the extent of dying. He washes away our sinfulness through his own blood. Thereby, he gives us a mighty share in his own eternal life. 10. Therefore, Christmas becomes grand not only with our exchange of gifts, decorations, food, and drink celebrations. Such grandness will be only short-lived, limited to a few hours or days. But the joy of Christmas will be deep and last long if we imbibe the same spirit of Christmas. 11. So relive the spirit of love and giving. Learn to give. Give your time, your love, your talents, your energies, your resources, your goodness, your patience, your gentleness, your tenderness, your warmth, your understanding, your forgiveness, your appreciation, and your encouragement. Give your very self. 12. Give generously! Give lovingly! Give trustingly! Give willingly! Give promptly! Give wholeheartedly! Give generously! Give joyfully! Give humbly! Give magnanimously! This will be a real Christmas!Practice: Our celebrations become meaningful only when we are truly imbued with the spirit of loving and giving. This is the only fitting remedy to the maladies of the world!{alertSuccess}