READINGS

FIRST READING        Isaiah 62:1-5 ©

The bridegroom rejoices in his bride

About Zion I will not be silent,
about Jerusalem I will not grow weary,
until her integrity shines out like the dawn
and her salvation flames like a torch.
The nations then will see your integrity,
all the kings your glory,
and you will be called by a new name,
one which the mouth of the Lord will confer.
You are to be a crown of splendour in the hand of the Lord,
a princely diadem in the hand of your God;
no longer are you to be named ‘Forsaken’,
nor your land ‘Abandoned’,
but you shall be called ‘My Delight’
and your land ‘The Wedded’;
for the Lord takes delight in you
and your land will have its wedding.
Like a young man marrying a virgin,
so will the one who built you wed you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices in his bride,
so will your God rejoice in you.
The Word of the Lord

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 88(89):4-5,16-17,27,29 ©

R. I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will establish your dynasty for ever
and set up your throne through all ages.’
R. I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
Happy the people who acclaim such a king,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
who find their joy every day in your name,
who make your justice the source of their bliss.
R. I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
‘He will say to me: “You are my father,
my God, the rock who saves me.”
I will keep my love for him always;
with him my covenant shall endure.’
R. I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

SECOND READING              Acts 13:16-17,22-25 ©

Paul’s witness to Christ, the son of David
When Paul reached Antioch in Pisidia, he stood up in the synagogue,
held up a hand for silence and began to speak:
‘Men of Israel, and fearers of God, listen! The God of our nation Israel chose our ancestors,
and made our people great when they were living as foreigners in Egypt;
then by divine power he led them out.
‘Then he made David their king, of whom he approved in these words,
“I have selected David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart,
who will carry out my whole purpose.” To keep his promise,
God has raised up for Israel one of David’s descendants,
Jesus, as Saviour, whose coming was heralded by John when he proclaimed a
baptism of repentance for the whole people of Israel. Before John ended
his career he said, “I am not the one you imagine me to be; that one
is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandal.”’
The Word of the Lord

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!
Tomorrow there will be an end to the sin of the world
and the saviour of the world will be our king.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL Matthew     1:18-25 ©

How Jesus Christ came to be born
This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph;
but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity,
decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of
the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take
Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to
save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son
and they will call him Emmanuel,
a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’ When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord
had told him to do: he took his wife to his home and, though he had not had intercourse with her,
she gave birth to a son; and he named him Jesus.
The Gospel of the Lord