First Reading : Isaiah 60:1-6
Arise, shine out, Jerusalem,
for your light has come, the glory of the Lord is
rising on you, though night still covers the
earth and darkness the peoples. Above you the Lord now rises and above you his glory
appears. The nations come to your light and kings to your dawning
brightness. Lift up your eyes and look
round: all are assembling and coming
towards you, your sons from far away and your daughters being
tenderly carried. At this sight you will grow
radiant, your heart throbbing and full; since the riches of the sea
will flow to you, the wealth of the nations come
to you; camels in throngs will cover
you, and dromedaries of Midian and
Ephah; everyone in Sheba will come, bringing gold and incense and singing the praise of the
Lord.
Second Reading : Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6 Pagans now share the same inheritance
You have probably heard how I
have been entrusted by God with the grace he meant for you, and that it was by
a revelation that I was given the knowledge of the mystery. This mystery that
has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets was
unknown to any men in past generations; it means that pagans now share the same
inheritance, that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise
has been made to them, in Jesus Christ, through the gospel.
Where is the Infant King, we have come to do him homage
After Jesus had been born at
Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, some wise men came to
Jerusalem from the east. ‘Where is the infant king of the Jews?’ they asked.
‘We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.’ When King Herod heard
this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. He called together
all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and enquired of them where
the Christ was to be born. ‘At Bethlehem in Judaea,’ they told him ‘for this is
what the prophet wrote: Reflection
And you, Bethlehem, in
the land of Judah, you are by no means
least among the leaders of Judah, for out of you will
come a leader who will shepherd my
people Israel.’ CDR
Then Herod summoned the wise
men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had
appeared, and sent them on to Bethlehem. ‘Go and find out all about the child,’
he said ‘and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go and do
him homage.’ Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And
there in front of them was the star they had seen rising; it went forward, and
halted over the place where the child was. The sight of the star filled them
with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary,
and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures,
they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. But they were warned
in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a
different way.
May the blessings of today's Feast be ours now and always. May we experience God's presence in our lives, as he reveals his mercy and his image by the coming of his Son Jesus Christ our King, Lord and Redeemer. May our souls yearn for you, may we seek your face. We adore you infant Jesus, we adore you our Emmanuel. Lord Jesus I trust in you.
My blog for today has many links, the essence is to direct you to the appropriate readings as you can recollect there are other zones where today's Solemnity was celebrated on Friday the 6th of January. It is for this reason there is a link to Universalis. My principal aim is the ALTAR and the Liturgical Color while I feel it will be good to have daily Mass readings as well. Happy Feast Day, and a Happy birthday to all those celebrating their birthday today. God's blessings to you as you rejoice.
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