RELIGION AND ART

THE PEOPLE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS HAVE SEEN A GREAT LIGHT   First Reading 1John 3:22-4:6 The Son of God has come and given us the power to know the true God  We receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit whom he gave us. Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist who, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world. Yo...

EVERY NATION ON EARTH WILL ADORE YOU, LORD First Reading Isaiah 60:1-6 Above you the glory of the Lord appears Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance. Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: your sons come from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow, for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you. Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord. Responsorial Psalm: Lord, every nation on earth will adore you. O God, with your jud...

HE WAS REVEALED TO TAKE AWAY SINS First Reading 1John  2:29—3:6   Everyone must try to be as pure as Christ If you consider that God is righteous, you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him. See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure. Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him.   Responsorial Psalm:   All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God . All the ends of the earth ...

I AM NOT THE CHRIST   First Reading 1John 2:22-28 The anointing he gave you teaches you everything Beloved: Who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well. Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made us: eternal life. I write you these things about those who would deceive you. As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him. And now, children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming. Responsorial Psalm: ...

DIEU NOUS A PARLÉ PAR SON FILS First Reading Num. 6:22-27 They are to call down my name on the sons of Israel, and I will bless them The Lord said to Moses: «Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace! So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them». Responsorial Psalm: 66 May God bless us in his mercy. Gospel Second Reading  Gal. 4:4-7   God sent his Son, born of a woman When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons. The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’, and it is this that makes you a son, you are not a slave any more; a...

THE LAST HOUR First  Reading 1John 2:18-21  You have been anointed by the Holy One Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus we know this is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of our number; if they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number. But you have the anointing that comes from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth. Responsorial Psalm: 95 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice! Gospel John  1:1-18: The Word was made flesh, and lived among us 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 came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through hi...

LET THE HEAVENS BE GLAD AND THE EARTH REJOICE First Reading 1John 2,12-17 Observance of the will of God I am writing to you, children, because your sins have been forgiven for his name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the Evil One. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong and the word of God remains in you, and you have conquered the Evil One. Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever. Responsorial Psalm: Let the heavens ...

First Reading 1 John 2:3-11 Anyone who loves his brother is living in the light The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his commandments. Whoever says, «I know him», but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked. Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. And yet I do write a new commandment to you, which holds true in him and among you, for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall. Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkn...

THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF NAZARETH: Readings   First Reading Sirach 3,2-6.12-14 He who fears the Lord respects his parents God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother's authority he confirms over her sons. Whoever honors his father atones for sins, and preserves himself from them. When he prays, he is heard; he stores up riches who reveres his mother. Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children, and, when he prays, is heard. Whoever reveres his father will live a long life; he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother. My son, take care of your father when he is old; grieve him not as long as he lives. Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him; revile him not all the days of his life; kindness to a father will not be forgotten, firmly planted against the debt of your sins —a house raised in justice to you. Responsorial Psalm:  Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways. Second Reading   Colossians 3:12-21 Family life...

THE OTHER DISCIPLE First Reading 1John 1:1-4 The Word, who is life - this is our subject Something which has existed since the beginning, that we have heard, and we have seen with our own eyes; that we have watched and touched with our hands: the Word, who is life, this is our subject.   That life was made visible: we saw it and we are giving our testimony, telling you of the eternal life which was with the Father and has been made visible to us. What we have seen and heard  we are telling you so that you too may be in union with us, as we are in union with the Father  and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing this to you to make our own joy complete.   Responsorial Psalm Rejoice, you just, in the Lord.   Gospel John 20:2-8 The other disciple saw, and he believed On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where...

LORD JESUS, RECEIVE MY SPIRIT  First Reading Acts   6:8-10,7:54-59   The martyrdom of Stephen Stephen was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people. But then certain people came forward to debate with Stephen, some from Cyrene and Alexandria who were members of the synagogue called the Synagogue of Freedmen, and others from Cilicia and Asia. They found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom, and because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said. They were infuriated when they heard this, and ground their teeth at him. But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. ‘I can see heaven thrown open’ he said ‘and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ At this all the members of the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands; then they all rushed at him, sent him out of the city and stoned him. The witne...

YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BECOME YOUR FATHER: Universalis   Reading   Isaiah 52:7-10   Rejoice, for the Lord is consoling his people  How beautiful on the mountains, are the feet of one who brings good news, who heralds peace, brings happiness, proclaims salvation, and tells Zion, ‘Your God is king!’ Listen! Your watchmen raise their voices, they shout for joy together, for they see the Lord face to face, as he returns to Zion.   Break into shouts of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem; for the Lord is consoling his people, redeeming Jerusalem.   The Lord bares his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Responsorial Psalm:      All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.   Second Reading Hebrews 1:1-6   God has spoken to us through his Son At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to ...