FIRST READING     

A reading from the book of  Judges         13:2-7. 24-25
The birth of Samson was announced by an angel.

There was a man of Zorah of the tribe of Dan, called Manoah. His wife was barren, she had borne no children. The angel of the Lord appeared to this woman and said to her, 'You are barren and have had no child. But from now on take great care. Take no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For you will conceive and bear a son. No razor is to touch his head, for the boy shall be God's nazirite from his mother's womb. It is he who will begin to rescue Israel from the power of the Philistines.' Then the woman went and told her husband, 'A man of God has just come to me; his presence was like the presence of the angel of God, he was so majestic. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not reveal his name to me. But he said to me, "You will conceive and bear a son. From now on, take no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy shail be God's nazirite from his mother's womb to his dying day."'

The woman gave birth to a son and called him Samson. The child grew, and The Lord blessed him; and the spirit of the Lord began to move him.

The Word of the Lord

Responsorial Psalm           Ps : 70
Response                                 My lips are filled with your praise, with your glory all the day long.

1. Be a rock where I can take refuge,
a mighty stronghold to save me;
for you are my rock, my stronghold.
Free me from the hand of the wicked.                     Response

2. It is you, O Lord, who are my hope,
my trust, 0 Lord, since my youth.
On you I have leaned from my birth,
from my mother's womb you have been my help.Response

3. I will declare the Lord's mighty deeds
proclaiming your justice, yours alone.
O God, you have taught me from my youth
and I proclaim your wonders still.                          Response

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
Root of Jesse, set up as a sign to the peoples,
come to save u, and delay no more.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL                

A reading from the holy Gospel according to  Luke              1:5-25
The birth of John the Baptist was announced by Gabriel.

In the days of King Herod of Judaea there lived a priest called Zechariah who belonged to the Abijah section of the priesthood, and he had a wife, Elizabeth by name, who was a descendant of Aaron. Both were worthy in the sight of God, and scrupulously observed all the commandments and observances of the Lord. But they were childless: Elizabeth was barren and they were both getting on in years.

Now it was the turn of Zechariah's section to serve, and he was exercising his priestly office before God when it fell to him by lot, as the ritual custom was, to enter the Lord's sanctuary and burn incense there. And at the hour of incense the whole congregation was outside, praying.     



Then there appeared to him the angel of the Lord, standing on the right of the altar of incense. The sight disturbed Zechariah and he was overcome with fear. But the angel said to him, 'Zechariah, do not be afraid, your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son and you must name him John. He will be your joy and delight and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he must drink no wine, no strong drink. Even from his mother's womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will bring back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the disobedient back to the wisdom that the virtuous have, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him. Zechariah said to the angel, 'How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is getting on in years.' The angel replied, 'I am Gabriel who stand in God's presence, and I have been sent to speak to you and bring you this good news. Listen! Since you have not believed my words, which will come true at their appointed time, you will be silenced and have no power of speech until this has happened.' Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were surprised that he stayed in the sanctuary so long. When he came out he could not speak to them, andtheyrealised that he had received a vision in the sanctuary. But he could only make signs to them, and remained dumb.

When his time of service came to an end he returned home. Some time later his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept to herself. 'The Lord has done this for me' she said 'now that it has pleased him to take away the humiliation I suffered among men.'

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Gospel Reflection      19th Dec.        Third Week of Advent,        Luke 1:5-25

Yesterday’s gospel reading from Matthew was the story of the annunciation to Joseph of the birth of Jesus. Today’s gospel reading from Luke is the story of the annunciation to Zechariah of the birth of John the Baptist. Joseph was a carpenter in the small village of Nazareth in Galilee. Zechariah was a priest who was carrying out his duties in the Temple of Jerusalem. The Lord spoke to both of these men as they went about their very different tasks. The Lord always meets us where we are, wherever that is. Although a priest, familiar with the world of the sacred, Zechariah’s response to God’s messenger was one of disbelief. As the angel Gabriel declared to him, ‘you have not believed my words’. Zechariah was rendered dumb, as if to indicate that this experience left him speechless. It was such a mysterious experience that he could convey nothing about it to anyone. Some months later when his child was born and he had started to come to terms with the mystery of it all, he would speak, and, how he would speak! He would burst forth in the praise of God, in the wonderful prayer that we have come to call the Benedictus and that has become part of the morning prayer of the Church. Sometimes, the Lord can touch our lives in very mysterious ways that leave us speechless. We struggle to put words on the experience. Saint Paul once referred to some mystical experience in which ‘he heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat’. Silence is often the only response we can make to the Lord touching our lives in some mysterious way. Like Zechariah, it is only over time that we may find words to proclaim such experiences to God in prayer and to others as gospel.

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The scripture readings are taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/

The Gospel reflection comes from: Weekday Reflections for the Liturgical Year 2018/2019; I Want to Know Christ
by Martin Hogan, published by The Messenger  c/f   www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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FIRST READING 

A reading from the book of the Prophet Micah        5:1-4
Out of you will be born the one who is to rule over Israel.

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.

The Word of the Lord

Responsorial Psalm          Ps 79
Response                              God of hosts, bring us back;let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
1. O shepherd of Israel, hear us,
shine forth from your cherubim throne.
O Lord, rouse up your might,
O Lord, come to our help.                                   Response

2. 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.               Response

3. 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. Response

SECOND READING 

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Hebrews      10:5-10
Here I am! I am coming to obey your will.

This is what he 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.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel  Acclamation          Lk 1: 38
Alleluia, alleluia!
'I am the handmaid of the Lord,'
'let what you have said be done to me.'
Alleluia!
GOSPEL                       

 A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke       1:39-45
Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?

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.

The Gospel of the Lord.



Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.