Readings for Sunday, December 19, 2021
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 12
Ir-Raba’ Ħadd tal-Avvent
Reading 1 MICAH 5:1-4a
Thus says the LORD: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, and the rest of his kindred shall return to the children of Israel. He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God; and they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace.
QARI 1 mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Mikea 5:1-4a
Dan
jgħid il-Mulej: “Int, Betlehem ta’ Efrata, ċkejkna fost il-familji ta’
Ġuda, minnek għad joħroġli dak li jkun prinċep f’Iżrael; hu għandu
l-bidu tiegħu mill-qedem, sa minn dejjem ta’ dejjem. Għalhekk il-Mulej
jitlaqhom sa meta teħles dik li hi fl-uġigħ tal-ħlas; imbagħad il-bqija
ta’ ħutu jerġgħu lura fost ulied Iżrael. U hu joqgħod jirgħa l-merħla
tiegħu bil-qawwa tal-Mulej, bil-glorja ta’ isem il-Mulej, Alla tiegħu. U
huma jgħammru fiż-żgur, għax issa tkun kbira setgħetu, sa trufijiet
l-art. U dan ikun is-sliem!”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
Responsorial Psalm PSALM 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
SALM RESPONSORJALI Salm 79(80):2aċ,3b,15-16,18-19
R/.(4): Mulej, itfa’ fuqna d-dija ta’ wiċċek, u nkunu salvi.
O Ragħaj ta’ Iżrael, agħti widen,
int li qiegħed fuq il-kerubini, iddi.
Qajjem il-qawwa tiegħek,
u ejja ħa ssalvana. R/.
Erġa’ ejja, Alla tal-eżerċti;
ħares mis-sema, u ara,
u żur ’il din id-dielja.
Ħu ħsieb dak li ħawlet lemintek,
ir-rimja li int kabbart għalik. R/.
Ħa tkun idek fuq il-bniedem ta’ lemintek,
fuq il-bniedem li int saħħaħt għalik.
Aħna ma nitbegħdux minnek;
roddilna l-ħajja, u aħna nsejħu ismek. R/.
Reading 2 HEBREWS 10:5-10
Brothers and sisters: When Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight. Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll, behold, I come to do your will, O God.’“ First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in.” These are offered according to the law. Then he says, :Behold, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second. By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
QARI 2 mill-Ittra lil-Lhud 10:5-10
Ħuti,
Kristu meta daħal fid-dinja qal: “Sagrifiċċju u offerta int ma ridtx,
imma ġisem int ħejjejt għalija; vittmi maħruqa u vittmi għad-dnubiet
lilek ma għoġbukx. Jien imbagħad għedt: ‘Hawn jien, ġejt biex nagħmel
ir-rieda tiegħek, o Alla, kif fil-ktieb hemm miktub fuqi’”. L-ewwel qal:
“Sagrifiċċji u offerti, vittmi maħruqa u vittmi għad-dnubiet, la
ridthom u lanqas għoġbuk”, għalkemm dawn titlobhom il-Liġi. Imbagħad
qal: “Hawn jien, ġejt biex nagħmel ir-rieda tiegħek”. B’hekk Alla neħħa
s-sagrifiċċji tal-ewwel biex iqiegħed flokhom tat-tieni. Bis-saħħa ta’
din ir-rieda aħna konna mqaddsin, permezz tal-offerta tal-ġisem ta’ Ġesù
Kristu magħmula darba għal dejjem. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
Gospel LUKE 1:39-45
Mary set out and travelled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
EVANĠELJU Qari skont San Luqa 1:39-45
F’dawk il-ġranet Marija qamet u marret tħaffef lejn l-għoljiet, f’belt tal-Lhudija. Daħlet għand Żakkarija u sellmet lil Eliżabetta. Malli Eliżabetta semgħet lil Marija ssellmilha, it-tarbija qabżet fil-ġuf tagħha u Eliżabetta mtliet bl-Ispirtu s-Santu; u nfexxet f’għajta kbira u qalet: “Imbierka inti fost in-nisa, u mbierek il-frott tal-ġuf tiegħek! U minn fejn ġieni dan li omm il-Mulej tiegħi tiġi għandi? Għax ara, malli smajt f’widnejja leħen it-tislima tiegħek, it-tarbija li għandi fil-ġuf qabżet bil-ferħ. Iva, hienja dik li emmnet li jseħħ kulma bagħat jgħidilha l-Mulej”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
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Eight-minute Gospel reflection by Fr Antony Kadavil
REBORN EVERY DAY!
Central theme:
Sunday’s readings remind us that Jesus is reborn every day in ordinary people living ordinary lives, who have the willingness to respond to God’s call and the openness to do God’s will.They suggest that Christmas should inspire us to carry out God’s word as Mary and Jesus did, in perfect, loving obedience to His will, with cheerful kindness and unselfish generosity. (You may add a pertinent homily starter anecdote)
Scripture lessons:
In the first reading, the prophet Micah gives assurance to the Jews that God is faithful to His promises and that from the unimportant village of Bethlehem He will send them the long-expected ruler.
The third stanza of today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps. 80), is a prayer for God’s blessing on the Davidic king, of Whom we sing in the first, “O Shepherd of Israel, hearken; from Your Throne upon the cherubim, shine forth! Rouse Your power and come to save us!” (vv 2-3). The second reading, taken from Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews, reminds us to be thankful for Jesus Christ’s Self-offering, the perfect sacrifice of loving obedience that liberated us from sin. In obedient, willing eagerness to do God’s will, (“Behold, I come to do Your will”), Christ gave Himself in the place of all other ritual sacrifices offered as the means of sanctification.
In the Gospel, Luke tells us how two seemingly insignificant women met to celebrate the kindness and fidelity of God. We see here how sensitive Mary was to the needs of Elizabeth, her older cousin who had miraculously become pregnant in her old age. For Luke, discipleship consists in listening to God’s word and then carrying it out, and Mary does both, to become the most perfect disciple.
Life messages:
1) We need to carry Jesus to others as Mary did. Christmas is the ideal time for us to be filled with the Spirit of Christ, through Whom Christ is reborn in us and thus enables us to share His love with all whom we encounter. We do so by offering them all humble and committed service, unconditional forgiveness and compassionate, caring love. Let us take the time to visit others during this Christmas season, especially the sick and shut-ins, to bring some inspiration into their lives, and hopefully to bring them closer to God.
2) We need to bless and encourage the younger generation. Elizabeth demonstrates the responsibility of the older generation to inspire the younger generation. Grandparents, parents, teachers, and leaders are responsible for encouraging those around them. By complimenting and encouraging one’s spouse, children and friends, let us make them know how valuable they are to us and to God.
3) We need to recognize the Real Presence of the Emmanuel (God is with us) in the Holy Eucharist, in the Bible, in the Sacraments, and in the praying community. The hill country of Judea is right here in our surroundings. Let us convey Jesus to people around us by our acts of love, kindness and forgiveness.
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