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The Word today, Holy FamilyA

  • Writer: Admin
    Admin
  • Dec 27, 2025
  • 3 min read

December 29 - January 03, 2026


Saint Thomas Becket, bishop and martyr


1 John 2:3-11 The Letter reflects on the Great Commandment. We are to “mind the gap” between what we say we believe and how we actually live. The standard set is high: we are to live the same kind of life as Christ lived. How can the commandment be both old and new? It is new because in the light of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are enabled by the Spirit put it all into practice — a challenging idea.


Luke 2:22-35 The reading jumps forward to the presentation/purification. The calendrical inconsistency is worthwhile because (1) the imagery of light is sustained within the birth narratives and (2) the delightful picture of the very old Simeon holding the just-born child Jesus.



1 John 2:12-17 The reading addresses the hearers directly but needs careful handling. The “world” does not mean creation as such but whoever in creation is opposed to God.


Luke 2:36-40 Matching the story of Simeon, we hear the story of Anna, daughter of Phanuel. She too is old and at the same time a model of Jewish piety and trust in God. As a prophetess, she proclaims Jesus to all longing for deliverance.


St Silvester, bishop of Rome


1 John 2:18-21 As in all communities, it was not all light and joy in the community of John: some had departed and these are identified harshly with the Antichrist. Nevertheless, those who remain “have been anointed by the Holy One and have all received the knowledge.” In a word, the challenges are an invitation to a deeper sense of our identity in Christ.


John 1:1-18 We have heard this Gospel already over Christmas and it is good to have the chance to hear it again in tranquility, especially at the close of the year. The very last line has the ring of truth: No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.


Mary, the Holy Mother of God


Numbers 6:22-27 Today we have a blessing, a prayer for God’s help and presence as we start the new year. The psalm going with the reading continues the theme of blessing.


Galatians 4:4-7 Paul reminds us today that Jesus was born like one of us, a member of the Jewish people. Christianity is, in some way, the continuation of the Jewish faith, but for all humanity without distinction.


Luke 2:16-21 Today is the eighth day after the birth of Jesus and, according to Jewish tradition, the day for circumcising a newborn son. We are reminded that Jesus was Jew and that the roots of Christianity lie in God’s first chosen people.


Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, bishops and doctors


1 John 2:22-28 The reading reflects profound conflict in the community of the Fourth Gospel over Jesus’ identity. The tone is more confrontational than usual.


John 1:19-28 John the Baptist was a challenge to early Christians, precisely because John baptised Jesus. In this reading, the evangelist puts on the lips of John himself the word from Isaiah first used by Mark’s Gospel.


The Most Holy Name of Jesus


1 John 2:29-3:6 Today we hear a justly famous passage, which goes simply and directly to the heart of the matter. The proclamation of the love of God is completed by presenting the consequences for us as believers.


John 1:29-34 What John says of Jesus reflects the understanding of the Fourth Gospel, an understanding which is deep and challenging. Most likely, we are not really hearing the opinion of the historical John the Baptist but the theology of the evangelist.


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025dg, December 28). Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122825.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings


 
 
 

The Word today, Advent4A

  • Writer: Admin
    Admin
  • Dec 20, 2025
  • 3 min read

December 22 - December 27, 2025



1 Samuel 1:24-28 Hannah very much wanted to have a baby and, after the child’s birth, sang a great song of thanksgiving. Hannah’s song was the inspiration behind Mary’s song of thanksgiving, the Magnificat, in Luke’s Gospel.


Luke 1:46-56 Our responsorial “psalm”—the Song of Hannah—closely resembles the prayer of Mary in the Magnificat. Although this purports to be the meeting of the two pregnant cousins, very little is said of the children to come and instead we hear a great deal about social upheaval and political reversal.


St John of Kęty, Priest


Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24 To music lovers, this reading will sound familiar, from Handel’s Messiah. Malachi says that a figure like Elijah will usher in the end. This was taken to be John the Baptist who ushered in, so to speak, the Messiah and the messianic age.


Luke 1:57-66 The birth of John is told to lay the foundation for the similar yet significantly different story of the birth of Jesus. Both come as the result of a promise. On both occasions, there is “treasuring in the heart.” Both children will enjoy the blessing of God. And yet, one is the forerunner and the other is the Christ.



2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16 Anyone who comes to Mass on this morning will hear a striking reading from 2 Samuel 7: in reality one of the key texts in the OT. It portrays the fidelity of God as seen in God’s loyalty to David and his house. It makes for a great final reflection as we come to mark the birth of Jesus, the son of David, in whom all of God’s faithfulness came to be for us.


There is some word play in today’s reading: house means temple, residence and family line. Even in Nathan’s correction of David, a tremendous promise of God’s faithful through time comes to expression.


Luke 1:67-79 The Benedictus takes up the theme of the House of David and goes on to praise God who is now fulfilling in John and in Jesus his promises of old. The future role of John the Baptist is hauntingly evoked: to prepare the way for him, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins; this by the tender mercy of our God.




St Stephen, the first martyr


Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59 The author of Acts devotes a great deal of space to the story of Stephen’s death, much too long to read at Mass. The excerpted reading gives us the motivation for killing him and then moves immediately to his death. The aware bible reader will hear distinct echoes of the death of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel. In this way, Luke reminds us that the disciple is not greater than the master.


A disciple is not above the teacher, but every disciple who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. (Luke 6:40)


Jesus was a prophet and suffered for his witness — his calling and his destiny are ours too.


Matthew 10:17-22 This remarkable passage — based on Mark but also in Luke — cannot really come from the historical Jesus but seems to be, instead, a reflection on the experience of the early church. Given the way in which Stephen was inspired by the Spirit, this is a wholly suitable reading for the day.


St John, apostle and evangelist.


1 John 1:1-4 The first letter of John, written later in response to a new crisis, does not come from the evangelist but the later school, mentioned above. Our passage is an appeal to tradition (it echoes John 1:1-18) and experience (heard, seen, watched, touched). Given the critical context, the insistence upon joy is noteworthy.


John 20:2-8 We hear a part of a much longer scene in John 20, excerpted to profile the Beloved Disciple. This figure is partly historical and partly symbolic. He gets to the tomb first, precept because he is beloved. Likewise, it is the charismatic which counts and therefore “he saw and he believed.” The institution takes you only so far!


Reference

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025dd, December 21). Fourth Sunday of Advent. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122125.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings


 
 
 

The Word today, Advent3A

  • Writer: Admin
    Admin
  • Dec 13, 2025
  • 3 min read

December 15 - December 20, 2025



Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17 Balaam was a prophet in Moab. When the king of Moab tried to get him to curse Israel, he uttered instead a remarkable blessing. The last lines speak of a star and a sceptre, symbols of the coming Messiah, picked up in Matthew 1-2.


Matthew 21:23-27 Jesus counters a trick question and yet it is obvious that he think John the Baptist came from God.



Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13 Both praise and blame are found in this reading. In these days, when affirmation is considered so healthy, we can listen to both!


Matthew 21:23-27 This is one of the blindingly obvious parables. The closing identification with the acceptance or rejection of John should not leave us off the hook. Are there people today whose uncomfortable word I resist?



The next 8 days, December 17-24, form a special period within Advent, intensifying the preparation for the birth of Jesus. The readings, while perhaps unfamiliar, are chosen with the greatest care. The Gospel writers did indeed have Old Testament anticipations very much in mind. The “match” between the first reading and the Gospel in these final days should help us reflect even more deeply as we mark the birth of the longed-for Messiah.


Genesis 49:2, 8-10 The great patriarch Jacob is about to die and he gathers his sons around him for a final blessing. The blessing to Judah (= son, tribe and tribal area) includes a reference to the sceptre—pointing to the much later Davidic dynasty. God’s fidelity to David’s line is fulfilled in Jesus. It thus prepares for the Gospel, which is the genealogy in Matthew.


Matthew 1:1-17 This apparently dry genealogy tells several stories. The story of Jesus ancestors—with many not so holy! The women are mightily significant—God writing straight with crooked lines of human lives! There is hope for us all, seems to be part of the message. The grand schema is also eloquent, as it moves from promise and possession to loss and longing. Thus the writer sets the stage for the birth of Jesus.



Jeremiah 23:5-8 The oracle cited here has its historical place in the Exile (as is very clear from the reading itself). But the real reason for the choice lies in the first couple of verses, which underline God’s faithfulness to David and his offspring. This prepares directly for the Gospel.


Matthew 1:18-24 This passage continues where yesterday’s left off. God-with-us—Emmanuel—reminds us of God’s word to Jacob, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, Jeremiah and so forth. Also to us, if we reflect back.



Judges 13:2-7, 24-25 The birth stories of Jesus in Matthew 1- 2 and Luke 1-2 often echo highly signifcant accounts in the Old Testament. Today’s reading from Judges is an example: an annunciation to a woman who is childless. There is even a similarity between the word nazirite (a kind of prophet) and Nazareth (or Nazarene).


Luke 1:5-25 Our Gospel is also an annunciation but this time to a childless father, to Zechariah the priest who is to become the father of John the Baptism.


St Fachanan, bishop


Isaiah 7:10-14 This passage from Isaiah is explicitly cited in Matthew’s account of the annunciation to Joseph in a dream.


Luke 1:26-38 The annunciation to Mary (the fourth in our sequence) matches the pattern of Old Testament annunciation scenes and then, significantly, breaks it. Mary is open to God’s call.


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025dc, December 14). Third Sunday of Advent. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121425.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings


 
 
 
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