Readings for Second Sunday after the Nativity
First reading
Ecclesiasticus 24:1-2,8-12
From eternity, in the beginning, God created wisdom
Wisdom speaks her own praises, in the midst of her people she glories in herself.
She opens her mouth in the assembly of the Most High,
she glories in herself in the presence of the Mighty One;
‘Then the creator of all things instructed me, and he who created me fixed a place for my tent.
He said, “Pitch your tent in Jacob, make Israel your inheritance.”
From eternity, in the beginning, he created me, and for eternity I shall remain.
I ministered before him in the holy tabernacle,
and thus was I established on Zion.
In the beloved city he has given me rest,
and in Jerusalem I wield my authority.
I have taken root in a privileged people,
in the Lord’s property, in his inheritance.’
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 147:12-15,19-20
The Word was made flesh, and lived among us.
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Zion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your gates
he has blessed the children within you.
The Word was made flesh, and lived among us.
He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with finest wheat.
He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command.
The Word was made flesh, and lived among us.
He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees.
The Word was made flesh, and lived among us.
Second reading
Ephesians 1:3-6,15-18
Before the world was made, God chose us in Christ
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.
Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ,
to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence,
determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ
for his own kind purposes, to make us praise the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved.
That will explain why I, having once heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus,
and the love that you show towards all the saints,
have never failed to remember you in my prayers and to thank God for you.
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom
and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him.
May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you,
what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit.
Gospel Acclamation 1Tim3:16
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glory be to you, O Christ, proclaimed to the pagans.
Glory be to you, O Christ, believed in by the world.
Alleluia!
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 with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be,
not one thing had its being but through him.
All that came to be had life in him
and that life was the light of men,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness could not overpower.
A man came, sent by God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness,
as a witness to speak for the light,
so that everyone might believe through him.
He was not the light,
only a witness to speak for the light.
The Word was the true light
that enlightens all men;
and he was coming into the world.
He was in the world
that had its being through him,
and the world did not know him.
He came to his own domain
and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to all who believe in the name of him
who was born not out of human stock
or urge of the flesh
or will of man
but of God himself.
The Word was made flesh,
he lived among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth.
John appears as his witness. He proclaims:
‘This is the one of whom I said:
He who comes after me ranks before me
because he existed before me.’
Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received –
yes, grace in return for grace,
since, though the Law was given through Moses,
grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God;
it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart,
who has made him know
