First reading

Book of Malachi (Mal 3: 1-4, 23-24)

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the day of the Lord comes.

Thus says the Lord GOD:

Lo, I am sending my messenger
to prepare the way before me;
And suddenly there will come to the temple
the LORD whom you seek,
And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.
Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
But who will endure the day of his coming?
And who can stand when he appears?
For he is like the refiner’s fire,
or like the fuller’s lye.
He will sit refining and purifying silver,
and he will purify the sons of Levi,
Refining them like gold or like silver
that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.
Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem
will please the LORD,
as in the days of old, as in years gone by.

Lo, I will send you
Elijah, the prophet,
Before the day of the LORD comes,
the great and terrible day,
To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
the land with doom.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 25: 4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14

Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.

Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.

All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

O King of all nations and keystone of the Church; come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!

Alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 1: 57-66)

The birth of John the Baptist.

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,

“No. He will be called John.”

But they answered her,

“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”

So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote,

“John is his name,”

and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,

“What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.”

— Gospel of the Lord.

First reading

First Book of Samuel (1 Sm 1: 24-28)

Hannah gives thanks for the birth of Samuel.

In those days,
Hannah brought Samuel with her,
along with a three-year-old bull,
an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine,
and presented him at the temple of the Lord in Shiloh.
After the boy’s father had sacrificed the young bull,
Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said:

“Pardon, my Lord!
As you live, my Lord,
I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the Lord.
I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request.
Now I, in turn, give him to the Lord;
as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord.”

She left Samuel there.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

First Book of Samuel (1 Sm 2: 1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd)

My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.

“My heart exults in the Lord,
my horn is exalted in my God.
I have swallowed up my enemies;
I rejoice in my victory.”

“The bows of the mighty are broken,
while the tottering gird on strength.
The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,
while the hungry batten on spoil.
The barren wife bears seven sons,
while the mother of many languishes.”

“The Lord puts to death and gives life;
he casts down to the nether world;
he raises up again.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich,
he humbles, he also exalts.”

“He raises the needy from the dust;
from the dung heap he lifts up the poor,
To seat them with nobles
and make a glorious throne their heritage.”

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

O King of all nations and keystone of the Church: come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!

Alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 1: 46-56)

He who is mighty has done great things for me.

At that time: Mary said,

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.”

Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months
and then returned to her home.

— Gospel of the Lord.

First reading

Book of Isaiah (Is 7: 10-14)

Behold, a virgin shall conceive.

The Lord spoke to Ahaz:

Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!

But Ahaz answered,

“I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!”

Then Isaiah said:

Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary men,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 24: 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.

The Lord’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.

Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.

He shall receive a blessing from the Lord,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

O Key of David, opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness!

Alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 1: 26-38)

You will conceive in your womb and bear a son.

In the sixth month,
the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,

“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,

“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”

But Mary said to the angel,

“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”

And the angel said to her in reply,

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”

Mary said,

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”

Then the angel departed from her.

— Gospel of the Lord.