First Reading

Book of Genesis (Gn 3: 1-8)

You will be like God, knowing good and evil.

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,

“Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?”

The woman answered the serpent:

“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
it is only about the fruit of the tree
in the middle of the garden that God said,
‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’”

But the serpent said to the woman:

“You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil.”

The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized that they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together
and made loincloths for themselves.

When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden
at the breezy time of the day,
the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God
among the trees of the garden.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm (Ps 32: 1-2, 5, 6, 7)

Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.

Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, "I confess my faults to the LORD,"
and you took away the guilt of my sin.

For this shall every faithful man pray to you
in time of stress.
Though deep waters overflow,
they shall not reach him.

You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me;
with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round.

Gospel

Alleluia. Alleluia.

Open our hearts, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.

Alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark (Mk 7: 31-37)

He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.

Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man's ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,

“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)

And immediately the man's ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,

“He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

The Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth

At the end of its second General Assembly, held from 15 to 18 October 2024, the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace sent a message to government officials at all levels, as well as to all Malagasy and all people of goodwill.

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Love and Salvation

Christmas is a great joy, because it is the love of God that has come to us, proclaims Fr. Bizimana Innocent, Provincial Superior of the Salesians Don Bosco of Madagascar and Mauritius, presenting his Christmas greetings. Salvation is accomplished, so life is not in danger of disappearing. It is this love and this salvation that we wish to fill our life so that we have peace.

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Zatti, our brother

The short film "Zatti, our brother" (Argentina, 2020) focuses on one of the most difficult episodes of his life. We are in Viedma, in 1941: at the age of 60, Zatti is forced to leave the hospital he has attended for decades. His faith and strength are tested.

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