First Reading

Book of Genesis (Gn 3: 9-15)

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers.

After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree,
the LORD God called to the man and asked him,

“Where are you?”

He answered,

“I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself.”

Then he asked,

“Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”

The man replied,

“The woman whom you put here with me —
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”

The LORD God then asked the woman,

“Why did you do such a thing?”

The woman answered,

“The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”

Then the LORD God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
on your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel.”

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 130: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.

If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.

I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the LORD.

For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption
and he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.

Second Reading

Second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (2 Cor 4: 13 — 5: 1)

I believed, therefore I spoke.

Brothers and sisters:
Since we have the same spirit of faith,
according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,
we too believe and therefore we speak,
knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus
and place us with you in his presence.
Everything indeed is for you,
so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people
may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.
Therefore, we are not discouraged;
rather, although our outer self is wasting away,
our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For this momentary light affliction
is producing for us an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison,
as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen;
for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.
For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent,
should be destroyed,
we have a building from God,
a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.

— The word of the Lord.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Now the ruler of the world will be driven out, says the Lord; and when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ accoding to Saint Mark (Mk 3: 20-35)

That is the end of Satan.

Jesus came home with his disciples.
Again the crowd gathered,
making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
for they said,

“He is out of his mind.”

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said,

“He is possessed by Beelzebul,”

and

“By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,

“How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself,
that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself
and is divided, he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder the house.
Amen, I say to you,
all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be
forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”

For they had said,

“He has an unclean spirit.”

His mother and his brothers arrived.
Standing outside they sent word to him and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,

“Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you.”

But he said to them in reply,

“Who are my mother and my brothers?”

And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,

“Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.”

— 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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