First Reading

First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (1 Cor 2: 1-5)

I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

When I came to you, brothers and sisters,
proclaiming the mystery of God,
I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom.
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you
except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling,
and my message and my proclamation
were not with persuasive words of wisdom,
but with a demonstration of spirit and power,
so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom
but on the power of God.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 119: 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102

Lord, I love your commands.

How I love your law, O LORD!
It is my meditation all the day.

Your command has made me wiser than my enemies,
for it is ever with me.

I have more understanding than all my teachers
when your decrees are my meditation.

I have more discernment than the elders,
because I observe your precepts.

From every evil way I withhold my feet,
that I may keep your words.

From your ordinances I turn not away,
for you have instructed me.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 4: 16-30)

He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor. No prophet is accepted in his own native place.

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.’
Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,

“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked,

“Is this not the son of Joseph?”

He said to them,

“Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’

And he said,

“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

— The Gospel of the Lord.

The Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth

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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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