Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God

LECTIONARY
18

FIRST READING

NM 6:22-27

The LORD said to Moses:
"Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them:
This is how you shall bless the Israelites.
Say to them:
The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and
give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites,
and I will bless them."

PSALM

PS 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8

Response: May God bless us in his mercy

May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.

May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.

May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!

SECOND READING

GAL 4:4-7

Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, "Abba, Father!"
So you are no longer a slave but a son,
and if a son then also an heir, through God.

GOSPEL

LK 2:16-21

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.

When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.

Daily Reflection

If we truly wish to grow, it is important that we take time off, repeatedly, to reflect on our encounters with people and our responses to life’s situations, and ask ourselves if we could have responded differently.

On this first day of the year, the Church presents us with a model of constant reflection - Mary our mother. The Gospels (like the one today) cite several instances of Mary pondering over her encounters: at the Annunciation, after the visit of the shepherds, on hearing prophet Simeon’s words, on Jesus’ response when he was found in the temple. It was through a process of reflection that Mary gradually began to discover the meaning and implications of the events in her life. The meaning came through both divine revelation and her own experiences.

God speaks to us, too, through divine revelation (i.e. the Bible, the teachings of the Church) as well as through our personal experiences. If we fail to reflect on these, we will have gone through yet another year having grown ‘none-the-wiser’.