Daily Reading for Sunday, January 5th, 2014

Reading 1, Sirach 24:1-4, 8-12

¹ Wisdom speaks her own praises, in the midst of her people she glories in herself.

² She opens her mouth in the assembly of the Most High, she glories in herself in the presence of the Mighty One:

³ 'I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and I covered the earth like mist.

⁴ I had my tent in the heights, and my throne was a pillar of cloud.

⁸ Then the Creator of all things instructed me and he who created me fixed a place for my tent. He said, "Pitch your tent in Jacob, make Israel your inheritance."

⁹ From eternity, in the beginning, he created me, and for eternity I shall remain.

¹⁰ In the holy tent I ministered before him and thus became established in Zion.

¹¹ In the beloved city he has given me rest, and in Jerusalem I wield my authority.

¹² I have taken root in a privileged people, in the Lord's property, in his inheritance.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20

¹² Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem, Zion, praise your God.

¹³ For he gives strength to the bars of your gates, he blesses your children within you,

¹⁴ he maintains the peace of your frontiers, gives you your fill of finest wheat.

¹⁵ He sends his word to the earth, his command runs quickly,

¹⁹ He reveals his word to Jacob, his statutes and judgements to Israel.

²⁰ For no other nation has he done this, no other has known his judgements.

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Gospel, John 1:1-18

¹ In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.

² He was with God in the beginning.

³ Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him.

⁴ What has come into being in him was life, life that was the light of men;

⁵ and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it.

⁶ A man came, sent by God. His name was John.

⁷ He came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that everyone might believe through him.

⁸ He was not the light, he was to bear witness to the light.

⁹ The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone; he was coming into the world.

¹⁰ He was in the world that had come into being through him, and the world did not recognise him.

¹¹ He came to his own and his own people did not accept him.

¹² But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believed in his name

¹³ who were born not from human stock or human desire or human will but from God himself.

¹⁴ The Word became flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁵ John witnesses to him. He proclaims: 'This is the one of whom I said: He who comes after me has passed ahead of me because he existed before me.'

¹⁶ Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received -- one gift replacing another,

¹⁷ for the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

Reading 2, Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18

³ Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.

⁴ Thus he chose us in Christ before the world was made to be holy and faultless before him in love,

⁵ marking us out for himself beforehand, to be adopted sons, through Jesus Christ. Such was his purpose and good pleasure,

⁶ to the praise of the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved,

¹⁵ That is why I, having once heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love for all God's holy people,

¹⁶ have never failed to thank God for you and to remember you in my prayers.

¹⁷ May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him.

¹⁸ May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, how rich is the glory of the heritage he offers among his holy people,

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