Daily Reading for Sunday, December 21st, 2025

Gospel, Matthew 1:18-24

¹⁸ This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

¹⁹ Her husband Joseph, being an upright man and wanting to spare her disgrace, decided to divorce her informally.

²⁰ He had made up his mind to do this when suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit.

²¹ She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.'

²² Now all this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet:

²³ Look! the virgin is with child and will give birth to a son whom they will call Immanuel, a name which means 'God-is-with-us'.

²⁴ When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home;

Reading 2, Romans 1:1-7

¹ From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle,

² set apart for the service of the gospel that God promised long ago through his prophets in the holy scriptures.

³ This is the gospel concerning his Son who, in terms of human nature

⁴ was born a descendant of David and who, in terms of the Spirit and of holiness, was designated Son of God in power by resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ, our Lord,

⁵ through whom we have received grace and our apostolic mission of winning the obedience of faith among all the nations for the honour of his name.

⁶ You are among these, and by his call you belong to Jesus Christ.

⁷ To you all, God's beloved in Rome, called to be his holy people. Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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