January 4, 2015

First Reading

Sirach 24: 1-4, 8-12

24:1	Wisdom will praise her own mind, and she will be honored by God, and she will be glorified in the midst of her people.
24:2	And she will open her mouth in the churches of the Most High, and she will be glorified in the sight of his virtue.
24:3	And in the midst of her own people, she will be exalted. And she will be admired by the holy assembly.
24:4	And she will have praise within the multitude of the elect. And she will be blessed among the blessed. And she will say:

24:8 I alone have encompassed the circuit of heaven, and have penetrated to the depths of the abyss, and have walked upon the waves of the sea,

24:9 and have stood upon the whole earth. And among every people,

24:10 and in every nation, I have held primacy.

24:11 And by virtue, I have tread upon the hearts of all, the great and the lowly. And I have sought my rest in all of them. And I will continue, as the inheritance of the Lord.

24:12 Then the Creator of all things instructed and spoke with me. And the One who created me rested in my tabernacle.

Second Reading

Ephesians 1: 3-6, 15-18

1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, in Christ,

1:4 just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy and immaculate in his sight, in charity.

1:5 He has predestined us to adoption as sons, through Jesus Christ, in himself, according to the purpose of his will,

1:6 for the praise of the glory of his grace, with which he has gifted us in his beloved Son.

1:15 Because of this, and hearing of your faith that is in the Lord Jesus, and of your love toward all the saints,

1:16 I have not ceased giving thanks for you, calling you to mind in my prayers,

1:17 so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give a spirit of wisdom and of revelation to you, in knowledge of him.

1:18 May the eyes of your heart be illuminated, so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and the wealth of the glory of his inheritance with the saints,

Gospel

John 1: 1- 18

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

1:2 He was with God in the beginning.

1:3 All things were made through Him, and nothing that was made was made without Him.

1:4 Life was in Him, and Life was the light of men.

1:5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

1:6 There was a man sent by God, whose name was John.

1:7 He arrived as a witness to offer testimony about the Light, so that all would believe through him.

1:8 He was not the Light, but he was to offer testimony about the Light.

1:9 The true Light, which illuminates every man, was coming into this world.

1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not recognize him.

1:11 He went to his own, and his own did not accept him.

1:12 Yet whoever did accept him, those who believed in his name, he gave them the power to become the sons of God.

1:13 These are born, not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

1:14 And the Word became flesh, and he lived among us, and we saw his glory, glory like that of an only-begotten son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

1:15 John offers testimony about him, and he cries out, saying: “This is the one about whom I said: ‘He who is to come after me, has been placed ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ ”

1:16 And from his fullness, we all have received, even grace for grace.

1:17 For the law was given though Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

1:18 No one ever saw God; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he himself has described him.