23 December 2025 (Tuesday)
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent.
Advent Weekday / Saint John of Kanty, Priest.
Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:
First Reading: Malachi 3: 1-4, 4: 5-6
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 25: 4-5, 8-9, 10 and 14
Gospel: Luke 1: 57-66
First Reading: Malachi 3: 1-4, 4: 5-6
1 Behold I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face. And presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the angel of the testament, whom you desire, shall come to his temple. Behold he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts.
2 And who shall be able to think of the day of his coming? and who shall stand to see him? for he is like a refining fire, and like the fuller’s herb:
3 And he shall sit refining and cleansing the silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and shall refine them as gold, and as silver, and they shall offer sacrifices to the Lord in justice.
4 And the sacrifice of Juda and of Jerusalem shall please the Lord, as in the days of old, and in the ancient years.
4:5 Behold I will send you Elias the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers: lest I come, and strike the earth with anathema.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 25: 4-5, 8-9, 10 and 14
R. (Luke 21:28) Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
4 Let all them be confounded that act unjust things without cause. shew, O Lord, thy ways to me, and teach me thy paths.
5 Direct me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art God my Saviour.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
8 The Lord is sweet and righteous: therefore he will give a law to sinners in the way.
9 He will guide the mild in judgment: he will teach the meek his ways.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
10 All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to them that seek after his covenant and his testimonies.
14 The Lord is a firmament to them that fear him: and his covenant shall be made manifest to them.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O King of all nations and keystone of the Church; come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Luke 1: 57-66
57 Now Elizabeth’s full time of being delivered was come, and she brought forth a son.
58 And her neighbours and kinsfolks heard that the Lord had shewed his great mercy towards her, and they congratulated with her.
59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called him by his father’s name Zachary.
60 And his mother answering, said: Not so; but he shall be called John.
61 And they said to her: There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
63 And demanding a writing table, he wrote, saying: John is his name. And they all wondered.
64 And immediately his mouth was opened, and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.
65 And fear came upon all their neighbours; and all these things were noised abroad over all the hill country of Judea.
66 And all they that had heard them laid them up in their heart, saying: What an one, think ye, shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.
For our reflection today:
The entire event of the birth of John the Baptist is surrounded by a joyous sense of wonder, surprise and gratitude. Wonder, surprise, gratitude. The people are filled with a holy fear of God “and all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea” (v. 65). The faithful people sense that something great has occurred, even though it is humble and hidden, and they ask themselves: “What then will this child be?” (v. 66). The faithful People of God are able to live the faith with joy, with a sense of wonder, of surprise and of gratitude. We see those people who spoke well about this marvelous thing, this miracle of John’s birth, and they did so with joy, they were happy, with a sense of wonder, surprise and gratitude. And looking at this, let us ask ourselves: how is my faith? Is it joyful? Is it open to God’s surprises? Because God is the God of surprises. Have I ‘tasted’ in my soul that sense of wonder which the presence of God brings, that sense of gratitude? Let us think about these words which are the moods of faith: joy, a sense of wonder, a sense of surprise and gratitude. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 24 June 2018)
Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)
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