Responsorial Psalm

℟. (cf. 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.

In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
   let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;
   incline your ear to me, and save me.

℟. I will sing of your salvation.

Be my rock of refuge,
   a stronghold to give me safety,
   for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.

℟. I will sing of your salvation.

For you are my hope, O Lord;
   my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
   from my mother’s womb you are my strength.

℟. I will sing of your salvation.

My mouth shall declare your justice,
   day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
   and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.

℟. I will sing of your salvation.

2nd Reading

1 Cor 12:31-13:13 or 13:4-13

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians

Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in human and angelic tongues,
   but do not have love,
   I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy,
   and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
   if I have all faith so as to move mountains,
   but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
   and if I hand my body over so that I may boast,
   but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
   it is not inflated, it is not rude,
   it does not seek its own interests,
   it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
   it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
   hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
   if tongues, they will cease;
   if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
   but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
   think as a child, reason as a child;
   when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
   but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
   then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
   but the greatest of these is love.

Or: [Shorter Form]

Brothers and sisters:
Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
   it is not inflated, it is not rude,
   it does not seek its own interests,
   it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
   it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
   hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
   if tongues, they will cease;
   if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
   but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
   think as a child, reason as a child;
   when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
   but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
   then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
   but the greatest of these is love.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Gospel

Lk 4:21-30

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, saying:
   “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
   and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
   ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say,
   ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said, “Amen, I say to you,
   no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
   when the sky was closed for three and a half years
   and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
   but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
   during the time of Elisha the prophet;
   yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
   they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
   and led him to the brow of the hill
   on which their town had been built,
   to hurl him down headlong.
But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away.

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Then he kisses the book, saying quietly:

Through the words of the Gospel
may our sins be wiped away.

The Creed is said.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.

Nicene Creed

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.

God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of
the Virgin Mary, and became man.

For our sake he was crucified
under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right
hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the
Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son
is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in One, Holy,
Catholic and Apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism
for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to
the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come.

Amen.

Gospel Canticle

Ant. Everyone heard with amazement what Jesus taught, for he spoke with such authority.

Canticle of Zechariah
Luke 1:68-79
The Messiah and his forerunner

Blessed + be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old †
  that he would save us from our enemies, *
  from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight
   all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.


Ant. Everyone heard with amazement what Jesus taught, for he spoke with such authority.