May the Peace of Christ be with you.
USHERS: We will be taking up TWO collections this weekend.
- The first is to follow the prayers of the faithful. YES, you can begin this during the announcements.
- The second will follow communion. This may begin as the last Eucharistic Minister is beginning their return to the altar.
Please identify to the Sacristan your availability to assist and coordinate our efforts.
LECTORS: For the Prayers of the Faithful, please proceed to the altar in anticipation of your role, as the presider begins to introduce our prayers. Please do not wait in your seat for him to finish the introduction, therefore, placing quiet time between the introduction and the actual prayers. Thank you.
Meanwhile, our First Reading is the taken from the Book of Numbers 6:22-27. After the Exodus (or coming out of Egypt) and after God had made a covenant on Mount Sinai with the Chosen People, Moses, on God's instructions, set the tribe of Levi apart so that they would offer the sacrifices and carry out the liturgy in the name of, and for, the rest of the tribes. The direct line of Aaron, head of the tribe of Levi, were to be the priests who would have the principal part in the offering of the sacrifices and in the other liturgical acts. One of the liturgical acts of the priests was to bless the people after the daily sacrifices and on other solemn occasions. The blessing was a reward for the keeping of the covenant by the people, and a guarantee that the blessing promised to all nations through Abraham would be fulfilled one day.
The Second Reading is taken from the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians 4:4-7. The Galatians—pagans recently converted to Christianity by Paul—were being disturbed in their faith by Judaizers, that is, by Jews who pretended to be Christians but were not. These were telling the new converts that Christianity was not something really new, but only a new form of Judaism, and therefore the converts must accept circumcision and other practices of the old law. Paul in his letter reacts strongly to this falsehood. Christianity is not a reform of Judaism, he states, but is its replacement. Judaism was only a preparation, Christianity is the fulfillment; the old law was but a shadow of things to come, Christianity is the reality.
The Gospel of today's feast is from the Gospel of Luke 2:21. This story of the humble shepherds of Bethlehem coming to find Jesus "in the manger wrapped in swaddling clothe" already read at the Dawn Mass on Christmas Day, is repeated today because of the feast we are celebrating, the Divine Motherhood of Mary. It is the feast of Christmas again, the feast of the Incarnation and birth of our Savior, but it is Mary's part in this wonderful mystery of God's love for men that the Church is stressing today.
A brief prayer / meditation for you can be found here.
You can now find previous flocknote messages (including for Lectors) at