First Reading - Is 60:1-6
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the
glory of the Lord shines upon
you. See, darkness covers the
earth, and thick clouds cover
the peoples; but upon you the
Lord shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall
walk by your light, and kings
by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look
about; they all gather and come
to you: your sons come from
afar, and your daughters in the
arms of their nurses. Then you
shall be radiant at what you
see, your heart shall throb and
overflow, for the riches of the
sea shall be emptied out before
you, the wealth of nations shall
be brought to you. Caravans of
camels shall fi ll you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; all
from Sheba shall come bearing
gold and frankincense, and
proclaiming the praises of the
Lord.
Responsorial Psalm - Ps 72
R –Lord, every nation on earth
will adore you!
* O God, with your judgment endow the king, and with
your justice, the king’s son. He
shall govern your people with
justice and your afflicted ones
with judgment. R.
* Justice shall fl ower in his
days, and profound peace, till
the moon be no more. May he
rule from sea to sea, and from
the River to the ends of the
earth. R.
* The kings of Tarshish and
the Isles shall offer gifts; the
kings of Arabia and Seba shall
bring tribute. All kings shall
pay him homage, all nations
shall serve him. R.
* For he shall rescue the poor
man when he cries out, and the
afflicted when he has no one to
help him. He shall have pity
for the lowly and the poor; the
lives of the poor he shall save.
R.
Second Reading - Eph 3:2-3.5-6
Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the
stewardship of God’s grace
that was given to me for your
benefit, namely, that the mystery was made known to me
by revelation. It was not made
known to people in other generations as it has now been
revealed to his holy apostles
and prophets by the Spirit:
that the Gentiles are co-heirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise
in Christ Jesus, through the
Gospel.
Gospel Acclamation - Mt 2:2
Alleluia! Alleluia!
We saw his star at its rising and have come to do
him homage.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Gospel - Mt 2:1-12
When Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judea, in the
days of King Herod, behold,
Magi from the east arrived in
Jerusalem, saying, “Where is
the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard
this, he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief
priests and the scribes of the
people, he inquired of them
where the Christ was to be
born. They said to him, “In
Bethlehem of Judea, for thus
it has been written through
the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by
no means least among the rulers of Judah, since from you
shall come a ruler, who is to
shepherd my people Israel.’ ”
Then Herod called the
Magi secretly and ascertained
from them the time of the
star’s appearance. He sent
them to Bethlehem and said,
“Go and search diligently
for the child. When you have
found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him
homage.”
After their audience with the king, the Magi set out.
And behold, the star that
they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and
stopped over the place where
the child was. The Magi were
overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house,
they saw the child with Mary
his mother. They prostrated
themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their
treasures and offered him
gifts of gold, frankincense, and
myrrh.
And having been warned
in a dream not to return to
Herod, they departed for their
country by another way.