Readings for 18 December

Book of Jeremiah

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security. This is the name they give him: "The LORD our justice."
Therefore, the days will come, says the LORD, when they shall no longer say, "As the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt";
but rather, "As the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of the house of Israel up from the land of the north"--and from all the lands to which I banished them; they shall again live on their own land.

Psalms

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.
For he shall rescue the poor 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.
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
Who alone does wondrous deeds.
And blessed forever be his glorious name;
May the whole earth be filled with his glory.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."
When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

Bl. Giulia Nemesia Valle((1847-1916))

Bl. Giulia Nemesia Valle (1847-1916) Bl. Giulia was born at Aosta, Italy, on June 26, 1847. Her parents were Anselmo Valle and Cristina Dalbar. Giulia was baptized in the ancient collegiate church of Saint Orso. She spent the first years of her life in a happy family with her brother Vincent. Their parents together ran a milliner's shop. Giulia was only 4 when her mother passed away. She and Vincent were then entrusted to relatives in Aosta and later to relatives in Donnas. Their schooling, catechism and preparation for the sacraments took place at home under the guidance of a priest who was a family friend. When Giulia turned 11, she was sent to Besançon, Eastern France, to a boarding school run by the Sisters of Charity. Separation from her family caused homesickness, but the experience directed her toward an enduring friendship with Jesus. At Besançon, Giulia became fluent in French, enriched her soul and learned domestic skills. Her simple goodness matured and rendered her loveable and attentive toward others. Five years later, Giulia returned to Donnas, but her house was no longer there. Her father had remarried and moved to Pont Saint Martin. Her brother refused her company and later went away without leaving word. Hence Giulia remained in Donnas discerning God's will for her life. During that period, the Sisters of Charity settled at Pont Saint Martin. In them, Giulia rediscovered her teachers of Besançon, the daughters of Saint Jeanne-Antide Thouret, who helped and encouraged her. She was deeply attracted to their way of life and generously offered herself to God by choosing to become one of them. When her father presented a suitor's offer of a prestigious marriage, Giulia modestly declined. She had given herself completely to Jesus. On the September 8, 1866, Giulia's father accompanied her to the Monastery of Santa Margherita at Vercelli, where the Sisters of Charity run a novitiate. A new, peaceful and joyful life started for Giulia in spite of the separation. It became a matter of building a deeper relationship with God, of knowing herself and the mission of the community and accomplishing God's will. Every day, she discovered what lose or acquire: "Jesus, strip me of myself, let me be wrapped in you. Jesus, I live for you, and I die for you..." Upon completing her novitiate, Giulia received a religious habit and a new name: Sr. Nemesia (after an early martyr of the church). She was sent to Tortona, at St. Vincent's Institute. She founded an elementary school, cultural courses, a boarding school and an orphanage. She taught courses at the elementary school and French in the higher classes. Sr. Nemesia also generously gave her time in ministering to the poor. When Sr. Nemesia was nominated as superior of the community at 40, she said its meaning was "to serve." One of her mottos was, "Keep a quick pace, without looking behind and concentrate on the one goal: God Alone! To Him the glory, to the others joy... Never make others suffer. I shall be very strict with myself and full of charity towards the others. Love, gratuitously offered, is the only thing that remains." On the morning of May 10, 1903, Sr. Nemesia wrote to her orphans and boarders, "I am leaving happily; I entrust you to our Lady... I shall follow you in every moment of the day." She had passed away at 4 that morning. In Borgaro, a small country in the vicinity of Turin, there is a small group of young girls waiting to be accompanied along a new path, toward the total self-gift to God and to serve Him in the poor. They are the novices of the new province of the Sisters of Charity. The method of Bl. Giulia Nemesia's formation remains the same: kindness, self-renouncement out of love, patience and the common good.

St. Gatian(Bishop (3rd century))

SAINT GATIAN Bishop (3rd century) St. Gatian and St. Dionysius of Paris preached at Tours in western France around the middle of the third century. They attracted souls to Jesus, and many received faith in Him. Many communities practicing idolatry were converted. St. Gatian celebrated the Eucharist in grottoes and caves (Didache). The community spread. To escape persecutors, he sometimes hid inside dugouts. St. Joseph's intercession helped St. Gatian lead the church for fifty years. He acted in the person of Jesus Christ as priest, prophet and king (Melchizedek). At the end of his life, he passed away peacefully in the Holy Family's presence.

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2023 / Catholic Missal of december 2023