Mass Readings for : Tuesday, 21st November, 2023

Liturgical Readings for : Tuesday, 21st November, 2023

11-21 The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

FIRST READING

A reading from the book of Zechariah 2:14-17
Rejoice, daughter of Zion; for I am coming.

Sing, rejoice, daughter of Zion;
for I am coming to dwell in the middle of you –
it is the Lord who speaks.

Many nations will join the Lord, on that day; they will become his people.
But he will remain among you, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.
But the Lord will hold Judah as his portion in the Holy Land,
and again make Jerusalem his very own.
Let all mankind be silent before the Lord! For he is awaking and is coming from his holy dwelling.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm   Lk 1:46-55
Response      The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name
Or      Blessed is the Virgin Mary who bore the Son of the eternal Father.

1. My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God, my saviour. Response

2. Henceforth all ages will call me blessed.
The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy his name! Response

3. His mercy is from age to age, on those who fear him.
He puts forth his arm in strength and scatters the proud-hearted. Response

4. He casts the mighty from their thrones and raises the lowly.
He fills the starving with good things, sends the rich away empty. Response

5. He protects Israel, his servant, remembering his mercy,
the mercy promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his sons for ever. Response

Gospel Acclamation Lk 11: 28
Alleluia, alleluia!
Happy are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew 12:46-50 Glory to you, O Lord
Stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers.’

Jesus was still speaking to the crowds when his mother and his brothers appeared; they were standing outside and were anxious to have a word with him. But to the man who told him this Jesus replied,
‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’

And stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said,
‘Here are my mother and my brothers.
Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.’

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

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Gospel Reflection Tuesday, Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Matthew 12:46-50

Mary’s presentation was celebrated in Jerusalem in the sixth century. A church was built there in honour of this mystery. The Eastern Church was more interested in the feast, but it does appear in the West in the 11th century, and in the 16th century it became a feast of the universal Church. The feast stresses an important truth about Mary: From the beginning of her life, she was dedicated to God. Although presented in the Temple in Jerusalem, she herself became a greater temple than any temple made by hands. Through her, the promise made in today’s first reading has come to pass, ‘I am coming to dwell in the middle of you’. God came to dwell in her in a marvellous manner and sanctified her in advance for her unique role in God’s saving work. God came to dwell in her, through Jesus, because she was open to God’s presence from the earliest years of her life. She is the prime example of the group that Jesus refers to in today’s gospel reading, those ‘who do the will of my Father in heaven’. Today’s feast celebrates the fact that from her childhood Mary did the will of God, and was therefore ready to become the temple of God’s Son at the time of God’s choosing. We too are called to do the will of the Father in heaven, as interpreted for us by his Son, Jesus, and, thereby, to become temples of God, people who carry God’s presence to others. We ask Mary to pray for us now so that we may always be faithful to that calling.