Today’s Readings

Hark! my lover–here he comesspringing across the mountains,leaping across the hills.My lover is like a gazelleor a young stag.Here he stands behind our wall,gazing through the windows,peering through the lattices.My lover speaks; he says to me,"Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,and come!"For see, the winter is past,the rains are over and gone.The flowers appear on the earth,the time of pruning the vines has come,and the song of the dove is heard in our land.The fig tree puts forth its figs,and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,and come!"O my dove in the clefts of the rock,in the secret recesses of the cliff,Let me see you,let me hear your voice, For your voice is sweet,and you are lovely."

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!Sing joyfully, O Israel!Be glad and exult with all your heart,O daughter Jerusalem!The LORD has removed the judgment against you,he has turned away your enemies;The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,you have no further misfortune to fear.On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!The LORD, your God, is in your midst,a mighty savior;He will rejoice over you with gladness,and renew you in his love,He will sing joyfully because of you,as one sings at festivals.

R. (1a; 3a) Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.Sing to him a new song;pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.But the plan of the LORD stands forever; the design of his heart, through all generations.Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.Our soul waits for the LORD,who is our help and our shield,For in him our hearts rejoice;in his holy name we trust. R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:come to save us, Lord our God!R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Mary set out in those daysand traveled to the hill country in hasteto a town of Judah,where she entered the house of Zechariahand greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,the infant leaped in her womb,and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,cried out in a loud voice and said,"Most blessed are you among women,and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me,that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believedthat what was spoken to you by the Lordwould be fulfilled."

The LORD spoke to Ahaz:Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!But Ahaz answered,"I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!" Then Isaiah said:Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men,must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,and shall name him Emmanuel.

R. (see 7c and 10b) Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;the world and those who dwell in it.For he founded it upon the seasand established it upon the rivers.R. Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?or who may stand in his holy place?He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,who desires not what is vain.R. Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,a reward from God his savior.Such is the race that seeks for him,that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.R. Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.O Key of David,opening the gates of God's eternal Kingdom:come and free the prisoners of darkness!R. Alleluia, alleluia.

In the sixth month,the angel Gabriel was sent from Godto a town of Galilee called Nazareth,to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,of the house of David,and the virgin's name was Mary.And coming to her, he said,"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."But she was greatly troubled at what was saidand pondered what sort of greeting this might be.Then the angel said to her,"Do not be afraid, Mary,for you have found favor with God.Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,and you shall name him Jesus.He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,and of his Kingdom there will be no end."But Mary said to the angel,"How can this be,since I have no relations with a man?"And the angel said to her in reply,"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.Therefore the child to be bornwill be called holy, the Son of God.And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,has also conceived a son in her old age,and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;for nothing will be impossible for God."Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.May it be done to me according to your word."Then the angel departed from her.

There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites,whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren and had borne no children. An angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her,"Though you are barren and have had no children,yet you will conceive and bear a son. Now, then, be careful to take no wine or strong drinkand to eat nothing unclean.As for the son you will conceive and bear,no razor shall touch his head,for this boy is to be consecrated to God from the womb. It is he who will begin the deliverance of Israelfrom the power of the Philistines."The woman went and told her husband,"A man of God came to me;he had the appearance of an angel of God, terrible indeed. I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. But he said to me,'You will be with child and will bear a son. So take neither wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy shall be consecrated to God from the womb,until the day of his death.'"The woman bore a son and named him Samson. The boy grew up and the LORD blessed him;the Spirit of the LORD stirred him.

R. (see 8) My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory!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. R. My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory!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. R. My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory!I will treat of the mighty works of the LORD;O God, I will tell of your singular justice.O God, you have taught me from my youth,and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.R. My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory!

R. Alleluia, alleluia.O Root of Jesse's stem,sign of God's love for all his people:come to save us without delay!R. Alleluia, alleluia.

In the days of Herod, King of Judea,there was a priest named Zechariahof the priestly division of Abijah;his wife was from the daughters of Aaron,and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in the eyes of God,observing all the commandmentsand ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barrenand both were advanced in years. Once when he was serving as priestin his division's turn before God,according to the practice of the priestly service,he was chosen by lotto enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outsideat the hour of the incense offering,the angel of the Lord appeared to him,standing at the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah,because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness,and many will rejoice at his birth,for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb,and he will turn many of the children of Israelto the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijahto turn the hearts of fathers toward childrenand the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,to prepare a people fit for the Lord." Then Zechariah said to the angel,"How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." And the angel said to him in reply,"I am Gabriel, who stand before God.I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talkuntil the day these things take place,because you did not believe my words,which will be fulfilled at their proper time."Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariahand were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them,and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute.Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home. After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived,and she went into seclusion for five months, saying,"So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fitto take away my disgrace before others."