Word of the day

First reading from the Book of Numbers
NM 6:22-27

The LORD said to Moses:
“Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them:
This is how you shall bless the Israelites.
Say to them:
The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and
give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites,
and I will bless them.”

Second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians
GAL 4:4-7

Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave but a son,
and if a son then also an heir, through God.

From the Gospel according to Luke
LK 2:16-21

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.

When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.

On the first day of the year, the Liturgy celebrates the Holy Mother of God, Mary, the Virgin of Nazareth who gave birth to Jesus, the Saviour. That Child is God’s Blessing to each man and woman, to the great human family and to the whole world. Jesus did not take away the evil of the world, but he defeated it at its root. His salvation is not a magical but rather a “patient” salvation, that is, it requires the patience of love, which takes on inequity and removes its power. The patience of love. (…)  This is why by contemplating the Nativity scene with the eyes of faith, we see the world renewed, freed from the dominion of evil and placed under the royal power of Christ, the Child who lies in the manger. This is why today, the Mother of God blesses us. And how does Our Lady bless us? By showing us her Son. She takes him in her arms and she shows him to us, and thus, blesses us. She blesses the entire Church, she blesses the whole world. As the angels sang in Bethlehem, Jesus is a “great joy that will come to all people”, he is the Glory of God and peace for mankind. (Angelus, 1 January 2020)