The almighty and ever living Word of God was born to us in a lowly manger. He became for us the bread of life, the wine of our salvation! So that His life flows through us, nourishes and brings to birth new life in Him.
It is His Word alone that unites everyone to the truth
Those who would have His word distorted seek only to cause divisiin. They are not of the light as we children of God our Father are of the light. For we the children of God carry the light within us to manifest His glory, through Christ our Lord.
May the grace and love of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ, reign in our hearts now and forever. Amen
First reading
1 John 2:18-21
You have been anointed by the Holy One
Children, these are the last days;
you were told that an Antichrist must come,
and now several antichrists have already appeared; we know from this that these are the last days.
Those rivals of Christ came out of our own number, but they had never really belonged; if they had belonged, they would have stayed with us; but they left us, to prove that not one of them ever belonged to us.
But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and have all received the knowledge.
It is not because you do not know the truth that I am writing to you
but rather because you know it already
and know that no lie can come from the truth.
Gospel
John 1:1-18
The Word was made flesh, and lived among us
In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him.
All that came to be had life in him and that life was the light of men, a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower.
A man came, sent by God.
His name was John. He came as a witness, as a witness to speak for the light, so that everyone might believe through him. He was not the light, only a witness to speak for the light.
The Word was the true light
that enlightens all men; and he was coming into the world.
He was in the world that had its being through him, and the world did not know him.
He came to his own domain
and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God, to all who believe in the name of him
who was born not out of human stock or urge of the flesh
or will of man but of God himself.
The Word was made flesh,
he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John appears as his witness. He proclaims: ‘This is the one of whom I said: He who comes after me ranks before me because he existed before me.’
Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received –
yes, grace in return for grace, since, though the Law was given through Moses,
grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God;
it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
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