First Reading

Book of Isaiah (Is 61: 1-2A, 10-11)

I rejoice heartily in the LORD.

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.

I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Lk 1: 46-48, 49-50, 53-54

My soul rejoices in my God.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

Second Reading

First Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians (1 Thes 5: 16-24)

May you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.

May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.

— The word of the Lord.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John (Jn 1: 6-8, 19-28)

There is one among you whom you do not recognize.

A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.

And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests
and Levites to him
to ask him,

“Who are you?”

He admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted,

“I am not the Christ.”

So they asked him,

“What are you then? Are you Elijah?”

And he said,

“I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered,

“No.”

So they said to him,

“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?”

He said:

“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘make straight the way of the Lord,’
as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,

“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”

John answered them,

“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”

This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

The Book of Isaiah (Is 35: 1-10)

God comes himself and will save you.

The desert and the parched land will exult;
the steppe will rejoice and bloom.
They will bloom with abundant flowers,
and rejoice with joyful song.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
They will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the hands that are feeble,
make firm the knees that are weak,
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:

Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
With divine recompense
he comes to save you.

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
Then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.

Streams will burst forth in the desert,
and rivers in the steppe.
The burning sands will become pools,
and the thirsty ground, springs of water;
The abode where jackals lurk
will be a marsh for the reed and papyrus.
A highway will be there,
called the holy way;
No one unclean may pass over it,
nor fools go astray on it.
No lion will be there,
nor beast of prey go up to be met upon it.
It is for those with a journey to make,
and on it the redeemed will walk.
Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return
and enter Zion singing,
crowned with everlasting joy;
They will meet with joy and gladness,
sorrow and mourning will flee.

— The word of the Lord

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 85: 9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14

Our God will come to save us!

I will hear what God proclaims;
the Lord – for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.

Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.

The Lord himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Behold the king will come, the Lord of the earth, and he himself will lift the yoke of our captivity.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 5: 17-26)

We have seen incredible things today.

One day as Jesus was teaching,
Pharisees and teachers of the law,
who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem,
were sitting there,
and the power of the Lord was with him for healing.
And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed;
they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence.
But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof
and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles
into the middle in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said,

“As for you, your sins are forgiven.”

Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves,

“Who is this who speaks blasphemies?
Who but God alone can forgive sins?”

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply,

“What are you thinking in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”–

he said to the one who was paralyzed,

“I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”

He stood up immediately before them,
picked up what he had been lying on,
and went home, glorifying God.
Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God,
and, struck with awe, they said,

“We have seen incredible things today.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.