Daily Catholic Gospel by Tabella

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,but before they lived together,she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,yet unwilling to expose her to shame,decided to divorce her quietly.Such was his intention when, behold,the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,"Joseph, son of David,do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.For it is through the Holy Spiritthat this child has been conceived in her.She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,because he will save his people from their sins."All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,and they shall name him Emmanuel,which means "God is with us."When Joseph awoke,he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded himand took his wife into his home.

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.”

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,the son of David, the son of Abraham.Abraham became the father of Isaac,Isaac the father of Jacob,Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,whose mother was Tamar.Perez became the father of Hezron,Hezron the father of Ram,Ram the father of Amminadab.Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,Nahshon the father of Salmon,Salmon the father of Boaz,whose mother was Rahab.Boaz became the father of Obed,whose mother was Ruth.Obed became the father of Jesse,Jesse the father of David the king.David became the father of Solomon,whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,Rehoboam the father of Abijah,Abijah the father of Asaph.Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,Joram the father of Uzziah.Uzziah became the father of Jotham,Jotham the father of Ahaz,Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,Manasseh the father of Amos,Amos the father of Josiah.Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothersat the time of the Babylonian exile.After the Babylonian exile,Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.Abiud became the father of Eliakim,Eliakim the father of Azor,Azor the father of Zadok.Zadok became the father of Achim,Achim the father of Eliud,Eliud the father of Eleazar.Eleazar became the father of Matthan,Matthan the father of Jacob,Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.Thus the total number of generationsfrom Abraham to Davidis fourteen generations;from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,fourteen generations.

When Jesus had come into the temple area,the chief priests and the elders of the people approached himas he was teaching and said,"By what authority are you doing these things?And who gave you this authority?"Jesus said to them in reply,"I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me,then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.Where was John's baptism from?Was it of heavenly or of human origin?"They discussed this among themselves and said,"If we say 'Of heavenly origin,' he will say to us,'Then why did you not believe him?'But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we fear the crowd,for they all regard John as a prophet."So they said to Jesus in reply, "We do not know."He himself said to them,"Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things."

As they were coming down from the mountain,the disciples asked Jesus,"Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"He said in reply, "Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;but I tell you that Elijah has already come,and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased.So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands."Then the disciples understoodthat he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Jesus said to the crowds:"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,for I am meek and humble of heart;and you will find rest for yourselves.For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

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.

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,teaching in their synagogues,proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,and curing every disease and illness.At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for thembecause they were troubled and abandoned,like sheep without a shepherd.Then he said to his disciples,"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;so ask the master of the harvestto send out laborers for his harvest."Then he summoned his Twelve disciplesand gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them outand to cure every disease and every illness.Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,"Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'Cure the sick, raise the dead,cleanse lepers, drive out demons.Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give."