December 12, 2025
Feast
of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Lectionary: 690A
Reading
1
Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion!
See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.
Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,
and they shall be his people,
and he will dwell among you,
and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
The LORD will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land,
and he will again choose Jerusalem.
Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the LORD!
For he stirs forth from his holy dwelling.
or
Revelation
11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
God’s temple in heaven was opened,
and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.
A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in the sky;
it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns,
and on its heads were seven diadems.
Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky
and hurled them down to the earth.
Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth,
to devour her child when she gave birth.
She gave birth to a son, a male child,
destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.
Her child was caught up to God and his throne.
The woman herself fled into the desert
where she had a place prepared by God.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have salvation and power come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed.”
Responsorial
Psalm
R. (15:9d) You are the highest honor of our race.
Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God,
above all the women on earth;
and blessed be the LORD God,
the creator of heaven and earth.
R. You are the highest honor of our race.
Your deed of hope will never be forgotten
by those who tell of the might of God.
R. You are the highest honor of our race.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise;
from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to 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 said
and 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 born
will 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.
or
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and 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 believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121225.cfm
The words of the Popes
“Rejoice”
says the angel to Mary, “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you
shall call his name Jesus” (Lk 1:28, 31). (…) What does she
do? She responds thus: “Let it be to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38).
“Let it be ” (“Fiat ”). But in the language in which
the Gospel is written, it is not simply “let it be”. The verbal expression
indicates a strong desire; it indicates the will that something happen. In
other words, Mary does not say: “If it has to happen, let it happen..., if it
cannot be otherwise…”. It is not resignation. She does not express a weak and
submissive acceptance, but rather she expresses a strong desire, a sincere
desire. She is not passive, she is active. She does not defer to God, she
cleaves to God. She is a woman in love prepared to serve her Lord completely
and immediately. (…) Mary invites us not to postpone, to say “yes”: “Do I have
to pray? — Yes” — and I pray. “Do I have to help others? — Yes”. “How shall I
do it?” — I do it. Without putting it off. Every “yes” costs something;
every “yes” has its cost, but it still costs less than what that courageous
“yes” cost her, that prompt “yes", that “let it be to me according to
your word ”, which brought us salvation. (Pope Francis, 20
December 2020)
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2025/12/12.html
Friday,
December 12, 2025
Feast of
Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Opening Prayer
God of the poor and the humble, we
thank You today for choosing Mary as the Virgin Mother of Jesus, your Son.
Her faith and willing service opened the way to Your new
world.
Dispose us to seek Your will and to cooperate with Your plans,
that we too, like Mary, may give to the world its Savior, Jesus Christ, your
Son and our Lord.
Gospel Reading – Luke 1: 26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was
sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a
man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
He went in and said to her,
“Rejoice, you who enjoy God's favor! The Lord is with you.” She was deeply
disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but
the angel said to her, “Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favor. Look!
You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name Him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will
give Him the throne of His ancestor David; He will rule over the
House of Jacob for ever and His
reign will have no end.”
Mary said to the angel, “But how
can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?” The angel answered,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover
you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of
God. And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has
conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month,
for nothing is impossible to God.”
Mary said, “You see before you
the Lord's servant, let it happen to me as you have said.” And the angel left
her.
Reflection
•
The visit of the Angel to Mary reminds us of the
visit of God to different women of the Old Testament: Sarah, mother of Isaac
(Gen 18: 9-15), Anne, mother of Samuel (1 Sam 1: 9-18), the mother of Samson
(Jg 13: 2-5). To all of them was announced the birth of a son with an important
mission in the realization of God’s plan.
•
The account begins with the expression “in the sixth month.” It is the sixth
month of the pregnancy of Elizabeth. The need of Elizabeth, a woman advanced in
age who is expecting her first son with the risk of delivery, is the background
of this episode. Elizabeth is mentioned at the beginning (Lk 1: 26) and at the
end of the visit of the angel (Lk 1: 36-39).
•
The angel says: “Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s
favor, the Lord is with you!” Similar words were also said to Moses (Ex 3: 12),
to Jeremiah (Jer 1: 8), to Gideon (Jg 6: 12) and to other people with an
important mission in God’s plan. Mary is surprised at the greeting and tries to
understand the significance of these words. She is realistic and wants to
understand. She does not accept just any invitation.
•
The angel answers: “Do not be afraid!” Just as
it happened in the visit of the angel to Zechariah, the first greeting of God
is always: “Do not be afraid!” The angel recalls the promises of the
past which will be fulfilled thanks to the son who will be born and who is to
receive the name of Jesus. He will be called the Son of the Most High and in
Him will be realized the Kingdom of God. This is the explanation of the angel
in such a way that Mary is not afraid.
•
Mary is aware of the mission which she is about
to receive, but she continues to be realistic. She does not allow herself to be
drawn by the greatness of the offer and observes her condition. She analyses
the offer according to certain criteria which she has available. Humanly
speaking, it was not possible: “But how can this come about, I have no
knowledge of man?”
•
The angel explains that the Holy Spirit, present
in God’s Word since the creation (Genesis 1: 2), is capable of things which
seem impossible. This is why, the Holy One who will be born of Mary will be
called Son of God. The miracle
repeats itself up until today. When the Word of God is accepted by the poor,
something new happens, thanks to the will of the Holy Spirit! Something new and
surprising, such as a son born of a virgin or a son born to a woman of advanced
age, like Elizabeth, whom everyone said was barren and could not have children!
And the angel adds: “See, your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has
conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month,
for nothing is impossible to God.”
•
The response of the angel clarifies everything
for Mary, and she surrenders: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be
done to me according to your word.” Mary uses for herself the title of Servant,
Handmaid of the Lord. This title of Isaiah, which represents the mission of the
people not as a privilege, but rather as a service
to the other people (Is 42: 1-9, 49: 3-6). Later Jesus will define his
mission as a service: “I have not come to be served, but to serve!” (Mt 20:
28). He learned this from His mother!
Personal Questions
•
What struck you the most in the visit of the
Angel Gabriel to Mary?
•
Jesus praises his mother when He says: “Blessed
are those who hear the Word of God and keep it” (Lk 11: 28). How does Mary
relate to the Word of God during the visit of the Angel?
Concluding Prayer
To Yahweh belong the earth and all it
contains, the world and all who live there; it is He who laid its foundations
on the seas, on the flowing waters fixed it firm. (Ps 24: 1-2)
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