Responsorial Psalm
Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
R. (cf. 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
he shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
Second Reading
Rom 15:4-9
Brothers and sisters: Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction,
that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with
one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, that with one accord you may with one
voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome one another,
then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I say that Christ became a
minister of the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, to confirm the promises to the
patriarchs, but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:
Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing praises to your name.
Gospel
Mt 3:1-12
John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken
when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather
belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, all
Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being
baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.
When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to
them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce
good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our father.’
For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the
ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will
be cut down and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water, for repentance,
but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his
sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his
hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the
chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”