Responsorial Psalm
Blessed are you who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways.
You will eat the fruit of your toil;
you will be blessed and favoured.
Your wife, like a vine,
will bear fruits in your home;
your children, like olive shoots
will stand around your table.
Such are the blessings bestowed
upon the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion.
May you see Jerusalem prosperous
all the days of your life.
2nd. READING (Col 3, 12-21)
You are God’s chosen people, holy and beloved of him. Put on compassion, kindness,
humility, meekness and patience to bear with one another and forgive whenever there
is any occasion to do so. As the Lord has forgiven you, forgive one another. When
you have put on all these, take love as your belt so that the dress be perfect. May the
peace of Christ overflow in your hearts; for this end you were called to be one body.
And be thankful. Let the word of God dwell in you in all its richness. Teach and
admonish one another with words of wisdom. With thankful hearts sing to God
psalms, hymns and spontaneous praise. And whatever you do or say, do it in the
Name of Jesus, the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Wives, submit
yourselves to your husbands, as you should do in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives
and do not get angry with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, because
that pleases the Lord. Parents, do not be too demanding of your children, lest they
become discouraged.
Gospel
When the day came for the purification according to the law of Moses, they brought
the baby up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the
Lord: Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to God. And they offered a sacrifice
as ordered in the law of the Lord: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. There
lived in Jerusalem at this time a very upright and devout man named Simeon; the Holy
Spirit was in him. He looked forward to the time when the Lord would comfort Israel,
and he had been assured by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before seeing the
Messiah of the Lord. So he was led into the Temple by the Holy Spirit at the time the
parents brought the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law.
Simeon took the child in his arms and blessed God, saying, "Now, O Lord, you can
dismiss your servant in peace, for you have fulfilled your word and my eyes have seen
your salvation, which you display for all the people to see. Here is the light you will
reveal to the nations and the glory of your people Israel." His father and mother
wondered at what was said about the child. Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his
mother, "See him; he will be for the rise or fall of the multitudes of Israel. He shall
stand as a sign of contradiction, while a sword will pierce your own soul. Then the
secret thoughts of many may be brought to light." There was also a prophetess named
Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. After leaving her father's home, she
had been seven years with her husband, and since then she had been continually about
the Temple, serving God as a widow night and day in fasting and prayer. She was
now eighty-four. Coming up at that time, she gave praise to God and spoke of the child
to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem. When the parents had
fulfilled all that was required by the law of the Lord, they returned to their town,
Nazareth in Galilee. There the child grew in stature and strength and was filled with
wisdom: the grace of God was upon him.
