First Reading

Reading from the book of Jeremiah 

Jeremiah 23:5-8

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch;
he shall reign and govern wisely,
and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
And this is the name they shall call him:
‘The Lord our justice’.

Therefore, behold, the days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites out of Egypt’; but rather, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had driven them; and who brought them back to their land’.

Gospel

Reading from the holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew

Matthew 1:18-24

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 Spirit that she has conceived, and she will bear a son to whom you shall give the name Jesus, for 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 him and took his wife into his home.