Memorial of the Immaculate Conception – December 8

Sirach 24:1-46

The Praise of Wisdom

24 Wisdom will praise herself and is honored in God,

and will glory in the midst of her people.

² In the assembly of the Most High she will open her mouth,

and in the presence of his host she will glory.

In the midst of her people she is exalted;

in holy fullness she is admired.

In the multitude of the chosen she finds praise,

and among the blessed she is blessed, saying:

³ “I came forth from the mouth of the Most High,

the first-born before all creatures.

I ordained that an unfailing light

should arise in the heavens,

and I covered the earth like a mist.

⁴ I dwelt in high places,

and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.

⁵ Alone I have made the circuit of the vault of heaven

and have walked in the depths of the abyss.

⁶ In the waves of the sea, in the whole earth,

and in every people and nation I have gotten a possession.

⁷ Among all these I sought a resting place;

I sought in whose territory I might lodge.

⁸ “Then the Creator of all things gave me a commandment,

and the one who created me assigned a place for my tent.

And he said, ‘Make your dwelling in Jacob,

and in Israel receive your inheritance,

and among my chosen put down your roots.’

⁹ From eternity, in the beginning, he created me,

and for eternity I shall not cease to exist.

¹⁰ In the holy tabernacle I ministered before him,

and so I was established in Zion.

¹¹ In the beloved city likewise he gave me a resting place,

and in Jerusalem was my dominion.

¹² So I took root in an honored people,

in the portion of the Lord, who is their inheritance,

and my abode was in the full assembly of the saints.

¹³ “I grew tall like a cedar in Lebanon,

and like a cypress on the heights of Hermon.

¹⁴ I grew tall like a palm tree in Engedi,

and like rose plants in Jericho;

like a beautiful olive tree in the field,

and like a plane tree I grew tall.

¹⁵ Like cassia and camel’s thorn I gave forth the aroma of spices,

and like choice myrrh I spread a pleasant odor,

like galbanum, onycha, and stacte,

and like the fragrance of frankincense in the tabernacle.

¹⁶ Like a terebinth I spread out my branches,

and my branches are glorious and graceful.

¹⁷ Like a vine I caused loveliness to bud,

and my blossoms became glorious and abundant fruit.

¹⁹ “Come to me, you who desire me,

and eat your fill of my produce.

²⁰ For my teaching is sweeter than honey,

and my inheritance sweeter than the honeycomb,

and my remembrance lasts throughout all generations.

²¹ Those who eat me will hunger for more,

and those who drink me will thirst for more.

²² Whoever obeys me will not be put to shame,

and those who work with my help will not sin.”

²³ All this is the book of the covenant of the Most High God,

the law which Moses commanded us

as an inheritance for the congregations of Jacob.

²⁵ It fills men with wisdom, like the Pishon,

and like the Tigris at the time of the first fruits.

²⁶ It makes them full of understanding, like the Euphrates,

and like the Jordan at harvest time.

²⁷ It makes instruction shine forth like light,

like the Gihon at the time of vintage.

²⁸ Just as the first man did not know her perfectly,

the last one has not fathomed her;

²⁹ for her thought is more abundant than the sea,

and her counsel deeper than the great abyss.

³⁰ I went forth like a canal from a river

and like a water channel into a garden.

³¹ I said, “I will water my orchard

and drench my garden plot”;

and behold, my canal became a river,

and my river became a sea.

³² I will again make instruction shine forth like the dawn,

and I will make it shine afar;

³³ I will again pour out teaching like prophecy,

and leave it to all future generations.

³⁴ Observe that I have not labored for myself alone,

but for all who seek instruction.

 

Wisdom 7:21-8:10

²¹ I learned both what is secret and what is manifest,

²² for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.

For in her there is a spirit that is intelligent, holy,

unique, manifold, subtle,

mobile, clear, unpolluted,

distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen,

irresistible,

²³ beneficent, humane,

steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,

all-powerful, overseeing all,

and penetrating through all spirits

that are intelligent and pure and most subtle.

²⁴ For wisdom is more mobile than any motion;

because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.

²⁵ For she is a breath of the power of God,

and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;

therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.

²⁶ For she is a reflection of eternal light,

a spotless mirror of the working of God,

and an image of his goodness.

²⁷ Though she is but one, she can do all things,

and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;

in every generation she passes into holy souls

and makes them friends of God, and prophets;

²⁸ for God loves nothing so much as the man who lives with wisdom.

²⁹ For she is more beautiful than the sun,

and excels every constellation of the stars.

Compared with the light she is found to be superior,

³⁰ for it is succeeded by the night,

but against wisdom evil does not prevail.

8 She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other,

and she orders all things well.

² I loved her and sought her from my youth,

and I desired to take her for my bride,

and I became enamored of her beauty.

³ She glorifies her noble birth by living with God,

and the Lord of all loves her.

⁴ For she is an initiate in the knowledge of God,

and an associate in his works.

⁵ If riches are a desirable possession in life,

what is richer than wisdom who effects all things?

⁶ And if understanding is effective,

who more than she is fashioner of what exists?

⁷ And if any one loves righteousness,

her labors are virtues;

for she teaches self-control and prudence,

justice and courage;

nothing in life is more profitable for men than these.

⁸ And if any one longs for wide experience,

she knows the things of old, and infers the things to come;

she understands turns of speech and the solutions of riddles;

she has foreknowledge of signs and wonders

and of the outcome of seasons and times.

⁹ Therefore I determined to take her to live with me,

knowing that she would give me good counsel

and encouragement in cares and grief.

¹⁰ Because of her I shall have glory among the multitudes

and honor in the presence of the elders, though I am young.

 

Hebrews 1:1-13; 2:16-18

God Has Spoken by His Son

1 In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the ages. ³ He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs.

The Son’s Superiority to Angels

⁵ For to what angel did God ever say,

“You are my Son,

today I have begotten you”?

Or again,

“I will be to him a father,

and he shall be to me a son”?

⁶ And again, when he brings the first-born into the

world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”

⁷ Of the angels he says,

“Who makes his angels winds,

and his servants flames of fire.”

⁸ But of the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever,

the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.

⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;

therefore God, your God, has anointed you

with the oil of gladness beyond your comrades.”

¹⁰ And,

“You, Lord, founded the earth in the beginning,

and the heavens are the work of your hands;

¹¹ they will perish, but you remain;

they will all grow old like a garment,

¹² like a cloak you will roll them up,

and they will be changed.

But you are the same,

and your years will never end.”

¹³ But to what angel has he ever said,

“Sit at my right hand,

till I make your enemies

a stool for your feet”?

¹⁶ For surely it is not with angels that he is concerned but with the descendants of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ For because he himself has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.

Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 1:46-55

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, ³ And Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, ⁴ and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, ⁵ and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse the father of David the king.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, ⁷ and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa, ⁸ and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, ⁹ and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰ and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, ¹¹ and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³ and Zerub-babel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴ and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵ and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶ and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

⁴⁶ And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

⁴⁸ for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;

⁴⁹ for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

⁵⁰ And his mercy is on those who fear him

from generation to generation.

⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm,

he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,

⁵² he has put down the mighty from their thrones,

and exalted those of low degree;

⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent empty away.

⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

⁵⁵ as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.”