​Gospel: John 1:1-18
Optional Memorial of Saint Sylvester 1, Pope
 
   In the beginning was the Word,
      and the Word was with God,
      and the Word was God.
   He was in the beginning with God.
   All things came to be through him,
      and without him nothing came to be.
   What came to be through him was life,
      and this life was the light of the human race;
   the light shines in the darkness,
      and the darkness has not overcome it.
A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
   so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
   but came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
      He was in the world,
         and the world came to be through him,
         but the world did not know him.
      He came to what was his own,
         but his own people did not accept him.
 
But to those who did accept him
   he gave power to become children of God,
   to those who believe in his name,
   who were born not by natural generation
   nor by human choice nor by a man's decision
   but of God.
      And the Word became flesh
         and made his dwelling among us,
         and we saw his glory,
         the glory as of the Father's only Son,
         full of grace and truth.
John testified to him and cried out, saying,
   “This was he of whom I said,
   ‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me
   because he existed before me.’”
From his fullness we have all received,
   grace in place of grace,
   because while the law was given through Moses,
   grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
The only Son, God, who is at the Father's side,
   has revealed him.

Preacher: Patty Uy

​Gospel: Luke 2:36-40
 
There was a prophetess, Anna,
   the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years,
   having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
   and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple,
   but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
And coming forward at that very time,
   she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
   to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
 
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
   of the law of the Lord,
   they returned to Galilee,
   to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
   and the favor of God was upon him.

Preacher: Jojo David

Gospel: Matthew 2:13-18
Memorial of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

When the magi had departed, behold,
   the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
   “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
   and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
   and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
   that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
   Out of Egypt I called my son.
 
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
   he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
   two years old and under,
   in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:
 
   A voice was heard in Ramah,
      sobbing and loud lamentation;
   Rachel weeping for her children,
      and she would not be consoled,
      since they were no more.

Preacher: Francis Santos

Gospel: John 20:1a and 2-8
Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist
 
On the first day of the week,
   Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter
   and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
   “They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
   and we do not know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
   and arrived at the tomb first;
   he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
   he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
   and the cloth that had covered his head,
   not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
   the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
   and he saw and believed.

Preacher: Joanne Mendoza

​Gospel: Luke 1:67-79
 
Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:
 
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
   for he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty Savior,
   born of the house of his servant David.
Through his prophets he promised of old
   that he would save us from our enemies,
   from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
   and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
   to set us free from the hand of our enemies,
   free to worship him without fear,
   holy and righteous in his sight
      all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
   for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
   to give his people knowledge of salvation
   by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
   the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
   to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
   and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Preacher: Lucio Pulmones

​Gospel: Luke 1:57-66
Optional Memorial of Saint John of Kanty

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
   she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
   that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
   and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
   they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
   but his mother said in reply,
   “No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
   “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
   and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
   and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
   and all these matters were discussed
   throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
   “What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.”

​Gospel: Luke 1:39-45
 
Mary set out in those days
   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.”

Preacher: Sandy Dunckel

​Gospel: Luke 1:26-38
 
In the sixth month,
   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.

Preacher: Rey Bagares

​Gospel: Luke 1:5-25
 
In the days of Herod, King of Judea,
   there was a priest named Zechariah
   of the priestly division of Abijah;
   his wife was from the daughters of Aaron,
   and her name was Elizabeth.
Both were righteous in the eyes of God,
   observing all the commandments
   and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren
   and both were advanced in years.
 
Once when he was serving as priest
   in his division’s turn before God,
   according to the practice of the priestly service,
   he was chosen by lot
   to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense.
Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside
   at the hour of the incense offering,
   the angel of the Lord appeared to him,
   standing at the right of the altar of incense.
Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.
 
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
   because your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
   and you shall name him John.
And you will have joy and gladness,
   and many will rejoice at his birth,
   for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.
He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,
   and he will turn many of the children of Israel
   to the Lord their God.
He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah
   to turn the hearts of fathers toward children
   and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,
   to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”
 
Then Zechariah said to the angel,
   “How shall I know this?
For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
And the angel said to him in reply,
   “I am Gabriel, who stand before God.
I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news.
But now you will be speechless and unable to talk
   until the day these things take place,
   because you did not believe my words,
   which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah
   and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.
But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them,
   and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary.
He was gesturing to them but remained mute.
 
Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home.
 
After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived,
   and she went into seclusion for five months, saying,
   “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit
   to take away my disgrace before others.”

Preacher: Choi Relampagos

​Gospel: Matthew 1:18-25
 
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 this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
   because 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 be with child 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.
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
   and he named him Jesus.

Preacher: Patrick Tesorio