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Adoration of the Shepherds Murillo, painted 1646-50 [ Web Gallery of Art ] The Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord  has four different Mass formularies, each with its own prayers and readings. Any of the four fulfils our obligation to attend Mass. These are: Vigil Mass , celebrated 'either before or after First Vespers (Evening Prayer) of the Nativity'; that means starting between 5pm and 7pm. Mass During the Night , known before as 'Midnight Mass'. Mass at Dawn . Mass During the Day . The readings from the Jerusalem Bible for the four Masses are all on one page but with links to each individual Mass. When you click on 'Readings' below from the New American Bible you will find links to the readings for each of the four Masses.   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   (Mass During the Night)  Luke 2:1-14  ( English Standard Ve

The Calling of St Matthew (detail), Caravaggio [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings  (NAB: USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible) Gospel Matthew 10:37-42 ( NR SV, Catholic Ed ) Jesus said to his Apostles: ‘Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’ Post-World War II Japan [ Source ] Whoever loves father

The Dream of St Joseph, Georges de la Tour  Gospel Matthew 3:1-12 ( NRSV, Anglicised Catholic Ed .) Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’,which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the

Three Temptations of Christ (detail) , Botticelli, 1481-82 .Sistine Chapel,Vatican  Gospel Luke 4:1-13 (NRSV, Catholic Edition, Can.) Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of

Fr Patrick Hurley  beside a photo of  Bishop Edward Galvin  (1882-1956) , Co-founder of the Columbans. Fr Hurley will   turn 89, God willing, in June. Two of his brothers, Father Dermot (1920-1999) and Father Gerard (1926-2002), were part of the pioneering group of Columbans who went to Fiji in 1952. Sister Catherine Hurley, their sister and now retired, served as Superior General of the Columban Sisters from 1970 to 1981. Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  Gospel  John 13:31-33a, 34-35  (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) When   Judas had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of man glorified, and in him God is glorified; if God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. A new commandment I gi

Pilar Tilos (right) with Emma Pabera and Gloria Canama This morning I celebrated the Mass in honor of La Virgen del Pilar , the Virgin of the Pillar, a major feast in Spanish-speaking countries and in two areas in the Philippines where Chavacano , the only Spanish-based creole language in Asia, is spoken. However, Chavacano isn't spoken in Hinobaan, in the very south of Negros Occidental, where PIlar was from. Hiligaynon, a visayan language, is spoken there. She was born on 12 October and, like many a Filipino, 'brought her own name with her', as we say in Ireland. Her parents named her 'Pilar' because of the feast of Our Lady. Pilar was a public school teacher there but in 1990 headed for Pakistan with Gloria Canama from Tangub City, Misamis Occidental, and Emma Pabera, a public school prinicapl from Candoni, also in Negros Occidental. These were 'RP1' [Republic of the Philippines 1], the first team of Columban lay missionaries fro

 Estefanio Luceño with his wife Teresita, 60 years married, taken in Dahilayan, Bukidnon, last year Please pray for the repose of the soul of Estefanio A Luceño who died in Pagadian City on Holy Saturday, 7 April, and will be buried there on Easter Saturday, 14 April. He was 85 and the father of Aurora Luceño, a long-term Columban lay missionary who has spent much of her time in Pakistan. Many of us have read stories, including vocation stories, about and by missionaries and been inspired by them. We don't hear quite as often from the parents of missionaries, about their part in the vocation stories of their sons and daughters or of what it costs them. Below is an article we published in Misyon , the Columban magazine I edit here in the Philippines, in January-February 2004 by the late Estefanio: We had to let her go . Now God has asked his wife and family to let him go. As the Irish prayer for the dead goes, 'May the light of heaven shine upon him'. Aurora Luceño, kno