Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist
Reading 1 1 John 1:1-4
Beloved:
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life —
for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father and was made visible to us—
what we have seen and heard
we proclaim now to you,
so that you too may have fellowship with us;
for our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12
R. (12) Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are around him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Alleluia See Te Deum
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the glorious company of Apostles praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel John 20:1a and 2-8
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.
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Saturday, December 27, 2025
Letter from the Editor //
Dear Sister,
The Gospel for tomorrow’s Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph tells us how Saint Joseph rose in the night and fled with Mary and the Infant Jesus to save Jesus from Herod’s command to his soldiers to kill the baby boys of Bethlehem. We can imagine what it must have been like, knowing God had a plan for the newborn, needing to keep the baby quiet, rushing to pack, and slipping out into the dark. How the hearts of Mary and Joseph must have raced on that night. But we can also imagine how God’s grace sustained them, how their lives reflected the words of Saint Paul as “over all” their virtues “they put on love” (Colossians 3:14).
We celebrate the Holy Family tomorrow, so that we can know how to live in our own families. Saint Paul describes to us in tomorrow’s Second Reading what a family must do to become holy: “Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another” (Colossians 3:12-13). Scripture tells us to honor our parents, submit to our spouse in love, to not discourage our children, but we cannot do this without grace. Grace is how the Holy Family did it as well; they completely relied on God and we can also. This Sunday, ask the Holy Family to pray for you, to bring you into the love of their family, so that you can love with God’s love. When we do this, our families will be blessed: “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!” (Psalm 128:1)
In Christ’s Love,
Susanna
Read the Readings for the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph:
First Reading // Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
Psalm // Psalm 128:1-5
Second Reading // Colossians 3:12-21
Gospel // Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days
Saturday, December 27 // Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist
Sunday, December 28 // Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Monday, December 29 // Optional Memorial of Saint Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr
Wednesday, December 31 // Optional Memorial of Saint Sylvester I, Pope
Thursday, January 1 // Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God // The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord // Holy Day of Obligation
Friday, January 2 // Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church
Susanna Spencer holds a master's in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and is the Devotions Editor for Blessed is She. She is a freelance writer and editor and a teacher-in-training living with her philosopher husband and four kids in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She loves reading theology, attending beautiful liturgies, cooking delicious food, and casually following baseball. She is the author of the Gospel Studies including Seek His Kingdom: A Meditation on Matthew , Listen to Him: A Meditation on Mark, and Abide in His Love: A Meditation on John. She was narrator for Found: Advent With the Good Shepherd and Rescued: Lent With the Lamb of God and a contributing author and editor for our children’s devotional prayer book, Rise Up. She was the Theological Editor of the Blessed Conversations Studies. Find out more about her here.
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