Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News h

 Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html

Dec 22 Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html 

Reading of the day

A reading from the Book of  Samuel

1:24-28

In those days,

Hannah brought Samuel with her,

along with a three-year-old bull,

an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine,

and presented him at the temple of the LORD in Shiloh.

After the boy’s father had sacrificed the young bull,

Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said:

“Pardon, my lord!

As you live, my lord,

I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD.

I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request.

Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD;

as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.”

She left Samuel there.

Gospel of the day

From the Gospel according to Luke

1:46-56

Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my savior.

for he has looked upon his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

and has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.”

Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months

and then returned to her home.

The words of the Popes

The Magnificat, which the Gospel places on the lips of the young Mary, now radiates the light of all her days.  One single day — the day she met her cousin Elizabeth — contains the seed of every other day, of every other season. And words are not enough; a song is needed, one that continues to be sung in the Church “from generation to generation” (Lk 1:50), at the close of every day. The surprising fruitfulness of barren Elizabeth confirmed Mary in her trust; it anticipated the fruitfulness of her “yes,” which extends to the fruitfulness of the Church and of all humanity whenever God’s renewing Word is welcomed. That day, two women met in faith, then stayed together for three months to support each other, not just in practical matters but in a new way of reading history. (…)

Mary’s song, Magnificat, strengthens the hope of the humble, the hungry, the faithful servants of God.  These are the men and women of the Beatitudes who, even in tribulation, already see the invisible: the mighty cast down from their thrones, the rich sent away empty, the promises of God fulfilled. Such experiences should be found in every Christian community. They may seem impossible, but God’s Word continues to be brought to light. When bonds are born, with which we confront evil with good and death with life, we see that nothing is impossible with God (cf. Lk 1:37). (Pope Leo XIV, Homily, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 15 August 2025)