Today's Gospel December 13, 2020 with the words of Pope Francis

READING OF THE DAY
First Reading

From the book of the prophet Isaìa
Is 61,1: 2.10-11-XNUMX

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord consecrated me with anointing;
he sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to bind the wounds of broken hearts,
to proclaim the freedom of slaves,
the release of prisoners,
to promulgate the year of the Lord's grace.
I fully rejoice in the Lord,
my soul rejoices in my God,
because he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he wrapped me in the cloak of righteousness,
like a bridegroom puts on a diadem
and like a bride she adorns herself with jewels.
For, as the earth produces its shoots
and as a garden makes its seeds sprout,
thus the Lord God will sprout justice
and praise before all the nations.

Second reading

From the first letter of St Paul the apostle to the Thessalonicési
1Ts 5,16-24

Brothers, be happy always, pray uninterruptedly, give thanks in everything: this is in fact the will of God in Christ Jesus towards you. Don't quench the Spirit, don't despise prophecies. Go through everything and keep what is good. Refrain from all kinds of evil. May the God of peace sanctify you entirely, and your whole person, spirit, soul and body, be kept blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Worthy of faith is he who calls you: he will do all this!

GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to John
Jn 1,6-8.19-28

A man came sent from God:
his name was Giovanni.
He came as a witness to bear witness to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but he had to bear witness to the light.
This is the testimony of John,
when the Jews sent him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to question him:
"Who are you?". He confessed and did not deny. He confessed: "I am not the Christ." Then they asked him: «Who are you, then? Are you Elia? ». "I'm not," he said. "Are you the prophet?" "No," he replied. Then they said to him, "Who are you?" Because we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? ».
He replied, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make the way of the Lord straight, as the prophet Isaiah said."
Those who had been sent were from the Pharisees.
They asked him and said to him, "Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" John answered them, 'I baptize in water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who comes after me: to him I am not worthy to untie the lace of the sandal ».
This happened in Betània, beyond the Jordan, where Giovanni was baptizing.

WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
To prepare the way for the Lord who comes, it is necessary to take into account the needs of the conversion to which the Baptist invites ... One cannot have a relationship of love, charity, fraternity with one's neighbor if there are "holes", such as not you can go down a road with many holes… We cannot give up in the face of negative situations of closure and rejection; we must not allow ourselves to be subjugated by the mentality of the world, because the center of our life is Jesus and his word of light, of love, of consolation. And he! (Angelus, December 9, 2018