Today's Gospel December 16, 2020 with the words of Pope Francis

READING OF THE DAY
From the book of the prophet Isaiah
Is 45,6b-8.18.21b-25

«I am the Lord, there is no other.
I form the light and I create the darkness,
I do good and cause misfortune;
I, the Lord, do all this.
Drain, heavens, from above
and the clouds rain justice;
let the earth open and bring about salvation
and bring forth justice together.
I, the Lord, have created all this ».
For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens,
he, the God who fashioned
and made the earth and made it stable,
did not create it empty,
but he shaped it to be inhabited:
«I am the Lord, there is no other.
Am I not the Lord?
There is no other god besides me;
a righteous and savior god
there is no other than me.
Turn to me and you will be saved,
all you ends of the earth,
because I am God, there is no other.
I swear to myself,
justice comes out of my mouth,
a word that does not come back:
before me every knee will bend,
every language will swear by me. "
It will be said: «Only in the Lord
justice and power are found! ».
Towards him they will come, covered with shame,
how many burned with anger against him.
He will obtain justice and glory from the Lord
all the people of Israel.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Luke
Lc 7,19-23

At that time, John called two of his disciples and sent them to say to the Lord: "Are you the one who is to come or must we wait for another?".
When they came to him, those men said: «John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask you: 'Are you the one who is to come or should we wait for another?».
At that same moment, Jesus healed many from diseases, from infirmities, from evil spirits and gave sight to many blind people. Then he gave them this answer: “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are purified, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor are told the good news. And blessed is he who finds no cause for scandal in me! ».

WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
“The Church exists to proclaim, to be the voice of a Word, of her spouse, who is the Word. And the Church exists to proclaim this Word to the point of martyrdom. Martyrdom precisely in the hands of the proud, the most proud of the earth. Giovanni could make himself important, he could say something about himself. 'But I think ”: never; only this: it indicated, there was a voice, not a Word. Giovanni's secret. Why is John holy and has no sin? Why never, ever took a truth as his own. We ask for the grace to imitate John, without his own ideas, without a Gospel taken as property, only a Church voice that indicates the Word, and this up to martyrdom. So be it!". (Santa Marta, June 24, 2013