Mass Readings
Liturgical Readings for : Thursday, 18th December, 2025Léachtaí Gaeilge
Next Sunday’s Readings
The Advent Octave before Christmas: Thursday, Day 2 : -18th December. (O Adonai)
St Matthew stresses the Divinity of Christ and Joseph, to be a man of integrity
Saint of the Day: Dec 18th : St Flannan, monk in Killaloloe, abbot, bishop
C/f A short history of today’s saint, can be found below today’s Readings and Reflection.
FIRST READING
A reading from the prophet Jeremiah 23: 5–8
I will raise a virtuous Branch for David.
‘See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks –when I will raise a virtuous Branch for David,
who will reign as true king and be wise, practising honesty and integrity in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved and Israel dwell in confidence.
And this is the name he will be called: the Lord-our-Integrity.
‘So, then, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks –
when people will no longer say, “As the Lord lives who brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt!” but, “As the Lord lives who led back and brought home the descendants of the House of Israel out of the land of the North
and from all the countries to which he had dispersed them, to live on their own soil.” ‘
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps: 71: 1-2, 12-13, 18-19, R/v 7
Response In his days justice shall flourish and peace till the moon fails.
1. O God, give your judgement to the king, to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in justice and your poor in right judgement. Response
2. For he shall save the poor when they cry and the needy who are helpless.
He will have pity on the weak and save the lives of the poor. Response
3. Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, who alone works wonders,
ever blessed his glorious name. Let his glory fill the earth. Amen! Amen! Response
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
O Ruler of the House of Israel who gave the law to Moses on Sinai,
come and save us with outstretched arm.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 1:18-24 Glory to you, O Lord.
Jesus is born of Mary who was betrothed to Joseph, son of David.
to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally.
He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived
what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus,
because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’
Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him ‘Emmanuel‘,
a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.‘
When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home.
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
**************************
Gospel Reflection 18 Dec, Day 2 Pre-Christmas Octave Matthew 1:18–24
Today’s gospel reading gives us Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus. Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth has so caught the imagination of artists and storytellers down the centuries that Matthew’s account has found itself in the shade somewhat. In Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth, Mary is more to the fore than Joseph. In Matthew’s account it is Joseph who is to the fore. In our gospel reading the annunciation of Jesus’ birth is made to Joseph, not to Mary. He needs reassuring when he discovers that Mary his betrothed is pregnant before they have come to live together as husband and wife. Out of consideration for Mary, he had initially decided to divorce her informally, until the angel Gabriel announced to him the true nature of Mary’s pregnancy, ‘She has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit’, and the true significance of the child in her womb, ‘She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins’.
Apart from the name Jesus, the name ‘Emmanuel’, found in the prophet Isaiah, will also apply to him, ‘God-with-us’. Mary’s child will be the presence of the merciful God among us. In response to that annunciation, that revelation, Joseph took Mary home as his wife. The gospel reading gives us a picture of Joseph struggling to discern what God is asking of him in a situation he doesn’t fully understand. We are all like Joseph in that regard. We make a decision, thinking it is God’s will for our lives, and then we have to review it as it becomes clear to us that, perhaps, this is not what God is asking of us. We are always trying to discern God’s call, what God is asking of us in the here and now. As a man who had much to discern, Saint Joseph can be a very good companion for us in those complex moments in our own lives when there is much to be discerned.
________________________________
The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from Fr Martin Hogan’s book Reflections on the Weekday Readings : The Word is Near to You, on your lips and in your heart published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
__________________________
Saints of the day: Dec 18th, St Flannan, monk, bishop, preacher. ( 554-609A.D.)
Flannan lived in the seventh century and was the son of a king of Thomond. He entered St Molua’s monastery at Killaloe and became abbot there.
He is remembered as a powerful preacher.
Patrick Duffy summarises some traditions about the St Flannan’s life.
Flannan is the patron saint of the diocese of Killaloe, Ireland. This diocese includes large portions of the counties of Clare and North Tipperary; it also includes smaller portions of Offaly, Laois, and Limerick. The diocesan cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul is at Ennis. Portraits of Saints Flannan and Senan accompany those of Ss Peter and Paul in the sanctuary. He was often referred to as ‘the great preacher.’
St Flannan
Flannan was reputed to have been the first abbot and founder of Killaloe. He was born in Ardagh, Co Limerick, where the parish church is called after him. On a visit to Munster, St Comhghall, Abbot of Bangor, found him asleep in a field where he was tending his father’s flocks and recognising the boy’s holiness, took him with him to Bangor. There he studied for the religious life and was ordained a priest. He is said to have founded monasteries at his home place Ardagh in Co Limerick, at Killaloe, at Friars’ Island near Ardnacrusha (covered in 1930 by the damming for the hydroelectric scheme), at Cluain Fearta Molua (Kyle, north of Borris-in-Ossory Co Laois) on the Leinster/Munster border near his mother’s home. There is also a Church of St Molua (Church of Ireland) in the Stormont area of east Belfast.
St Flannan succeeds St Molua at Killaloe
Travels to Rome and Scotland?
Flannan was noted for his hospitality and the people of Thomond agreed he should become bishop. He is said to have made a trip to Rome where he received consecration from Pope John IV (640-2). There were churches dedicated to him at Inishlannaun in Lough Corrib and another on Inishbofin. The Flannan Islands in the Outer Hebrides may be connected to his cult. However, it is not certain that the Scottish Flannan is the same as the Killaloe Flannan. There is a possibility that there was a second saint called Flannan.
Propaganda?
Former diocesan historian, Fr Ignatius Murphy (died 1993), referring to the abundance of legends about St Flannan, dismissed the medieval life as historically valueless and said we have very little hard information about him. Murphy maintained that Flannan lived in the 8th century, possibly in West Clare, and that the prominence given to him was due to family pride and propaganda on the part of the kings of the Dal gCais in the 11th and 12th centuries.
Patron of Killaloe Diocese
Killaloe Historic Town Trail.
However that may be, St Flannan emerged as the patron of the diocese of Killaloe. The Church of Ireland Cathedral in Killaloe is called after him as is the diocesan college, St Flannan’s, Ennis.
When the diocese was established at the Synod of Rathbreasail in 1111, it was made up of three separate dioceses which had been founded around three abbeys: Killaloe, under Saints Molua and Flannan; Roscrea, founded by St Crónán (d. 665); and Scattery Island (Inis Cathaigh), founded by St Senan.
Other monks venerated locally as saints include:
St Brendan of Birr,
St Caimin of Inis Cealtra in Lough Derg and
St Ruadhán of Lorrha, Co Tipperary, near Portumna.
******************************
Memorable Saying for Today
If we are faithful to God in little things,
we shall gain experience and strength that will be helpful to us in the more serious trials of life.
~ Hudson Taylor ~
******************************