December 23

Behold I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face. And presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the angel of the testament, whom you desire, shall come to his temple. Behold he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts. ²And who shall be able to think of the day of his coming? and who shall stand to see him? for he is like a refining fire, and like the fuller’s herb: ³And he shall sit refining and cleansing the silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and shall refine them as gold, and as silver, and they shall offer sacrifices to the Lord in justice. ⁴And the sacrifice of Juda and of Jerusalem shall please the Lord, as in the days of old, and in the ancient years. ²³Behold I will send you Elias the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. ²⁴And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers: lest I come, and strike the earth with anathema.

⁴Let all them be confounded that act unjust things without cause. Shew, O Lord, thy ways to me, and teach me thy paths. ⁵Direct me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art God my Saviour; and on thee have I waited all the day long. ⁸The Lord is sweet and righteous: therefore he will give a law to sinners in the way. ⁹He will guide the mild in judgment: he will teach the meek his ways. ¹⁰All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to them that seek after his covenant and his testimonies. ¹⁴The Lord is a firmament to them that fear him: and his covenant shall be made manifest to them.

℟ Lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand.

Now Elizabeth’s full time of being delivered was come, and she brought forth a son. ⁵⁸And her neighbours and kinsfolks heard that the Lord had shewed his great mercy towards her, and they congratulated with her. ⁵⁹And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they called him by his father’s name Zachary. ⁶⁰And his mother answering, said: Not so; but he shall be called John. ⁶¹And they said to her: There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. ⁶²And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. ⁶³And demanding a writing table, he wrote, saying: John is his name. And they all wondered. ⁶⁴And immediately his mouth was opened, and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. ⁶⁵And fear came upon all their neighbours; and all these things were noised abroad over all the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶And all they that had heard them laid them up in their heart, saying: What an one, think ye, shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.