Daily Catholic Mass Readings for January 1, 2026
First Reading: Numbers 6.22-27
22And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying23"Say to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them24‘May the Lord bless you and keep you25May the Lord reveal his face to you and take pity on you26May the Lord turn his countenance toward you and grant peace to you.27And they shall invoke my name over the sons of Israel, and I will bless them.
Psalm 67
1Unto the end. With hymns, a Canticle Psalm of David. May God have mercy on us and bless us. May he shine his countenance upon us, and may he have mercy on us2So may we know your way upon the earth, your salvation among all nations3Let the peoples confess to you, O God. Let all the peoples confess to you4May the nations rejoice and exult. For you judge the peoples with equity, and you direct the nations on earth5Let the peoples confess to you, O God. Let all the peoples confess to you6The earth has provided her fruit. May God, our God, bless us7May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him
Second Reading: Galatians 4.4-7
4But when the fullness of time arrived, God sent his Son, formed from a woman, formed under the law5so that he might redeem those who were under the law, in order that we might receive the adoption of sons6Therefore, because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying out: "Abba, Father.7And so now he is not a servant, but a son. But if he is a son, then he is also an heir, through God
Gospel: Luke 2.16-21
16And they went quickly. And they found Mary and Joseph; and the infant was lying in a manger17Then, upon seeing this, they understood the word that had been spoken to them about this boy18And all who heard it were amazed by this, and by those things which were told to them by the shepherds19But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told to them21And after eight days were ended, so that the boy would be circumcised, his name was called JESUS, just as he was called by the Angel before he was conceived in the womb
Sermon
The ancient blessing from the book of Numbers, where the Lord instructs Aaron and his sons to invoke His name over the Israelites for protection, grace, and peace, finds its profound fulfillment in the "fullness of time" described by St. Paul in Galatians. This is when God sent His Son, born of a woman and under the law, not merely to bless us from afar, but to redeem us and elevate us to the status of adopted children. We see the unfolding of this divine plan in the Gospel of Luke, where the shepherds, having witnessed the infant Jesus in the manger, understood and glorified God, while Mary quietly treasured these mysteries in her heart. Eight days after his birth, this child is given the name JESUS, a name that signifies his very mission of salvation and the essence of God's ultimate blessing for humanity.
These readings beautifully illustrate God's unchanging desire to bless His people, from the specific invocation given to Aaron to the ultimate blessing poured out through His Son. The blessing of Numbers, which promised protection and peace through God's countenance, is now realized in an intimate and transformative way: through Christ, we are not merely recipients of blessings, but brought into the very family of God, receiving the Spirit of the Son who enables us to cry "Abba, Father." This incredible shift from servitude to sonship means we are heirs of God's kingdom. Like Mary, we are called to ponder these profound truths, allowing them to shape our understanding of who God is and who we are in Him, while also, like the shepherds, joyfully proclaiming the good news we have received, resting in the peace that comes from being beloved children of God.