The daily Word of God

enero 7, 2025

7 January   or Saint Raymond of Penyafort, Priest  

Jn 2:1–11 "Do whatever he tells you."

First Reading: 1 Jn 5:14–21

Beloved: 
We have this confidence in God, 
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  
And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, 
we know that what we have asked him for is ours.  
If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, 
he should pray to God and he will give him life. 
This is only for those whose sin is not deadly.  
There is such a thing as deadly sin, 
about which I do not say that you should pray.  
All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly. 

We know that no one begotten by God sins; 
but the one begotten by God he protects, 
and the Evil One cannot touch him. 
We know that we belong to God, 
and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One.  
We also know that the Son of God has come 
and has given us discernment to know the one who is true.  
And we are in the one who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ.  
He is the true God and eternal life.  
Children, be on your guard against idols.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms  149:1-2, 3-4, 5 and 6a and 9b

R./ The Lord takes delight in his people.  or:  Alleluia

Sing to the Lord a new song 
of praise in the assembly of the faithful. 
Let Israel be glad in their maker, 
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king. 
R./ The Lord takes delight in his people.  or:  Alleluia

Let them praise his name in the festive dance, 
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp. 
For the Lord loves his people, 
and he adorns the lowly with victory. 
R./ The Lord takes delight in his people.  or:  Alleluia

Let the faithful exult in glory; 
let them sing for joy upon their couches; 
Let the high praises of God be in their throats. 
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia. 
R./ The Lord takes delight in his people.  or:  Alleluia

Gospel Reading: Jn 2:1–11

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, 
and the mother of Jesus was there. 
Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. 
When the wine ran short, 
the mother of Jesus said to him, 
"They have no wine." 
And Jesus said to her, 
"Woman, how does your concern affect me? 
My hour has not yet come." 
His mother said to the servers, 
"Do whatever he tells you." 
Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, 
each holding twenty to thirty gallons. 
Jesus told them, 
"Fill the jars with water." 
So they filled them to the brim. 
Then he told them, 
"Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." 
So they took it.  
And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, 
without knowing where it came from 
(although the servers who had drawn the water knew), 
the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, 
"Everyone serves good wine first, 
and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; 
but you have kept the good wine until now." 
Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee 
and so revealed his glory, 
and his disciples began to believe in him. 

Matthew explains, in the Gospel sequence of the Feast of the Epiphany, what Isaiah had prophesied: the salvation awaited by the Jewish people extends to all nations. Paul affirms this in his letter to the Ephesians: the Gentiles, too, are co-heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the same promise in Christ Jesus. The Child of Bethlehem, visited by those guided by the star—known in tradition as Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthasar—brings salvation. The wise men represent every nation, language, and people in need of salvation. This is the Feast of the Epiphany, which for Catholics and Orthodox Christians is the revelation of God incarnate, Jesus, to all humanity. This is what we joyfully celebrate today.

Isaiah speaks of offerings of gold and incense; Matthew adds myrrh. Gold for a King, incense for God, and myrrh—a substance used to anoint the dead—for a Man: the most beautiful of all men.

In the Creed we recite at Mass, we proclaim that Jesus is God who took on human flesh and became one of us, and that He is truly King. Do we truly believe it? To believe it means letting that faith we profess shape our thoughts and actions. It’s a way of life that doesn’t erase our humanity but transforms and liberates it. Recognizing Jesus as our sovereign is the source and foundation of the greatest freedom: no power, no matter how tyrannical, no command, and no adverse circumstance can prevail over the sovereignty of our King.

Yet sometimes, instead of letting the Lord reign, we put our whims, selfishness, and petty ambitions ahead of Him. All praise and glory to Him! That Child given to us is our King and Lord. Gold and incense…

And myrrh, because in an extraordinary way, God took on flesh and became one of us. From that moment on, and forever, our mortal flesh has been renewed and opened to the hope of salvation and immortality. From that moment on, everything we do “for one of the least of His brothers” we do for Him.

Virginia Fernández