Deacon: Wisdom! Arise! Hear the Holy Gospel!

Priest:    Peace to you all. 

People:  And to your spirit.

Deacon:  A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John (1:1-17)

People:  Glory to You Lord. Glory to You.

Priest:   Listen!

Deacon:

In the beginning was the Word.
The Word was with God
and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.
Through Him everything came to be.
Not one thing had its being except through Him.

All that came to be, had life in Him.
And that life was the light for all humans,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness cannot surround.

A man came, sent by God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness,
as a witness to speak for the light,
so that everyone might believe through him.
He was not the light,
only a witness speaking for the light.

The Word was the true light
that lights all humans.
And He was coming into the world.

He came into the world,
which had its being through Him,
and the world did not know Him.

He came to His own nation,
and His people did not accept Him.

But to all who did accept Him,
He gave power to become children of God,
to all who believe in the name of Him
who was not born out of human seed
or urge of the flesh
or will of a human
but of God Himself.

The Word was made flesh, he lived with us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory that is His, as the only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth.

John appears as his witness. He proclaimed:
'This is the one I described -
"He who comes after me
ranks before me
because He existed before me".'

Indeed all of us have received from his fullness,
truly, grace in return for grace,
since, though the law was given to Moses,
grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.

No-one has ever seen God.
It is the only Son, who is nearest the Father's heart,
who has made Him known.

People: Glory to You Lord. Glory to You.