Mass Readings for Sunday, July 31, 2011

FIRST READING: Isaiah 55: 1 - 3

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1 "Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in fatness.

3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

PSALM: Psalms 145: 8 - 9, 15 - 18

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8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9 The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.

15 The eyes of all look to thee, and thou givest them their food in due season.

16 Thou openest thy hand, thou satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

17 The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.

18 The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.

SECOND READING: Romans 8: 35, 37 - 39

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35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

38 For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

GOSPEL: Matthew 14: 13 - 21

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13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a lonely place apart. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

14 As he went ashore he saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick.

15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves."

16 Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."

17 They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish."

18 And he said, "Bring them here to me."

19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Mass Readings for Thursday, July 28, 2011

FIRST READING: Exodus 40: 16 - 21, 34 - 38

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16 Thus did Moses; according to all that the LORD commanded him, so he did.

17 And in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected.

18 Moses erected the tabernacle; he laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars;

19 and he spread the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent over it, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

20 And he took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark, and set the mercy seat above on the ark;

21 and he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony; as the LORD had commanded Moses.

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud abode upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

36 Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would go onward;

37 but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not go onward till the day that it was taken up.

38 For throughout all their journeys the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.

PSALM: Psalms 84: 3 - 6, 8, 11

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3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at thy altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in thy house, ever singing thy praise! [Selah]

5 Blessed are the men whose strength is in thee, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

6 As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools.

8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! [Selah]

11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the LORD withhold from those who walk uprightly.

GOSPEL: Matthew 13: 47 - 53

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47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind;

48 when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad.

49 So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous,

50 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.

51 "Have you understood all this?" They said to him, "Yes."

52 And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there.