Daily Mass Readings : July 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Mass Readings for Sunday, July 31, 2011

FIRST READING: Isaiah 55: 1 - 3

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

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

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

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.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Mass Readings for Thursday, July 28, 2011

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

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

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

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.

Mass Readings for Wednesday, July 27, 2011

FIRST READING: Exodus 34: 29 - 35

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tables of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.

30 And when Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.

31 But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them.

32 And afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in Mount Sinai.

33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face;

34 but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the people of Israel what he was commanded,

35 the people of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone; and Moses would put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

PSALM: Psalms 99: 5 - 7, 9

5 Extol the LORD our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!

6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.

7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his testimonies, and the statutes that he gave them.

9 Extol the LORD our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the LORD our God is holy!

GOSPEL: Matthew 13: 44 - 46

44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,

46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Mass Readings for Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Memorial of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

FIRST READING: Exodus 33: 7 - 11; 34: 5 - 9, 28

7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp; and he called it the tent of meeting. And every one who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.

8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose up, and every man stood at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he had gone into the tent.

9 When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the door of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses.

10 And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the door of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, every man at his tent door.

11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tent.

5 And the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

6 The LORD passed before him, and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."

8 And Moses made haste to bow his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

9 And he said, "If now I have found favor in thy sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the midst of us, although it is a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thy inheritance."

28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

PSALM: Psalms 103: 6 - 13

6 The LORD works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.

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

9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger for ever.

10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor requite us according to our iniquities.

11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

13 As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear him.

GOSPEL: Matthew 13: 36 - 43

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field."

37 He answered, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of man;

38 the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one,

39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.

40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age.

41 The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,

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

43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Mass Readings for Wednesday, July 20, 2011

FIRST READING: Exodus 16: 1 - 5, 9 - 15

1 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.

2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness,

3 and said to them, "Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily."

9 And Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, `Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your murmurings.'"

10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

11 And the LORD said to Moses,

12 "I have heard the murmurings of the people of Israel; say to them, `At twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"

13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning dew lay round about the camp.

14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as hoarfrost on the ground.

15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.

PSALM: Psalms 78: 18 - 19, 23 - 28

18 They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.

19 They spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness?

23 Yet he commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven;

24 and he rained down upon them manna to eat, and gave them the grain of heaven.

25 Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance.

26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind;

27 he rained flesh upon them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas;

28 he let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their habitations.

GOSPEL: Matthew 13: 1 - 9

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.

2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat there; and the whole crowd stood on the beach.

3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow.

4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,

6 but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away.

7 Other seeds fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.

8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

9 He who has ears, let him hear."

Mass Readings for Tuesday, July 19, 2011

FIRST READING: Exodus 14: 21 - 31 -- 15: 1

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

23 The Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

24 And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down upon the host of the Egyptians, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians,

25 clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily; and the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from before Israel; for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians."

26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen."

27 So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its wonted flow when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled into it, and the LORD routed the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not so much as one of them remained.

29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore.

31 And Israel saw the great work which the LORD did against the Egyptians, and the people feared the LORD; and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, "I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

PSALM: Exodus 15: 8 - 10, 12, 17

8 At the blast of thy nostrils the waters piled up, the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.

9 The enemy said, `I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.'

10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them; they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

12 Thou didst stretch out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

17 Thou wilt bring them in, and plant them on thy own mountain, the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thy abode, the sanctuary, LORD, which thy hands have established.

GOSPEL: Matthew 12: 46 - 50

46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.

48 But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"

49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!

50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother."

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Mass Readings for Sunday, July 17, 2011

"The Enemy Who Sows" - James Tissot

FIRST READING: Wisdom 12: 13, 16 - 19

13 For neither is there any god besides thee, whose care is for all men, to whom thou shouldst prove that thou hast not judged unjustly;

16 For thy strength is the source of righteousness, and thy sovereignty over all causes thee to spare all.

17 For thou dost show thy strength when men doubt the completeness of thy power, and dost rebuke any insolence among those who know it.

18 Thou who art sovereign in strength dost judge with mildness, and with great forbearance thou dost govern us; for thou hast power to act whenever thou dost choose.

19 Through such works thou has taught thy people that the righteous man must be kind, and thou hast filled thy sons with good hope, because thou givest repentance for sins.

PSALM: Psalms 86: 5 - 6, 9 - 10, 15 - 16

5 For thou, O Lord, art good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on thee.

6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; hearken to my cry of supplication.

9 All the nations thou hast made shall come and bow down before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name.

10 For thou art great and doest wondrous things, thou alone art God.

15 But thou, O Lord, art a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

16 Turn to me and take pity on me; give thy strength to thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid.

SECOND READING: Romans 8: 26 - 27

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.

27 And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

GOSPEL: Matthew 13: 24 - 43 Or 13: 24 - 30

24 Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field;

25 but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.

26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.

27 And the servants of the householder came and said to him, `Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?'

28 He said to them, `An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, `Then do you want us to go and gather them?'

29 But he said, `No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.

30 Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

31 Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field;

32 it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."

33 He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."

34 All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed he said nothing to them without a parable.

35 This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world."