Catholic Mass Readings For Tuesday, July 01, 2014

FIRST READING: Amos 3: 1 - 8; 4: 11 - 12

---

1 Hear this word which Yahweh speaks against you, people of Israel, against the whole family which he brought up from the land of Egypt.

2 "Only you have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will call you to account for all your wrongdoings."

3 Do two walk together unless they have agreed?

4 Does a lion roar in the forest when it has no prey? Does a young lion growl in its den unless it has seized something?

5 Does a bird get caught in a snare if the snare has not been baited? Does a tiger spring up from the ground unless it has caught something?

6 If a trumpet sounds in a city, will the people not be frightened? If disaster strikes a city, has not Yahweh caused it?

7 Yet Yahweh does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets.

8 If the lion roars, who will not be afraid? If Yahweh speaks, who will not prophesy?

11 "I overthrew you, a divine punishment, as happened to Sodom and Gomorrah; you were like a brand snatched from the blaze, yet you never returned to me," says Yahweh.

12 "Therefore I will deal with you in my own way, Israel, and since I will do this to you, prepare, Israel, to meet your God!"

PSALM: Psalms 5: 4 - 8

---

4 From daybreak you hear my voice, from dawn I am in your presence watching for you.

5 You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil has no place in you.

6 The arrogant cannot stand before you. You hate all who do evil;

7 you destroy all who speak falsehood, who thirst for blood and live on lies; all of them the Lord detests.

8 But I, by your love and grace, may come into your house. In reverence I bow down and worship at your holy temple.

GOSPEL: Matthew 8: 23 - 27

---

23 Jesus got into the boat and his disciples followed him.

24 Without warning a fierce storm hit the lake, with waves sweeping the boat. But Jesus was asleep.

25 They woke him and cried, "Lord save us! We are lost!"

26 But Jesus answered, "Why are you so afraid, you of little faith?" Then he stood up and ordered the wind and sea; and it became completely calm.

27 The people were astonished. They said, "What kind of man is he? Even the winds and the sea obey him."

Catholic Mass Readings For Monday, June 30, 2014

FIRST READING: Amos 2: 6 - 10, 13 - 16

---

6 Yahweh says this, "Because Israel has sinned, not once but three times and even more, I will not relent. They sell the just for money and the needy for a pair of sandals;

7 they tread on the head of the poor and trample them upon the dust of the earth, while they silence the right of the afflicted; a man and his father go to the same woman to profane my holy name;

8 they stretch out upon garments taken in pledge, beside every altar; they take the wine of those they swindle and are drunk in the house of their God.

9 It was I who destroyed the Amorites before them, whose height was like the height of the cedar, a people as sturdy as an oak. I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below.

10 It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness to take possession of the land of the Amorites.

13 Behold, I will crush you to the ground, as a cart does when it is full of sheaves.

14 The swift shall be unable to flee and the strong man shall lose his strength. The warrior shall not save himself nor the bowman stand his ground.

15 The swift of foot shall not escape nor the horseman save himself.

16 Even the most stout-hearted among the warriors shall flee away naked on that day," says Yahweh.

PSALM: Psalms 50: 16 - 23

---

16 But God says this to the wicked: "What right have you to mouth my laws, or to talk about my covenant?

17 You hate my commands and cast my words behind you.

18 You join a thief when you meet one; you keep company with adulterers.

19 You have a mouth of evil and a deceitful tongue.

20 You speak ill of your brother, and slander your own mother's son.

21 Because I was silent while you did these things, you thought I was like you. But now I rebuke you and make this charge against you.

22 Give this a thought, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces with no one to help you.

23 Those who give with thanks offerings honor me, but the one who walks blamelessly, I will show him the salvation of God."

GOSPEL: Matthew 8: 18 - 22

---

18 When he saw the crowd press around him, Jesus gave orders to cross to the other shore.

19 A teacher of the Law approached him and said, "Master, I will follow you wherever you go."

20 Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

21 Another disciple said to him, "Lord, let me go and bury my father first."

22 But Jesus answered him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

Sunday Catholic Mass Readings For June 29, 2014

"Saint Peter" (left) and "Saint Paul" (right) -- by James Tissot

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

FIRST READING: Acts 12: 1 - 11

---

1 About that time King Herod decided to persecute some members of the Church.

2 He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword,

3 and when he saw how it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

This happened during the festival of the Unleavened Bread.

4 Herod had him seized and thrown into prison with four squads, each of four soldiers, to guard him. He wanted to bring him to trial before the people after the Passover feast,

5 but while Peter was kept in prison, the whole Church prayed earnestly for him.

6 On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound by a double chain, while guards kept watch at the gate of the prison.

7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there and a light shone in the prison cell. The angel tapped Peter on the side and woke him saying, "Get up quickly!" At once the chains fell from Peter's wrists. The angel said, "Put on your belt and your sandals." Peter did so,

8 and the angel added, "Now, put on your cloak and follow me."

9 Peter followed him out; yet he did not realize that what was happening with the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.

10 They passed the first guard and then the second and they came to the iron door leading out to the city, which opened of itself for them. They went out and made their way down a narrow alley, when suddenly the angel left him.

11 Then Peter recovered his senses and said, "Now I know that the Lord has sent his angel and has rescued me from Herod's clutches and from all that the Jews had in store for me."

PSALM: Psalms 34: 2 - 9

---

2 I will bless the Lord all my days; his praise will be ever on my lips.

3 My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the lowly hear and rejoice.

4 Oh, let us magnify the Lord, together let us glorify his name!

5 I sought the Lord, and he answered me; from all my fears he delivered me.

6 They who look to him are radiant with joy, their faces never clouded with shame.

7 When the poor cry out, the Lord hears and saves them from distress.

8 The Lord's angel encamps and patrols to keep safe those who fear him.

9 Oh, see and taste the goodness of the Lord! Blessed is the one who finds shelter in him!

SECOND READING: 2 Timothy 4: 6 - 8, 17 - 18

---

6 As for me the time of sacrifice has arrived, and the moment of my departure has come.

7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

8 Now there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness with which the Lord, the just judge, will reward me on that day; and not only me, but all those who have longed for his glorious coming.

17 But the Lord was at my side, giving me strength to proclaim the Word fully, and let all the pagans hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth.

18 The Lord will save me from all evil, bringing me to his heavenly kingdom. Glory to him for ever and ever. Amen!

GOSPEL: Matthew 16: 13 - 19

---

13 After that Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi. He asked his disciples, "What do people say of the Son of Man? Who do they say I am?"

14 They said, "For some of them you are John the Baptist, for others Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

15 Jesus asked them, "But you, who do you say I am?"

16 Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

17 Jesus replied, "It is well for you, Simon Barjona, for it is not flesh or blood that has revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.

18 And now I say to you: You are Peter (or Rock) and on this rock I will build my Church; and never will the powers of death overcome it.

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and what you unbind on earth shall be unbound in heaven."

Catholic Mass Readings For Saturday, June 28, 2014

Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

FIRST READING: Lamentations 2: 2, 10 - 14, 18 - 19

---

2 Without pity Yahweh has shattered in Jacob every dwelling. He has torn down in his anger the ramparts of Judah's daughter. He has thrown her rulers and her king to the ground, dishonored.

10 The elders of the daughter of Zion sit in silence upon the ground, their heads sprinkled with dust, their bodies wrapped in sackcloth, while Jerusalem's young women bow their heads to the ground.

11 With weeping my eyes are spent; my soul is in torment because of the downfall of the daughter of my people, because children and infants faint in the open spaces of the town.

12 To their mothers they say, "Where is the bread and wine?" as they faint like wounded men in the streets and public squares, as their lives ebb away in their mothers' arms.

13 To what can I compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? Who can save or comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? Deep as the sea is your affliction, and who can possibly heal you?

14 Your prophets' visions were worthless and false. Had they warned of your sins, your fate might have been averted. But what they gave you instead were false, misleading signs.

18 Cry out to the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion! Oh, let your tears flow day and night, like a river. Give yourself no relief; grant your eyes no respite.

19 Get up, cry out in the night, as the evening watches start; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.

Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint with hunger at the corner of every street.

PSALM: Psalms 74: 1 - 7, 20 - 21

---

1 O God, have you rejected us forever? Why vent your anger on the sheep of your own fold?

2 Remember the people you have formed of old, the tribe you have redeemed as your inheritance. Remember Mount Zion where you once lived.

3 Climb and visit these hopeless ruins, the enemy has ravaged everything in the sanctuary.

4 Your foes have roared triumphantly in the holy place, and set up their banner of victory.

5 Like lumbermen felling trees,

6 they smashed the carved paneling with hatchets, hammers and axes.

7 They defiled your sanctuary and set aflame the dwelling place of your name.

20 See how they keep your covenant in the dark caves of the land.

21 Do not let the oppressed be put to shame; may the poor and needy praise your name.

GOSPEL: Luke 2: 41 - 51

---

41 Every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, as was customary.

42 And when Jesus was twelve years old, he went up with them according to the custom for this feast.

43 After the festival was over, they returned, but the boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem and his parents did not know it.

44 They thought he was in the company and after walking the whole day they looked for him among their relatives and friends.

45 As they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem searching for him,

46 and on the third day they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions.

47 And all the people were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

48 His parents were very surprised when they saw him and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I were very worried while searching for you."

49 Then he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Do you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

50 But they did not understand this answer.

51 Jesus went down with them, returning to Nazareth, and he continued to be subject to them. As for his mother, she kept all these things in her heart.

Catholic Mass Readings For Friday, June 27, 2014

The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

FIRST READING: Deuteronomy 7: 6 - 11

---

6 You are a people consecrated to Yahweh, your God. Yahweh has chosen you from among all the peoples on the face of the earth, that you may be his own people.

7 Yahweh has bound himself to you and has chosen you, not because you are the most numerous among all the peoples (on the contrary, you are the least).

8 Rather, he has chosen you because of his love for you and to fulfill the oath he made to your fathers. Therefore, with a firm hand Yahweh brought you out from slavery in Egypt, from the power of Pharaoh.

9 So know that Yahweh, your God, is the true and faithful God. He keeps his covenant, and his love reaches to the thousandth generation for those who love him and fulfill his commandments,

10 but he punishes in their own persons those who hate him and he repays them without delay.

11 So keep the commandments, the norms and the laws that today I command you to practice.

PSALM: Psalms 103: 1 - 4, 6 - 7, 8, 10

---

1 Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless his holy name!

2 Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all his kindness;

3 he forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness;

4 he redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion;

6 The Lord restores justice and secures the rights of the oppressed.

7 He has made known his ways to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel.

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger;

10 He does not treat us according to our sins, nor does he punish us as we deserve.

SECOND READING: 1 John 4: 7 - 16

---

7 My dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

8 Those who do not love have not known God, for God is love.

9 How did the love of God appear among us? God sent his only Son into this world that we might have life through him.

10 This is love: not that we loved God but that he first loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

11 Dear friends, if such has been the love of God, we, too, must love one another.

12 No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love spreads freely among us.

13 How may we know that we live in God and he in us? Because God has given us his Spirit.

14 We ourselves have seen and declare that the Father sent his Son to save the world.

15 Those who acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in them and they in God.

16 We have known the love of God and have believed in it. God is love. The one who lives in love, lives in God and God in him.

GOSPEL: Matthew 11: 25 - 30

---

25 On that occasion Jesus said, "Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I praise you, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to simple people.

26 Yes, Father, this is what pleased you.

27 Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

28 Come to me, all you who work hard and who carry heavy burdens and I will refresh you.

29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest.

30 For my yoke is good and my burden is light."

Catholic Mass Readings For Thursday, June 26, 2014

Optional Memorial Saint Josemaria Escriva, Priest

FIRST READING: 2 Kings 24: 8 - 17

---

8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he succeeded his father, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother was Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

9 Jehoiachin treated Yahweh badly, as his father had done.

10 At that time, the officials of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to attack Jerusalem, surrounding the city.

11 Nebuchadnezzar came while the city was being besieged by his men.

12 Jehoiachin, king of Judah, surrendered together with his mother, his servants, his leaders and the palace officials. It was the eighth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.

13 Nebuchadnezzar captured them and he took away the treasures of the House of Yahweh and of the king's house. He also destroyed all the objects of gold which Solomon, king of Israel, had made for the sanctuary of Yahweh. So the word Yahweh had spoken, was fulfilled.

14 Nebuchadnezzar carried off into exile all the leaders and prominent men, the blacksmiths and locksmiths, all the men of valor fit for war. A total of ten thousand were exiled to Babylon. Only the poorest sector of the population was left.

15 Nebuchaddnezzar also carried away Jehoiachin, with his mother, his wives, the ministers of the palace, and the prominent men of the land.

16 So all the prominent people, numbering seven thousand, the blacksmiths, numbering a thousand, and all the men fit for war were deported to Babylon by the king of Babylon.

17 He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king of Jerusalem, in place of Jehoiachin. And he changed his name to Zedekiah.

PSALM: Psalms 79: 1 - 5, 8 - 9

---

1 O God, the pagans have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple and reduced Jerusalem to rubble.

2 They have given your servants' corpses to the birds, and the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth.

3 They have poured out the blood of your faithful like water around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.

4 Mocked and reviled by those around us, we are scorned by our neighbors.

5 How long will this last, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your wrath always burn to avenge your rights?

8 Do not remember against us the sins of our fathers. Let your compassion hurry to us, for we have been brought very low.

9 Help us, God, our savior, for the glory of your name; forgive us for the sake of your name.

GOSPEL: Matthew 7: 21 - 29

---

21 Not everyone who says to me: Lord! Lord! will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my heavenly Father.

22 Many will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not speak in your name? Did we not cast out devils and perform many miracles in your name?"

23 Then I will tell them openly: I have never known you; away from me, you evil people!

24 "So, then, anyone who hears these words of mine and acts accordingly is like a wise man, who built his house on rock.

25 The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house, but it did not collapse because it was built on rock.

26 But anyone who hears these words of mine and does not act accordingly, is like a fool who built his house on sand.

27 The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house; it collapsed, and what a terrible fall that was!"

28 When Jesus had finished this discourse, the crowds were struck by the way he taught,

29 because he taught with authority unlike their teachers of the Law.

Catholic Mass Readings For Wednesday, June 25, 2014

FIRST READING: 2 Kings 22: 8 - 13; 23: 1 - 3

---

8 At that moment Hilkiah, the high priest, said to Shaphan, the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the House of Yahweh." And he entrusted the Book to Shaphan who read it.

9 Then Shaphan went to the king and said, "We have gathered the money in the House, and this has been turned over to the caretakers of the House to make the repairs."

10 And Shaphan added, "The priest Hilkiah has turned over a book to me." And Shaphan read the book to the king.

11 When the king heard the contents of the book, he tore his clothes and

12 commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, the secretary Shaphan, and Asaiah, his minister, to do the following,

13 "Go and consult Yahweh about the threats in this book which you have found. Consult him for me, for the people and for the whole of Judah, since our fathers did not listen to what this book says nor to its ordinances. This is why the anger of Yahweh is ready to burn against us."

1 The king summoned to his side all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem.

2 Then he went up to the House of Yahweh followed by all the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The priests with the prophets and all the people went with him, from the youngest to the oldest. When all were gathered, he read to them the book of the Law found in the House of Yahweh.

3 The king stood by the pillar; he made a covenant in the presence of Yahweh, promising to follow him, to keep his commandments and laws, and to respect his ordinances. He promised to keep this covenant according to what was written in the book with all his heart and with all his soul. And all the people promised with him.

PSALM: Psalms 119: 33 - 37, 40

---

33 Explain to me, O Lord, your commandments, and I will be ever faithful to them.

34 Give me understanding, that I may observe your law with all my heart.

35 Guide me in obeying your instructions, for my pleasure lies in them.

36 Incline my heart to follow your will and not my own selfish desire.

37 Turn my eyes away from vanities and direct them to your life-giving word.

40 Oh, how I long for your precepts! Renew my life in your righteousness.

GOSPEL: Matthew 7: 15 - 20

---

15 Beware of false prophets: they come to you in sheep's clothing but inside they are wild wolves.

16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Do you ever pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

17 A good tree always produces good fruit, a rotten tree produces bad fruit.

18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit and a rotten tree cannot bear good fruit.

19 Any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown in the fire.

20 So you will know them by their fruit.

Catholic Mass Readings For Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

FIRST READING: Isaiah 49: 1 - 6

---

1 Listen to me, O islands, pay attention, peoples from distant lands. Yahweh called me from my mother's womb; he pronounced my name before I was born.

2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword. He hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me into a polished arrow set apart in his quiver.

3 He said to me, "You are Israel, my servant, Through you I will be known."

4 "I have labored in vain," I thought and spent my strength for nothing." Yet what is due me was in the hand of Yahweh, and my reward was with my God. I am important in the sight of Yahweh, and my God is my strength.

5 And now Yahweh has spoken, he who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, to gather Israel to him.

6 He said: " 'Tis not enough that you be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob, to bring back the remnant of Israel. I will make you the light of the nations, that my salvation will reach to the ends of the earth."

PSALM: Psalms 139: 1 - 3, 13 - 15

---

1 O Lord, you know me: you have scrutinized me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise; beforehand you discern my thoughts.

3 You observe my activities and times of rest; you are familiar with all my ways.

13 It was you who formed my inmost part and knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I thank you for these wonders you have done, and my heart praises you for your marvelous deeds.

15 Even my bones were known to you when I was being formed in secret, fashioned in the depths of the earth.

SECOND READING: Acts 13: 22 - 26

---

22 After that time, God removed him and raised up David as king, to whom he bore witness saying: I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all I want him to do.

23 It is from the descendants of David that God has now raised up the promised savior of Israel, Jesus.

24 Before he appeared, John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for all the people of Israel.

25 As John was ending his life's work, he said: 'I am not what you think I am, for after me another one is coming whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.'

26 Brothers, children and descendants of Abraham, and you also who fear God, it is to you that this message of salvation has been sent.

GOSPEL: Luke 1: 57 - 66, 80

---

57 When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son.

58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the merciful Lord had done a wonderful thing for her and they rejoiced with her.

59 When on the eighth day they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father.

60 But his mother said, "Not so; he shall be called John."

61 They said to her, "No one in your family has that name";

62 and they asked the father by means of signs for the name he wanted to give.

63 Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote on it, "His name is John," and they were very surprised.

64 Immediately Zechariah could speak again and his first words were in praise of God.

65 A holy fear came on all in the neighborhood, and throughout the Hills of Judea the people talked about these events.

66 All who heard of it pondered in their minds and wondered, "What will this child be?" For they understood that the hand of the Lord was with him.

80 As the child grew up, he was seen to be strong in the Spirit; he lived in the desert till the day when he appeared openly in Israel.

Catholic Mass Readings For Monday, June 23, 2014

FIRST READING: 2 Kings 17: 5 - 8, 13 - 15, 18

---

5 The army of the king of Asshur subjected the whole of Israel, and they came to Samaria and laid siege to it for three years.

6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, exiled the Israelites to Asshur and made them settle in Halah, at the banks of Habor, the river of Gozan, as well as in the cities of the Medes.

7 This happened because the children of Israel had sinned against Yahweh, their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, where they were subject to Pharaoh, but they had turned back to other gods.

8 They followed the customs of the nations which Yahweh had driven out before them.

13 Yahweh warned Israel and Judah through the mouth of every prophet and seer, saying: "Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and precepts according to the laws which I commanded your fathers and which I have sent to you by my servants, the prophets."

14 But they did not listen and refused as did their fathers who did not believe in Yahweh, their God.

15 They despised his statutes and the covenant he had made with their fathers, and the warnings he had given them. They went after worthless idols and they themselves became worthless, following the nations which surrounded them, in spite of what Yahweh had said, "Do not do as they do."

18 So Yahweh became indignant with Israel and cast them far away from his presence, leaving only the tribe of Judah.

PSALM: Psalms 60: 3 - 5, 12 - 13

---

3 O God, you have rejected us and have broken our defenses; you have been angry, but now turn back to us.

4 You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its cracks for it totters.

5 You have made your people suffer; you have given us wine that makes us stagger.

12 Have you not rejected us, O God? You no longer go with our armies.

13 Give us aid against the foe, for human help is not worth a straw.

GOSPEL: Matthew 7: 1 - 5

---

1 Do not judge and you will not be judged.

2 In the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and the measure you use for others will be used for you.

3 Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye and not see the plank in your own eye?

4 How can you say to your brother: 'Come, let me take the speck from your eye,' as long as that plank is in your own?

5 Hypocrite, take first the plank out of your own eye, then you will see clear enough to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Sunday Catholic Mass Readings For June 22, 2014

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)

FIRST READING: Deuteronomy 8: 2 - 3, 14 - 16

---

2 Remember how Yahweh, your God, brought you through the desert for forty years. He humbled you, to test you and know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

3 He made you experience want, he made you experience hunger, but he gave you manna to eat which neither you nor your fathers had known, to show you that man lives not on bread alone, but that all that proceeds from the mouth of God is life for man.

14 then do not let your heart become proud and do not forget Yahweh, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of slavery.

15 It is he who has led you across this great and terrible desert, full of fiery serpents and scorpions, an arid land where there is no water. But for you he made water gush forth from the hardest rock.

16 And he fed you in the desert with manna which your fathers did not know. He made you experience want and put you to the test, so that it would be for you good later on.

PSALM: Psalms 147: 12 - 15, 19 - 20

---

12 Exalt the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion!

13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your children within you.

14 He grants peace on your borders and feeds you with the finest grain.

15 He sends his command to the earth and swiftly runs his word.

19 It is he who tells Jacob his words, his laws and decrees to Israel.

20 This he has not done for other nations, so his laws remain unknown to them. Alleluia!

SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 10: 16 - 17

---

16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a communion with the blood of Christ? And the bread that we break, is it not a communion with the body of Christ?

17 The bread is one, and so we, though many, form one body, sharing the one bread.

GOSPEL: John 6: 51 - 58

---

51 I am the living bread which has come from heaven; whoever eats of this bread will live forever. The bread I shall give is my flesh and I will give it for the life of the world."

52 The Jews were arguing among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

53 So Jesus replied, "Truly, I say to you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

54 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood live with eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day.

55 My flesh is really food and my blood is drink.

56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood, live in me and I in them.

57 Just as the Father, who is life, sent me and I have life from the Father, so whoever eats me will have life from me.

58 This is the bread which came from heaven; unlike that of your ancestors, who ate and later died. Those who eat this bread will live forever."