FIRST
READING: 1
Kings 19: 19 - 21
19
So Elijah left. He found Elisha, son of Shaphat, who was plowing a
field of twelve acres and was at the end of the twelfth acre. Elijah
passed by him and cast his cloak over him.
20
Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah and said, "Let me say
goodbye to my father and mother; then I will follow you." Elijah
said to him, "Return if you want, don't worry about what I did."
21
However, Elisha turned back, took the yoke of oxen and slew them. He
roasted their meat on the pieces of the yoke and gave it to his
people who ate of it. After this, he followed Elijah and began
ministering to him.
PSALM:
Psalms 16:
1 - 2, 5, 7 - 10
1
Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2
I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord, my only good."
5
O Lord, my inheritance and my cup, my chosen portion - hold secure my
lot.
7
I bless the Lord who counsels me; even at night my inmost self
instructs me.
8
I keep the Lord always before me; for with him at my right hand, I
will never be shaken.
9
My heart, therefore, exults, my soul rejoices; my body too will rest
assured.
10
For you will not abandon my soul to the grave, nor will you suffer
your holy one to see decay in the land of the dead.
GOSPEL:
Matthew 5:
33 - 37
33
You have also heard that people were told in the past: Do not break
your oath; an oath sworn to the Lord must be kept.
34
But I tell you this: do not take oaths. Do not swear by the heavens,
for they are God's throne,
35
nor by the earth, because it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem
because it is the city of the great king.
36
Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair
white or black.
37
Say yes when you mean yes and say no when you mean no. Anything else
you say comes from the devil.
