Sunday Mass Readings For August 26, 2012

FIRST READING: Joshua 24: 1 - 2, 15 - 18

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1 And Josue gathered together all the tribes of Israel in Sichem, and called for the ancients, and the princes and the judges, and the masters: and they stood in the sight of the Lord:

2 And he spoke thus to the people: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt of old on the other side of the river, Thare the father of Abraham, and Nachor: and they served strange gods.

15 But if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, you have your choice: choose this day that which pleaseth you, whom you would rather serve, whether the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord,

16 And the people answered, and said, God forbid we should leave the Lord, and serve strange gods.

17 The Lord our God he brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: and did very great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way by which we journeyed, and among all the people through whom we passed.

18 And he hath cast out all the nations, the Amorrhite the inhabitant of the land into which we are come. Therefore we will serve the Lord, for he is our God.

PSALM: Psalms 34: 2 - 3, 16 - 21

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2 In the Lord shall my soul be praised: let the meek hear and rejoice.

3 O magnify the Lord with me; and let us extol his name together.

16 But the countenance of the Lord is against them that do evil things: to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

17 The just cried, and the Lord heard them: and delivered them out of all their troubles.

18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart: and he will save the humble of spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the just; but out of them all will the Lord deliver them.

20 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart: and he will save the humble of spirit.

21 The death of the wicked is very evil: and they that hate the just shall be guilty.

SECOND READING: Ephesians 5: 21 - 32 Or Ephesians 5: 2, 25 - 32

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21 Being subject one to another, in the fear of Christ.

22 Let women be subject to their husbands, as to the Lord:

23 Because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church. He is the saviour of his body.

24 Therefore as the church is subject to Christ: so also let the wives be to their husbands in all things.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church and delivered himself up for it:

26 That he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life:

27 That he might present it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

28 So also ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

29 For no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, as also Christ doth the church:

30 Because we are members of him, body, of his flesh and of his bones.

31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother: and shall cleave to his wife. And they shall be two in one flesh.

32 This is a great sacrament: but I speak in Christ and in the church.

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2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us and hath delivered himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to God for an odour of sweetness.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church and delivered himself up for it:

26 That he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life:

27 That he might present it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

28 So also ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

29 For no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, as also Christ doth the church:

30 Because we are members of him, body, of his flesh and of his bones.

31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother: and shall cleave to his wife. And they shall be two in one flesh.

32 This is a great sacrament: but I speak in Christ and in the church.

GOSPEL: John 6: 60 - 69

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60 Many therefore of his disciples, hearing it, said: This saying is hard; and who can hear it?

61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at this, said to them: Doth this scandalize you?

62 If then you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

63 It is the spirit that quickeneth: the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that did not believe and who he was that would betray him.

65 And he said: Therefore did I say to you that no man can come to me, unless it be given him by my Father.

66 After this, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him.

67 Then Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away?

68 And Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.

69 And we have believed and have known that thou art the Christ, the Son of God.

Mass Readings for Saturday, August 25, 2012

"Curses Against the Pharisees" --  by James Tissot

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 43: 1 - 7

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1 And he brought me to the gate that looked towards the east.

2 And behold the glory of the God of Israel came in by the way of the east: and his voice was like the noise of many waters, and the earth shone with his majesty.

3 And I saw the vision according to the appearance which I had seen when he came to destroy the city: and the appearance was according to the vision which I had seen by the river Chobar: and I fell upon my face.

4 And the majesty of the Lord went into the temple by the way of the gate that looked to the east.

5 And the spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court: and behold the house was filled with the glory of the Lord.

6 And I heard one speaking to me out of the house, and the man that stood by me,

7 Said to me: Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever: and the house of Israel shall no more profane my holy name, they and their kings by their fornications, and by the carcasses of their kings, and by the high places.

PSALM: Psalms 85: 9 - 14

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9 I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me: for he will speak peace unto his people: And unto his saints: and unto them that are converted to the heart.

10 Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him:that glory may dwell in our land.

11 Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed.

12 Truth is sprung out of the earth: and justice hath looked down from heaven.

13 For the Lord will give goodness: and our earth shall yield her fruit.

14 Justice shall walk before him: and ,shall set his steps in the way.

GOSPEL: Matthew 23: 1 - 12

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1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples,

2 Saying: The scribes and the Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses.

3 All things therefore whatsoever they shall say to you, observe and do: but according to their works do ye not. For they say, and do not.

4 For they bind heavy and insupportable burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders: but with a finger of their own they will not move them.

5 And all their works they do for to be seen of men. For they make their phylacteries broad and enlarge their fringes.

6 And they love the first places at feasts and the first chairs in the synagogues,

7 And salutations in the market place, and to be called by men, Rabbi.

8 But be not you called Rabbi. For one is your master: and all you are brethren.

9 And call none your father upon earth; for one is your father, who is in heaven.

10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your master, Christ.

11 He that is the greatest among you shall be your servant.

12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled: and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Mass Readings for Friday, August 24, 2012

"Nathaniel Under the Fig Tree' -- by James Tissot

Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

FIRST READING: Revelation 21: 9 - 14

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9 And there came one of the seven angels, who had the vials full of the seven last plagues, and spoke with me, saying: Come and I will shew thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb.

10 And he took me up in spirit to a great and high mountain: and he shewed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,

11 Having the glory of God, and the light thereof was like to a precious stone, as to the jasper stone even as crystal.

12 And it had a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and in the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.

13 On the east, three gates: and on the north, three gates: and on the south, three gates: and on the west, three gates.

14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations: And in them, the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb,

PSALM: Psalms 145: 10 - 13, 17 - 18

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10 Let all thy works, O lord, praise thee: and let thy saints bless thee.

11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom: and shall tell of thy power:

12 To make thy might known to the sons of men: and the glory of the magnificence of thy kingdom.

13 Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages: and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words: and holy in all his works.

17 The Lord is just in all his ways: and holy in all his works.

18 The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him: to all that call upon him in truth.

GOSPEL: John 1: 45 - 51

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45 Philip findeth Nathanael and saith to him: We have found him of whom Moses, in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus the son of Joseph of Nazareth.

46 And Nathanael said to him: Can any thing of good come from Nazareth? Philip saith to him: Come and see.

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and he saith of him: Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.

48 Nathanael saith to him: Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said to him: Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

49 Nathanael answered him and said: Rabbi: Thou art the Son of God. Thou art the King of Israel.

50 Jesus answered and said to him: Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, thou believest: greater things than these shalt thou see.

51 And he saith to him: Amen, amen, I say to you, you shall see the heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

Mass Readings for Thursday, August 23, 2012

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 36: 23 - 28

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23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the Gentiles, which you have profaned in the midst of them: that the Gentiles may know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord of hosts, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

24 For I will take you from among the Gentiles, and will gather you together out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.

25 And I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness, and I will cleanse you from all your idols.

26 And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my spirit in the midst of you: and I will cause you to walk in my commandments, and to keep my judgments, and do them.

28 And you shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

PSALM: Psalms 51: 12 - 15, 18 - 19

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12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.

13 I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee.

14 Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice.

15 O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise.

18 Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.

19 Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings: then shall they lay calves upon thy altar.

GOSPEL: Matthew 22: 1 - 14

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1 And Jesus answering, spoke again in parables to them, saying:

2 The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king who made a marriage for his son.

3 And he sent his servants to call them that were invited to the marriage: and they would not come.

4 Again he sent other servants, saying: Tell them that were invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my beeves and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come ye to the marriage.

5 But they neglected and went their ways, one to his farm and another to his merchandise.

6 And the rest laid hands on his servants and, having treated them contumeliously, put them to death.

7 But when the king had heard of it, he was angry: and sending his armies, he destroyed those murderers and burnt their city.

8 Then he saith to his servants: The marriage indeed is ready; but they that were invited were not worthy.

9 Go ye therefore into the highways; and as many as you shall find, call to the marriage.

10 And his servants going forth into the ways, gathered together all that they found, both bad and good: and the marriage was filled with guests.

11 And the king went in to see the guests: and he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment.

12 And he saith to him: Friend, how camest thou in hither not having on a wedding garment? But he was silent.

13 Then the king said to the waiters: Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Mass Readings for Wednesday, August 22, 2012

"The First Shall Be Last"  -- by James Tissot

Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 34: 1 - 11

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1 And the word of the Lord came to me, it saying:

2 Son of man, prophesy concerning the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to the shepherds: Thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, that fed themselves: should not the flocks be fed by the shepherds?

3 You ate the milk, and you clothed yourselves with the wool, and you killed that which was fat: but my flock you did not feed.

4 The weak you have not strengthened, and that which was sick you have not healed, that which was broken you have not bound up, and that which was driven away you have not brought again, neither have you sought that which was lost: but you ruled over them with rigour, and with a high hand.

5 And my sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd and they became the prey of all the beasts of the field, and were scattered.

6 My sheep have wandered in every mountain, and in every high hill: and my flocks were scattered upon the face of the earth, and there was none that sought them, there was none, I say, that sought them.

7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:

8 As I live, saith the Lord God, forasmuch as my flocks have been made a spoil, and my sheep are become a prey to all the beasts of the field, because there was no shepherd: for my shepherds did not seek after my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flocks:

9 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:

10 Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I myself come upon the shepherds, I will require my flock at their hand, and I will cause them to cease from feeding the flock any more, neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more: and I will deliver my flock from their mouth, and it shall no more be meat for them.

11 For thus saith the Lord God: Behold I myself will seek my sheep, and will visit them.

PSALM: Psalms 23: 1 - 6

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1 The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing.

2 He hath set me in a place of pasture. He hath brought me up, on the water of refreshment:

3 He hath converted my soul. He hath led me on the paths of justice, for his own name’s sake.

4 For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me.

5 Thou hast prepared a table before me against them that afflict me. Thou hast anointed my head with oil; and my chalice which inebreateth me, how goodly is it!

6 And thy mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And that I may dwell in the house of the Lord unto length of days.

GOSPEL: Matthew 20: 1 - 16

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1 The kingdom of heaven is like to an householder, who went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

2 And having agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

3 And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing in the marketplace idle.

4 And he said to them: Go you also into my vineyard, and I will give you what shall be just.

5 And they went their way. And again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did in like manner.

6 But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he saith to them: Why stand you here all the day idle?

7 They say to him: Because no man hath hired us. He saith to them: Go ye also into my vineyard.

8 And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard saith to his steward: Call the labourers and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even to the first.

9 When therefore they were come that came about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.

10 But when the first also came, they thought that they should receive more: And they also received every man a penny.

11 And receiving it they murmured against the master of the house,

12 Saying: These last have worked but one hour. and thou hast made them equal to us, that have borne the burden of the day and the heats.

13 But he answering said to one of them: friend, I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny?

14 Take what is thine, and go thy way: I will also give to this last even as to thee.

15 Or, is it not lawful for me to do what I will? Is thy eye evil, because I am good?

16 So shall the last be first and the first last. For many are called but few chosen.

Mass Readings for Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 28: 1 - 10

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1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

2 Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus saith the Lord God: Because thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said: I am God, and I sit in the chair of God in the heart of the sea: whereas thou art a man, and not God: and hast set thy heart as if it were the heart of God.

3 Behold thou art wiser than Daniel: no secret is hid from thee.

4 In thy wisdom and thy understanding thou hast made thyself strong: and hast gotten gold an silver into thy treasures.

5 By the greatness of thy wisdom, and by thy traffic thou hast increased thy strength: and thy heart is lifted up with thy strength.

6 Therefore, thus saith the Lord God: Because thy heart is lifted up as the heart of God:

7 Therefore behold, I will bring upon thee strangers: the strongest of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy beauty.

8 They shall kill thee, and bring thee down: and thou shalt die the death of them that are slain in the heart of the sea.

9 Wilt thou yet say before them that slay thee: I am God; whereas thou art a man, and not God, in the hand of them that slay thee?

10 Thou shalt die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.

PSALM: Deuteronomy 32: 26 - 28, 30, 35 - 36

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26 I said: Where are they? I will make the memory of them to cease from among men.

27 But for the wrath of the enemies I have deferred it: lest perhaps their enemies might be proud, and should say: Our mighty hand, and not the Lord, hath done all these things.

28 They are a nation without counsel, and without wisdom.

30 How should one pursue after a thousand, and two chase ten thousand? Was it not, because their God had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?

35 Revenge is mine, and I will repay them in due time, that their foot may slide: the day of destruction is at hand, and the time makes haste to come.

36 The Lord will judge his people, and will have mercy on his servants: he shall see that their hand is weakened, and that they who were shut up have also failed, and they that remained are consumed.

GOSPEL: Matthew 19: 23 - 30

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23 Then Jesus said to his disciples: Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

24 And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

25 And when they had heard this, the disciples wondered much, saying: Who then can be saved?

26 And Jesus beholding, said to them: With men this is impossible: but with God all things are possible.

27 Then Peter answering, said to him: Behold we have left all things, and have followed thee: what therefore shall we have?

28 And Jesus said to them: Amen I say to you, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29 And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting.

30 And many that are first, shall be last: and the last shall be first.

Mass Readings for Monday, August 20, 2012

"The Rich Young Man Went Away Sorrowful" --by James Tissot

Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 24: 15 - 23

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15 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

16 Son of man, behold I take from thee the desire of thy eyes with a stroke: and thou shalt not lament, nor weep: neither shall thy tears run down.

17 Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead: let the tire of thy head be upon thee, and thy shoes on thy feet, and cover not thy face, nor eat the meat of mourners.

18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening: and I did in the morning as he had commanded me.

19 And the people said to me: Why dost thou not tell us what these things mean that thou doest?

20 And I said to them: The word of the Lord came to me, saying:

21 Speak to the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will profane my sanctuary, the glory of your realm, and the thing that your eyes desire, and for which your soul feareth: your sons, and your daughters, whom you have left, shall fall by the sword.

22 And you shall do as I have done: you shall not cover your faces, nor shall you eat the meat of mourners.

23 You shall have crowns on your heads, and shoes on your feet: you shall not lament nor weep, but you shall pine away for your iniquities, and every one shall sigh with his brother.

PSALM: Deuteronomy 32: 18 - 21

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18 Thou hast forsaken the God that beget thee, and hast forgotten the Lord that created thee.

19 The Lord saw, and was moved to wrath: because his own sons and daughters provoked him.

20 And he said: I will hide my face from them, and will consider what their last end shall be: for it is a perverse generation, and unfaithful children.

21 They have provoked me with that which was no god, and have angered me with their vanities: and I will provoke them with that which is no people, and will vex them with a foolish nation.

GOSPEL: Matthew 19: 16 - 22

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16 And behold one came and said to him: Good master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?

17 Who said to him: Why asketh thou me concerning good? One is good, God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

18 He said to him: Which? And Jesus said: Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness.

19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

20 The young man saith to him: All these I have kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me?

21 Jesus saith to him: If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come follow me.

22 And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad: for he had great possessions.

Sunday Mass Readings For August 19, 2012

FIRST READING: Proverbs 9: 1 - 6

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1 Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven pillars.

2 She has slaughtered her beasts, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table.

3 She has sent out her maids to call from the highest places in the town,

4 "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" To him who is without sense she says,

5 "Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.

6 Leave simpleness, and live, and walk in the way of insight."

PSALM: Psalms 34: 2 - 7

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2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and be glad.

3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.

5 Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed.

6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

SECOND READING: Ephesians 5: 15 - 20

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15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,

16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil.

17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit,

19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart,

20 always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.

GOSPEL: John 6: 51 - 58

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51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh."

52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you;

54 he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.

58 This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever."

Mass Readings for Saturday, August 18, 2012

"Suffer the Little Children to Come unto Me"  -- by James Tissot

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 18: 1 - 10, 13, 30 - 32

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1 The word of the LORD came to me again:

2 "What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, `The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'?

3 As I live, says the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel.

4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sins shall die.

5 "If a man is righteous and does what is lawful and right --

6 if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman in her time of impurity,

7 does not oppress any one, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment,

8 does not lend at interest or take any increase, withholds his hand from iniquity, executes true justice between man and man,

9 walks in my statutes, and is careful to observe my ordinances -- he is righteous, he shall surely live, says the Lord GOD.

10 "If he begets a son who is a robber, a shedder of blood,

13 lends at interest, and takes increase; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominable things; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself.

30 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, says the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.

31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?

32 For I have no pleasure in the death of any one, says the Lord GOD; so turn, and live."

PSALM: Psalms 51: 12 - 15, 18 - 19

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12 Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners will return to thee.

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of thy deliverance.

15 O Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.

18 Do good to Zion in thy good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,

19 then wilt thou delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on thy altar.

GOSPEL: Matthew 19: 13 - 15

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13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people;

14 but Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."

15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

Mass Readings for Friday, August 17, 2012

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 16: 1 - 15, 60, 63 Or Ezekiel 16: 59 - 63

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1 Again the word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations,

3 and say, Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite.

4 And as for your birth, on the day you were born your navel string was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor swathed with bands.

5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you; but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.

6 "And when I passed by you, and saw you weltering in your blood, I said to you in your blood, `Live,

7 and grow up like a plant of the field.' And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full maidenhood; your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.

8 "When I passed by you again and looked upon you, behold, you were at the age for love; and I spread my skirt over you, and covered your nakedness: yea, I plighted my troth to you and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord GOD, and you became mine.

9 Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil.

10 I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with leather, I swathed you in fine linen and covered you with silk.

11 And I decked you with ornaments, and put bracelets on your arms, and a chain on your neck.

12 And I put a ring on your nose, and earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head.

13 Thus you were decked with gold and silver; and your raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and embroidered cloth; you ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful, and came to regal estate.

14 And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor which I had bestowed upon you, says the Lord GOD.

15 "But you trusted in your beauty, and played the harlot because of your renown, and lavished your harlotries on any passer-by.

60 yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant.

63 that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I forgive you all that you have done, says the Lord GOD."

Or

59 "Yea, thus says the Lord GOD: I will deal with you as you have done, who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant,

60 yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant.

61 Then you will remember your ways, and be ashamed when I take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you.

62 I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD,

63 that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I forgive you all that you have done, says the Lord GOD."

PSALM: Isaiah 12: 2 - 6

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2 "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."

3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

4 And you will say in that day: "Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name; make known his deeds among the nations, proclaim that his name is exalted.

5 "Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth.

6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."

GOSPEL: Matthew 19: 3 - 12

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3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?"

4 He answered, "Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female,

5 and said, `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?

6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."

7 They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"

8 He said to them, "For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery."

10 The disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry."

11 But he said to them, "Not all men can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given.

12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it."