Mass Readings Tuesday March 20, 2007

Reading 1

Ez 47:1-9, 12

The angel brought me, Ezekiel,back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,and I saw water flowing outfrom beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,for the façade of the temple was toward the east;the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,south of the altar.He led me outside by the north gate,and around to the outer gate facing the east,where I saw water trickling from the right side.Then when he had walked off to the eastwith a measuring cord in his hand,he measured off a thousand cubitsand had me wade through the water, which was ankle-deep.He measured off another thousandand once more had me wade through the water,which was now knee-deep.Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade;the water was up to my waist.Once more he measured off a thousand,but there was now a river through which I could not wade;for the water had risen so high it had become a riverthat could not be crossed except by swimming.He asked me, "Have you seen this, son of man?"Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.He said to me,"This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh. Wherever the river flows,every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,and there shall be abundant fish,for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine."

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Responsorial Psalm

Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9

R. (8) The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.

God is our refuge and our strength,

an ever-present help in distress.

Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken

and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.

R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.

There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,

the holy dwelling of the Most High.

God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;

God will help it at the break of dawn.

R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.

The LORD of hosts is with us;

our stronghold is the God of Jacob.

Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,

the astounding things he has wrought on earth.

R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob

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Gospel

Jn 5:1-16

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gatea pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.When Jesus saw him lying thereand knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,"Do you want to be well?"The sick man answered him,"Sir, I have no one to put me into the poolwhen the water is stirred up;while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me."Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk."Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

Now that day was a sabbath.So the Jews said to the man who was cured,"It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat."He answered them, "The man who made me well told me,‘Take up your mat and walk.’"They asked him,"Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?"The man who was healed did not know who it was,for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,"Look, you are well; do not sin any more,so that nothing worse may happen to you."The man went and told the Jewsthat Jesus was the one who had made him well.Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesusbecause he did this on a sabbath.

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Mass Readings Sunday, March 18, 2007

Reading 1

Jos 5:9a, 10-12

The LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you."While the Israelites were encamped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they celebrated the Passoveron the evening of the fourteenth of the month.On the day after the Passover,they ate of the produce of the land in the form of unleavened cakes and parched grain.On that same day after the Passover, on which they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased.No longer was there manna for the Israelites, who that year ate of the yield of the land of Canaan.

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Responsorial Psalm

Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the LORD at all times;

his praise shall be ever in my mouth.

Let my soul glory in the LORD;

the lowly will hear me and be glad.

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Glorify the LORD with me,

let us together extol his name.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,

and your faces may not blush with shame.

When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,

and from all his distress he saved him.

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

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Reading II

2 Cor 5:17-21

Brothers and sisters:Whoever is in Christ is a new creation:the old things have passed away;behold, new things have come.And all this is from God,who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.So we are ambassadors for Christ,as if God were appealing through us.We implore you on behalf of Christ,be reconciled to God.For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

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Gospel

Lk 15:1-3, 11-32

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."So to them Jesus addressed this parable:"A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father,‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’So the father divided the property between them.After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongingsand set off to a distant countrywhere he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.When he had freely spent everything,a severe famine struck that country,and he found himself in dire need.So he hired himself out to one of the local citizenswho sent him to his farm to tend the swine.And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed,but nobody gave him any.Coming to his senses he thought,‘How many of my father’s hired workershave more than enough food to eat,but here am I, dying from hunger.I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,"Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.I no longer deserve to be called your son;treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers."’So he got up and went back to his father.While he was still a long way off,his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.His son said to him,‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;I no longer deserve to be called your son.’But his father ordered his servants,‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him;put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.Then let us celebrate with a feast,because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;he was lost, and has been found.’Then the celebration began.Now the older son had been out in the fieldand, on his way back, as he neared the house,he heard the sound of music and dancing.He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.The servant said to him,‘Your brother has returnedand your father has slaughtered the fattened calfbecause he has him back safe and sound.’He became angry,and when he refused to enter the house,his father came out and pleaded with him.He said to his father in reply,‘Look, all these years I served youand not once did I disobey your orders;yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.But when your son returnswho swallowed up your property with prostitutes,for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’He said to him,‘My son, you are here with me always;everything I have is yours.But now we must celebrate and rejoice,because your brother was dead and has come to life again;he was lost and has been found.’"

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Mass Readings Friday March 16, 2007

Friday of the Third Week of Lent

Reading 1

Hos 14:2-10

Thus says the LORD:

Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;
you have collapsed through your guilt.
Take with you words,
and return to the LORD;
Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,
and receive what is good,
that we may render
as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.
Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more,
‘Our god,’to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion.”

I will heal their defection, says the LORD,
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel:
he shall blossom like the lily;
He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
and put forth his shoots.
His splendor shall be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
Again they shall dwell in his shade
and raise grain;
They shall blossom like the vine,
and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?
I have humbled him,
but I will prosper him.
“I am like a verdant cypress tree”—
Because of me you bear fruit!
Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the LORD,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17

R. (see 11 and 9a) I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

An unfamiliar speech I hear:
“I relieved his shoulder of the burden;
his hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I rescued you.”

R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

“Unseen, I answered you in thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Hear, my people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, will you not hear me?”

R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

“There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt.”

R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

“If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
I would feed them with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”

R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

Gospel

Mk 12:28-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,“Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Mass Readings Thursday March 15, 2007

Thursday of the Third Week of lent

Reading 1

Jer 7:23-28

Thus says the LORD: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper. But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed. They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me. From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day, I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets. Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed; they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers. When you speak all these words to them, they will not listen to you either; when you call to them, they will not answer you. Say to them: This is the nation that does not listen to the voice of the LORD, its God, or take correction. Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,and we are the people he shepherds,
the flock he guides.

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.”

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Gospel

Lk 11:14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”