Mass Readings for Monday, May 31, 2010

Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

FIRST READING: Zephaniah 3: 14-18  or  Romans 12: 9-16

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14 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!

15 The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has cast out your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear evil no more.

16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: "Do not fear, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.

17 The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing

18 as on a day of festival. "I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it.

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9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;

10 love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor.

11 Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord.

12 Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited.

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: Luke 1: 39 - 56

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39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,

40 and she entered the house of Zechari'ah and greeted Elizabeth.

41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit

42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.

45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

46 And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord,

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;

49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

50 And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.

51 He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,

52 he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree;

53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.

54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,

55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever."

56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.

Mass Readings for Sunday, May 30, 2010

 The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

FIRST READING: Proverbs 8: 22 - 31

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22 The LORD created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old.

23 Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth.

24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.

25 Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth;

26 before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world.

27 When he established the heavens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,

28 when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep,

29 when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

30 then I was beside him, like a master workman; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always,

31 rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the sons of men.

PSALM: Psalms 8: 4 - 9

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4 what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him?

5 Yet thou hast made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honor.

6 Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet,

7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,

8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the sea.

9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth!

SECOND READING: Romans 5: 1 - 5

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1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God.

3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,

5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.

GOSPEL: John 16: 12 - 15

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12 "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Mass Readings for Saturday, May 29, 2010

FIRST READING: Jude: 17, 20 - 25

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17 But remember, my dear friends, what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.

20 Build yourselves up on the foundation of your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit;

21 keep yourselves within the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you eternal life.

22 To some you must be compassionate because they are wavering;

23 others you must save by snatching them from the fire; to others again you must be compassionate but wary, hating even the tunic stained by their bodies.

24 To him who can keep you from falling and bring you safe to his glorious presence, innocent and joyful,

25 to the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, authority and power, before all ages, now and for ever. Amen.

PSALM: Psalms 63: 2 - 6

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2 So I have looked upon thee in the sanctuary, beholding thy power and glory.

3 Because thy steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise thee.

4 So I will bless thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on thy name.

5 My soul is feasted as with marrow and fat, and my mouth praises thee with joyful lips,

6 when I think of thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the watches of the night;

GOSPEL: Mark 11: 27 - 33

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27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him,

28 and they said to him, "By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?"

29 Jesus said to them, "I will ask you a question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? Answer me."

31 And they argued with one another, "If we say, `From heaven,' he will say, `Why then did you not believe him?'

32 But shall we say, `From men'?" -- they were afraid of the people, for all held that John was a real prophet.

33 So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

Mass Readings for Friday, May 28, 2010

FIRST READING: 1 Peter 4: 7 - 13

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7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore keep sane and sober for your prayers.

8 Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.

9 Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another.

10 As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:

11 whoever speaks, as one who utters oracles of God; whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies; in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you.

13 But rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

PSALM: Psalms 96: 10 - 13

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10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns! Yea, the world is established, it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity."

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

12 let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy

13 before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.

GOSPEL: Mark 11: 11 - 26

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11 And he entered Jerusalem, and went into the temple; and when he had looked round at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.

13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

14 And he said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard it.

15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons;

16 and he would not allow any one to carry anything through the temple.

17 And he taught, and said to them, "Is it not written, `My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers."

18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and sought a way to destroy him; for they feared him, because all the multitude was astonished at his teaching.

19 And when evening came they went out of the city.

20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.

21 And Peter remembered and said to him, "Master, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered."

22 And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God.

23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, `Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.

24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any one; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."