Mass Readings for Wednesday, June 9, 2010

FIRST READING: 1 Kings 18: 20 - 39

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20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel, and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel.

21 And Eli'jah came near to all the people, and said, "How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Ba'al, then follow him." And the people did not answer him a word.

22 Then Eli'jah said to the people, "I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD; but Ba'al's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

23 Let two bulls be given to us; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; and I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, and put no fire to it.

24 And you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, he is God." And all the people answered, "It is well spoken."

25 Then Eli'jah said to the prophets of Ba'al, "Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it."

26 And they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Ba'al from morning until noon, saying, "O Ba'al, answer us!" But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped about the altar which they had made.

27 And at noon Eli'jah mocked them, saying, "Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is musing, or he has gone aside, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened."

28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them.

29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice; no one answered, no one heeded.

30 Then Eli'jah said to all the people, "Come near to me"; and all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown down;

31 Eli'jah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, "Israel shall be your name";

32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.

33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, "Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood."

34 And he said, "Do it a second time"; and they did it a second time. And he said, "Do it a third time"; and they did it a third time.

35 And the water ran round about the altar, and filled the trench also with water.

36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Eli'jah the prophet came near and said, "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.

37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that thou, O LORD, art God, and that thou hast turned their hearts back."

38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God."

PSALM: Psalms 16: 1 - 2, 4 - 5, 8, 11

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1 Preserve me, O God, for in thee I take refuge.

2 I say to the LORD, "Thou art my Lord; I have no good apart from thee."

4 Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their libations of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.

5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; thou holdest my lot.

8 I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

11 Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence there is fulness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.

GOSPEL: Matthew 5: 17 - 19

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17 "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.

18 For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.

19 Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Mass Readings for Tuesday, June 8, 2010

FIRST READING: 1 Kings 17: 7 - 16

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7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

8 Then the word of the LORD came to him,

9 "Arise, go to Zar'ephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you."

10 So he arose and went to Zar'ephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink."

11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."

12 And she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a cruse; and now, I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."

13 And Eli'jah said to her, "Fear not; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make for yourself and your son.

14 For thus says the LORD the God of Israel, `The jar of meal shall not be spent, and the cruse of oil shall not fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'"

15 And she went and did as Eli'jah said; and she, and he, and her household ate for many days.

16 The jar of meal was not spent, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke by Eli'jah.

PSALM: Psalms 4: 2 - 5, 7 - 8

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2 O men, how long shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? [Selah]

3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.

4 Be angry, but sin not; commune with your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. [Selah]

5 Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD.

7 Thou hast put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.

8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for thou alone, O LORD, makest me dwell in safety.

GOSPEL: Matthew 5: 13 - 16

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13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.

14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.

15 Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Mass Readings for Monday, June 7, 2010

FIRST READING: 1 Kings 17: 1 - 6

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1 Now Eli'jah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word."

2 And the word of the LORD came to him,

3 "Depart from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is east of the Jordan.

4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."

5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD; he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan.

6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.

PSALM: Psalms 121: 1 - 8

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1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From whence does my help come?

2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot be moved, he who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.

6 The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.

8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.

GOSPEL: Matthew 5: 1 - 12

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1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him.

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Mass Readings for Sunday, June 6, 2010

 

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

FIRST READING: Genesis 14: 18 - 20

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18 And Mel-chiz'edek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.

19 And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth;

20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!"

PSALM: Psalms 110: 1 - 4

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1 The LORD says to my lord: "Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool."

2 The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your foes!

3 Your people will offer themselves freely on the day you lead your host upon the holy mountains. From the womb of the morning like dew your youth will come to you.

4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchiz'edek."

SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 11: 23 - 26

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23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,

24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

25 In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

GOSPEL: Luke 9: 11 - 17

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11 When the crowds learned it, they followed him; and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and cured those who had need of healing.

12 Now the day began to wear away; and the twelve came and said to him, "Send the crowd away, to go into the villages and country round about, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a lonely place."

13 But he said to them, "You give them something to eat." They said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish -- unless we are to go and buy food for all these people."

14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, "Make them sit down in companies, about fifty each."

15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.

16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

17 And all ate and were satisfied. And they took up what was left over, twelve baskets of broken pieces.