Mass Readings for Saturday, August 21, 2010

 Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 43: 1 - 7

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1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate facing east.

2 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the east; and the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with his glory.

3 And the vision I saw was like the vision which I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and like the vision which I had seen by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.

4 As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing east,

5 the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

6 While the man was standing beside me, I heard one speaking to me out of the temple;

7 and he said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel for ever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their harlotry, and by the dead bodies of their kings,

PSALM: Psalms 85: 9 - 14

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9 Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.

10 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.

11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.

12 Yea, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.

13 Righteousness will go before him, and make his footsteps a way

14 and peace will follow along his path.

GOSPEL: Matthew 23: 1 - 12

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1 Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples,

2 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat;

3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice.

4 They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger.

5 They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,

6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues,

7 and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men.

8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren.

9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.

10 Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ.

11 He who is greatest among you shall be your servant;

12 whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Mass Readings for Friday, August 20, 2010

 Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 37: 1 - 14

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1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; it was full of bones.

2 And he led me round among them; and behold, there were very many upon the valley; and lo, they were very dry.

3 And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, thou knowest."

4 Again he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.

6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD."

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

8 And as I looked, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live."

10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great host.

11 Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, `Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.'

12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you home into the land of Israel.

13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.

14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it, says the LORD."

PSALM: Psalms 107: 2 - 9

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2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble

3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;

5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.

6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress;

7 he led them by a straight way, till they reached a city to dwell in.

8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to the sons of men!

9 For he satisfies him who is thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things.

GOSPEL: Matthew 22: 34 - 40

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34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sad'ducees, they came together.

35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him.

36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"

37 And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.

38 This is the great and first commandment.

39 And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

40 On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."

Mass Readings for Thursday, August 19, 2010

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 36: 23 - 28

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23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them; and the nations will know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

24 For I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land.

25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

26 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.

28 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 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 22: 1 - 14

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

2 "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son,

3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come.

4 Again he sent other servants, saying, `Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.'

5 But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,

6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.

7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

8 Then he said to his servants, `The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy.

9 Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.'

10 And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment;

12 and he said to him, `Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless.

13 Then the king said to the attendants, `Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.'

14 For many are called, but few are chosen."

Mass Readings for Wednesday, August 18, 2010

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 34: 1 - 11

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1 And the word of the Lord came to me, 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 A psalm for David. 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 inebriateth 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 market place 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 you 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.