Mass Readings for Friday, August 27, 2010

Memorial of Saint Monica

FIRST READING: 1 Corinthians 1: 17 - 25

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17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart."

20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,

23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,

24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

PSALM: Psalms 33: 1 - 2, 4 - 5, 10 - 11

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1 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.

2 Praise the LORD with the lyre, make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!

4 For the word of the LORD is upright; and all his work is done in faithfulness.

5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.

10 The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nought; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

11 The counsel of the LORD stands for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

GOSPEL: Matthew 25: 1 - 13

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1 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them;

4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.

5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

6 But at midnight there was a cry, `Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'

7 Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps.

8 And the foolish said to the wise, `Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'

9 But the wise replied, `Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.'

10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut.

11 Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, `Lord, lord, open to us.'

12 But he replied, `Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.'

13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Mass Readings for Thursday, August 26, 2010

FIRST READING: 1 Corinthians 1: 1 - 9

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1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sos'thenes,

2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus,

5 that in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge --

6 even as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you --

7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ;

8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

PSALM: Psalms 145: 2 - 7

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2 Every day I will bless thee, and praise thy name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall laud thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

5 On the glorious splendor of thy majesty, and on thy wondrous works, I will meditate.

6 Men shall proclaim the might of thy terrible acts, and I will declare thy greatness.

7 They shall pour forth the fame of thy abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

GOSPEL: Matthew 24: 42 - 51

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42 Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

43 But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into.

44 Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

45 "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?

46 Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing.

47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.

48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, `My master is delayed,'

49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken,

50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know,

51 and will punish him, and put him with the hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.

Mass Readings for Wednesday, August 25, 2010

FIRST READING: 2 Thessalonian 3: 6 - 10, 16 - 18

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6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is living in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.

7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you,

8 we did not eat any one's bread without paying, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you.

9 It was not because we have not that right, but to give you in our conduct an example to imitate.

10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: If any one will not work, let him not eat.

16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all.

17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write.

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

PSALM: Psalms 128: 1 - 2, 4 - 5

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1 Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!

2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.

4 Lo, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.

5 The LORD bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life!

GOSPEL: Matthew 23: 27 - 32

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27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.

28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

30 saying, `If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'

31 Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.

Mass Readings for Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

(See also on Favorite Prayers and Scripture)

FIRST READING: Revelation 21: 9 - 14

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9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb."

10 And in the Spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,

11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed;

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

14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

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

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10 All thy works shall give thanks to thee, O LORD, and all thy saints shall bless thee!

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

12 to make known to the sons of men thy mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of thy kingdom.

13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endures throughout all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.

17 The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.

18 The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.

GOSPEL: John 1: 45 - 51

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45 Philip found Nathan'a-el, and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

46 Nathan'a-el said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

47 Jesus saw Nathan'a-el coming to him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!"

48 Nathan'a-el said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

49 Nathan'a-el answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

50 Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these."

51 And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."