Mass Readings for Wednesday, December 8, 2010

 Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

FIRST READING: Genesis 3: 9 - 15, 20

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9 And the Lord God called Adam, and said to him: Where art thou?

10 And he said: I heard thy voice in paradise; and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.

11 And he said to him: And who hath told thee that thou wast naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat?

12 And Adam said: The woman, whom thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13 And the Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done this? And she answered: The serpent deceived me, and I did eat.

14 And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.

15 I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

20 And Adam called the name of his wife Eve: because she was the mother of all the living.

PSALM: Psalms 98: 1 - 4

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1 Sing ye to the Lord anew canticle: because he hath done wonderful things. His right hand hath wrought for him salvation, and his arm is holy.

2 The Lord hath made known his salvation: he hath revealed his justice in the sight of the Gentiles.

3 He hath remembered his mercy his truth toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

4 Sing joyfully to God, all the earth; make melody, rejoice and sing.

SECOND READING: Ephesians 1: 3 - 6, 11 - 12

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3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places, in Christ:

4 As he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in his sight in charity.

5 Who hath predestinated us unto the adoption of children through Jesus Christ unto himself: according to the purpose of his will:

6 Unto the praise of the glory of his grace, in which he hath graced us in his beloved son.

11 In whom we also are called by lot, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things according to the counsel of his will.

12 That we may be unto the praise of his glory, we who before hoped Christ.

GOSPEL: Luke 1: 26 - 38

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26 And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,

27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

28 And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

29 Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.

31 Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.

33 And of his kingdom there shall be no end.

34 And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?

35 And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36 And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren:

37 Because no word shall be impossible with God.

38 And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Mass Readings for Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

FIRST READING: Isaiah 40: 1 - 11

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1 Be comforted, be comforted, my people, saith your God.

2 Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her: for her evil is come to an end, her iniquity is forgiven: she hath received of the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.

3 The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways plain.

5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see, that the mouth of the Lord hath spoken.

6 The voice of one, saying: Cry. And I said: What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of the held.

7 The grass is withered, and the dower is fallen, because the spirit of the Lord hath blown upon it. Indeed the people is grass:

8 The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen: but the word of our Lord endureth for ever.

9 Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion: lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem: lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God:

10 Behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule: Behold his reward is with him and his work is before him.

11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young.

PSALM: Psalms 96: 1 - 3, 10 - 13

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1 Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: sing to the Lord, all the earth.

2 Sing ye to the Lord and bless his name: shew forth his salvation from day to day.

3 Declare his glory among the Gentiles: his wonders among all people.

10 Say ye among the Gentiles, the Lord hath reigned. For he hath corrected the world, which shall not be moved: he will judge the people with justice.

11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad, let the sea be moved, and the fulness thereof:

12 The fields and all things that are in them shall be joyful. Then shall all the trees of the woods rejoice

13 Before the face of the Lord, because he cometh: because he cometh to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with justice, and the people with his truth.

GOSPEL: Matthew 18: 12 - 14

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12 What think you? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray: doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go to seek that which is gone astray?

13 And if it so be that he find it: Amen I say to you, he rejoiceth more for that, than for the ninety-nine that went not astray.

14 Even so it is not the will of your Father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Mass Readings for Monday, December 6, 2010

FIRST READING: Isaiah 35: 1 - 10

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1 The land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice, and shall flourish like the lily.

2 It shall bud forth and blossom, and shall rejoice with joy and praise: the glory of Libanus is given to it: the beauty of Carmel, and Saron, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the beauty of our God.

3 Strengthen ye the feeble hands, and confirm the weak knees.

4 Say to the fainthearted: Take courage, and fear not: behold your God will bring the revenge of recompense: God himself will come and will save you.

5 Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

6 Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall be free: for waters are broken out in the desert, and streams in the wilderness.

7 And that which was dry land, shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water. In the dens where dragons dwell before, shall rise up the verdure of the reed and the bulrush.

8 And a path and a way shall be there, and it shall be called the holy way: the unclean shall not pass over it, and this shall be unto you a straight way, so that fools shall not err therein.

9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any mischievous beast go up by it, nor be found there: but they shall walk there that shall be delivered.

10 And the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and shall come into Sion with praise, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

PSALM: Psalms 85: 9 - 14

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9 I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me: for he will speak peace unto his people.

10 Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him: that glory may dwell in our land.

11 Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed.

12 Truth is sprung out of the earth: and justice hath looked down from heaven.

13 For the Lord will give goodness: and our earth shall yield her fruit.

14 Justice shall walk before him: and shall set his steps in the way.

GOSPEL: Luke 5: 37 - 41

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17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he sat teaching, that there were also Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, that were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was to heal them.

18 And behold, men brought in a bed a man, who had the palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.

19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in, because of the multitude, they went up upon the roof, and let him down through the tiles with his bed into the midst before Jesus.

20 Whose faith when he saw, he said: Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

21 And the scribes and Pharisees began to think, saying: Who is this who speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

22 And when Jesus knew their thoughts, answering, he said to them: What is it you think in your hearts?

23 Which is easier to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and walk?

24 But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say to thee, Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house.

25 And immediately rising up before them, he took up the bed on which he lay; and he went away to his own house, glorifying God.

26 And all were astonished; and they glorified God. And they were filled with fear, saying: We have seen wonderful things today.

Mass Readings for Sunday, December 5, 2010

Second Sunday of Advent

FIRST READING: Isaiah 11: 1 - 10

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1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root.

2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness.

3 And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears.

4 But he shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: land he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.

5 And justice shall be the girdle of his loins: and faith the girdle of his reins.

6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb: and the leopard shall lie down with the kid: the calf and the lion, and the sheep shall abide together, and a little child shall lead them.

7 The calf and the bear shall feed: their young ones shall rest together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp: and the weaned child shall thrust his hand into the den of the basilisk.

9 They shall not hurt, nor shall they kill in all my holy mountain, for the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the covering waters of the sea.

10 In that day the root of Jesse, who standeth for an ensign of the people, him the Gentiles shall beseech, and his sepulchre shall be glorious.

PSALM: Psalms 72: 1 - 2, 7 - 8, 12 - 13, 17

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1 A psalm on Solomon.

2 Give to the king thy judgment, O God: and to the king's son thy justice: To judge thy people with justice, and thy poor with judgment.

7 In his days shall justice spring up, and abundance of peace, till the moon be taken sway.

8 And he shall rule from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

12 For he shall deliver the poor from the mighty: and the needy that had no helper.

13 He shall spare the poor and needy: and he shall save the souls of the poor.

17 Let his name be blessed for evermore: his name continueth before the sun. And in him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed: all nations shall magnify him.

SECOND READING: Romans 15: 4 - 9

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4 For what things soever were written, were written for our learning: that through patience and the comfort of the scriptures, we might have hope.

5 Now the God of patience and of comfort grant you to be of one mind one towards another, according to Jesus Christ:

6 That with one mind, and with one mouth, you may glorify God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7 Wherefore receive one another, as Christ also hath received you unto the honour of God.

8 For I say that Christ Jesus was minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.

9 But that the Gentiles are to glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: Therefore will I confess to thee, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and will sing to thy name.

GOSPEL: Matthew 3: 1 - 12

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1 And in those days cometh John the Baptist preaching in the desert of Judea.

2 And saying: Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

3 For this is he that was spoken of by Isaias the prophet, saying: A voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.

4 And the same John had his garment of camels' hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins: and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the country about Jordan:

6 And were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 And seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them: Ye brood of vipers, who hath shewed you to flee from the wrath to come?

8 Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance.

9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father. For I tell you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.

10 For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doth not yield good fruit, shall be cut down, and cast into the fire.

11 I indeed baptize you in the water unto penance, but he that shall come after me, is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost and fire.

12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor and gather his wheat into the barn; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.