Mass Readings for Saturday, December 18, 2010

FIRST READING: Jeremiah 23: 5 - 8

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5 Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will raise up to David a just branch: and a king shall reign, and shall be wise, and shall execute judgement and justice in the earth.

6 In those days shall Juda be saved, and Israel shall dwell confidently: and this is the name that they shall call him: the Lord our just one.

7 Therefore behold the days to come, saith the Lord, and they shall say no more: The Lord liveth, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt:

8 But the Lord liveth, who hath brought out, and brought hither the seed of the house of Israel from the land of the north, and out of all the lands, to which I had cast them forth: and they shall dwell in their own land.

PSALM: Psalms 72: 1 - 2, 12 - 13, 18 - 19

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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.

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.

18 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone doth wonderful things.

19 And blessed be the name of his majesty for ever: and the whole earth shall be filled with his majesty. So be it. So be it.

GOSPEL: Matthew 1: 18 - 25

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18 Now the generation of Christ was in this wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, of the Holy Ghost.

19 Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately.

20 But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost.

21 And she shall bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins.

22 Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying:

23 Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

24 And Joseph rising up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took unto him his wife.

25 And he knew her not till she brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.

Mass Readings for Friday, December 17, 2010

FIRST READING: Genesis 49: 2, 8 - 10

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2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, O ye sons of Jacob, hearken to Israel your father.

8 Juda, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hands shall be on the necks of thy enemies: the sons of thy father shall bow down to thee.

9 Juda is a lion's whelp: to the prey, my son, thou art gone up: resting thou hast couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him?

10 The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations.

PSALM: Psalms 72: 1 - 4, 7 - 8, 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.

3 Let the mountains receive peace for the people: and the hills justice.

4 He shall judge the poor of the people, and he shall save the children of the poor: and he shall humble the oppressor.

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.

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.

GOSPEL: Matthew 1: 1 - 17

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1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Judas and his brethren.

3 And Judas begot Phares and Zara of Thamar. And Phares begot Esron. And Esron begot Aram.

4 And Aram begot Aminadab. And Aminadab begot Naasson. And Naasson begot Salmon.

5 And Salmon begot Booz of Rahab. And Booz begot Obed of Ruth. And Obed begot Jesse.

6 And Jesse begot David the king. And David the king begot Solomon, of her that had been the wife of Urias.

7 And Solomon begot Roboam. And Roboam begot Abia. And Abia begot Asa.

8 And Asa begot Josaphat. And Josaphat begot Joram. And Joram begot Ozias.

9 And Ozias begot Joatham. And Joatham begot Achaz. And Achaz begot Ezechias.

10 And Ezechias begot Manasses. And Manasses begot Amon. And Amon begot Josias.

11 And Josias begot Jechonias and his brethren in the transmigration of Babylon.

12 And after the transmigration of Babylon, Jechonias begot Salathiel. And Salathiel begot Zorobabel.

13 And Zorobabel begot Abiud. And Abiud begot Eliacim. And Eliacim begot Azor.

14 And Azor begot Sadoc. And Sadoc begot Achim. And Achim begot Eliud.

15 And Eliud begot Eleazar. And Eleazar begot Mathan. And Mathan begot Jacob.

16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

17 So all the generations, from Abraham to David, are fourteen generations. And from David to the transmigration of Babylon, are fourteen generations: and from the transmigration of Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.

Mass Readings for Thursday, December 16, 2010

FIRST READING: Isaiah 54: 1 - 10

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1 Give praise, O thou barren, that bearest not: sing forth praise, and make a joyful noise, thou that didst not travail with child: for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her that hath a husband, saith the Lord.

2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and stretch out the skins of thy tabernacles, spare not: lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.

3 For thou shalt pass on to the right hand, and to the left: and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and shall inhabit the desolate cities.

4 Fear not, for thou shalt not be confounded, nor blush: for thou shalt not be put to shame, because thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt remember no more the reproach of thy widowhood.

5 For he that made thee shall rule over thee, the Lord of hosts is his name: and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, shall be called the God of all the earth.

6 For the Lord hath called thee as woman forsaken and mourning in spirit, and as a wife cast off from her youth, said thy God.

7 For a, small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee.

8 In a moment of indignation have I hid my face a little while from thee, but with everlasting kindness have I had mercy on thee, said the Lord thy Redeemer.

9 This thing is to me as in the days of Noe, to whom I swore, that I would no more bring in the waters of Noe upon the earth: so have I sworn not to be angry with thee, and not to rebuke thee.

10 For the mountains shall be moved, and the hills shall tremble; but my mercy shall not depart from thee, and the covenant of my peace shall not be moved: said the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

PSALM: Psalms 30: 2, 4 - 6, 11 - 13

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2 I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast upheld me: and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me.

4 Thou hast brought forth, O Lord, my soul from hell: thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit.

5 Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints: and give praise to the memory of his holiness.

6 For wrath is in his indignation; and life in his good will. In the evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness.

11 The Lord hath heard, and hath had mercy on me: the Lord became my helper.

12 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into joy: thou hast cut my sackcloth, and hast compassed me with gladness:

13 To the end that my glory may sing to thee, and I may not regret: O Lord my God, I will give praise to thee for ever.

GOSPEL: Luke 7: 24 - 30

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24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak to the multitudes concerning John. What went ye out into the desert to see? a reed shaken with the wind?

25 But what went you out to see? a man clothed in soft garments? Behold they that are in costly apparel and live delicately, are in the houses of kings.

26 But what went you out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say to you, and more than a prophet.

27 This is he of whom it is written: Behold I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.

28 For I say to you: Amongst those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist. But he that is the lesser in the kingdom of God, is greater than he.

29 And all the people hearing, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with John's baptism.

30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers despised the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized by him.

Mass Readings for Wednesday, December 15, 2010

FIRST READING: Isaiah 45: 6 - 8, 18, 21 - 25

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6 That they may know who are from the rising of the sun, and they who are from the west, that there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is none else:

7 I form the light, and create darkness, I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord that do all these things.

8 Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just: let the earth be opened, and bud forth a saviour: and let justice spring up together: I the Lord have created him.

18 For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens, God himself that formed the earth, and made it, the very maker thereof: he did not create it in vain: he formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other.

21 Tell ye, and come, and consult together: who hath declared this from the beginning, who hath foretold this from that time? Have not I the Lord, and there is no God else besides me? A just God and a saviour, there is none besides me.

22 Be converted to me, and you shall be saved, all ye ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is no other.

23 I have sworn by myself, the word of justice shall go out of my mouth, and shall not return:

24 For every knee shall be bowed to me, and every tongue shall swear.

25 Therefore shall he say: In the Lord are my justices and empire: they shall come to him, and all that resist him shall be confounded.

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: And unto his saints: and unto them that are converted to the heart.

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 7: 18 - 23

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18 And John's disciples told him of all these things.

19 And John called to him two of his disciples, and sent them to Jesus, saying: Art thou he that art to come; or look we for another?

20 And when the men were come unto him, they said: John the Baptist hath sent us to thee, saying: Art thou he that art to come; or look we for another?

21 (And in that same hour, he cured many of their diseases, and hurts, and evil spirits: and to many that were blind he gave sight.)

22 And answering, he said to them: Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, to the poor the gospel is preached:

23 And blessed is he whosoever shall not be scandalized in me.