Mass Readings For Wednesday, April 13, 2011

"He Who is of God Hears the Word of God" - James Tissot

FIRST READING: Daniel 3: 14 - 20, 91 - 92, 95

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14 King Nebuchadnezzar questioned them: "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you will not serve my god, or worship the golden statue that I set up?

15 Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made, whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe, and all the other musical instruments; otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace; and who is the God that can deliver you out of my hands?"

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, "There is no need for us to defend ourselves before you in this matter.

17 If our God, whom we serve, can save us from the white-hot furnace and from your hands, O king, may he save us!

18 But even if he will not, know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the golden statue which you set up."

19 Nebuchadnezzar's face became livid with utter rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than usual

20 and had some of the strongest men in his army bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into thewhite-hot furnace.

91 King Nebuchadnezzar rose in haste and asked his nobles, "Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?" "Assuredly, O king," they answered.

92 "But," he replied, "I see four men unfettered and unhurt, walking in the fire, and the fourth looks like a son of God."

95 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver the servants that trusted in him; they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

PSALM: Daniel 3: 52 - 56

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52 "Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.

53 Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory, praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.

54 Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.

55 Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.

56 Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven, praiseworthy and glorious forever.

GOSPEL: John 8: 31 - 42

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31 Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples,

32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

33 They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How is it that you say, `You will be made free'?"

34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin.

35 The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever.

36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you.

38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."

39 They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do what Abraham did,

40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this is not what Abraham did.

41 You do what your father did." They said to him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God."

42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.”

Mass Readings For Tuesday, April 12, 2011

FIRST READING: Numbers 21: 4 - 9

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4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient on the way.

5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food."

6 Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.

7 And the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people.

8 And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live."

9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

PSALM: Psalms 102: 2 - 3, 16 - 21

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2 Do not hide thy face from me in the day of my distress! Incline thy ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!

3 For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.

16 For the LORD will build up Zion, he will appear in his glory;

17 he will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their supplication.

18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD:

19 that he looked down from his holy height, from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,

20 to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die;

21 that men may declare in Zion the name of the LORD, and in Jerusalem his praise.

GOSPEL: John 8: 21 - 30

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21 Again he said to them, "I go away, and you will seek me and die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come."

22 Then said the Jews, "Will he kill himself, since he says, `Where I am going, you cannot come'?"

23 He said to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he."

25 They said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "Even what I have told you from the beginning.

26 I have much to say about you and much to judge; but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him."

27 They did not understand that he spoke to them of the Father.

28 So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority but speak thus as the Father taught me.

29 And he who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him."

30 As he spoke thus, many believed in him.

Mass Readings For Monday, April 11, 2011

FIRST READING: Daniel 13: 1 - 9, 15 - 17, 19 - 30, 33 - 62 Or Daniel 13: 41 - 62

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1 In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim,

2 who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah;

3 her pious parents had trained their daughter according to the law of Moses.

4 Joakim was very rich; he had a garden near his house, and the Jews had recourse to him often because he was the most respected of them all.

5 That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges, of whom the Lord said, "Wickedness has come out of Babylon: from the elders who were to govern the people as judges."

6 These men, to whom all brought their cases, frequented the house of Joakim.

7 When the people left at noon, Susanna used to enter her husband's garden for a walk.

8 When the old men saw her enter every day for her walk, they began to lust for her.

9 They suppressed their consciences; they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven, and did not keep in mind just judgments.

15 One day, while they were waiting for the right moment, she entered the garden as usual, with two maids only. She decided to bathe, for the weather was warm.

16 Nobody else was there except the two elders, who had hidden themselves and were watching her.

17 "Bring me oil and soap," she said to the maids, "and shut the garden doors while I bathe."

19 As soon as the maids had left, the two old men got up and hurried to her.

20 "Look," they said, "the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us; give in to our desire, and lie with us.

21 If you refuse, we will testify against you that you dismissed your maids because a young man was here with you."

22 "I am completely trapped," Susanna groaned. "If I yield, it will be my death; if I refuse, I cannot escape your power.

23 Yet it is better for me to fall into your power without guilt than to sin before the Lord."

24 Then Susanna shrieked, and the old men also shouted at her,

25 as one of them ran to open the garden doors.

26 When the people in the house heard the cries from the garden, they rushed in by the side gate to see what had happened to her.

27 At the accusations by the old men, the servants felt very much ashamed, for never had any such thing been said about Susanna.

28 When the people came to her husband Joakim the next day, the two wicked elders also came, fully determined to put Susanna to death. Before all the people they ordered:

29 "Send for Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah, the wife of Joakim." When she was sent for,

30 she came with her parents, children and all her relatives.

33 All her relatives and the onlookers were weeping.

34 In the midst of the people the two elders rose up and laid their hands on her head.

35 Through her tears she looked up to heaven, for she trusted in the Lord wholeheartedly.

36 The elders made this accusation: "As we were walking in the garden alone, this woman entered with two girls and shut the doors of the garden, dismissing the girls.

37 A young man, who was hidden there, came and lay with her.

38 When we, in a corner of the garden, saw this crime, we ran toward them.

39 We saw them lying together, but the man we could not hold, because he was stronger than we; he opened the doors and ran off.

40 Then we seized this one and asked who the young man was,

41 but she refused to tell us. We testify to this." The assembly believed them, since they were elders and judges of the people, and they condemned her to death.

42 But Susanna cried aloud: "O eternal God, you know what is hidden and are aware of all things before they come to be:

43 you know that they have testified falsely against me. Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the things with which these wicked men have charged me."

44 The Lord heard her prayer.

45 As she was being led to execution, God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel,

46 and he cried aloud: "I will have no part in the death of this woman."

47 All the people turned and asked him, "What is this you are saying?"

48 He stood in their midst and continued, "Are you such fools, O Israelites! To condemn a woman of Israel without examination and without clear evidence?

49 Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her."

50 Then all the people returned in haste. To Daniel the elders said, "Come, sit with us and inform us, since God has given you the prestige of old age."

51 But he replied, "Separate these two far from one another that I may examine them."

52 After they were separated one from the other, he called one of them and said: "How you have grown evil with age! Now have your past sins come to term:

53 passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent, and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says, "The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.'

54 Now, then, if you were a witness, tell me under what tree you saw them together."

55 "Under a mastic tree," he answered. "Your fine lie has cost you your head," said Daniel; "for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him and split you in two."

56 Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought. "Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah," Daniel said to him, "beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience.

57 This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel, and in their fear they yielded to you; but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness.

58 Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together."

59 "Under an oak," he said. "Your fine lie has cost you also your head," said Daniel; "for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two so as to make an end of you both."

60 The whole assembly cried aloud, blessing God who saves those that hope in him.

61 They rose up against the two elders, for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury. According to the law of Moses, they inflicted on them the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor:

62 they put them to death. Thus was innocent blood spared that day.

Or

41 but she refused to tell us. We testify to this." The assembly believed them, since they were elders and judges of the people, and they condemned her to death.

42 But Susanna cried aloud: "O eternal God, you know what is hidden and are aware of all things before they come to be:

43 you know that they have testified falsely against me. Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the things with which these wicked men have charged me."

44 The Lord heard her prayer.

45 As she was being led to execution, God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel,

46 and he cried aloud: "I will have no part in the death of this woman."

47 All the people turned and asked him, "What is this you are saying?"

48 He stood in their midst and continued, "Are you such fools, O Israelites! To condemn a woman of Israel without examination and without clear evidence?

49 Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her."

50 Then all the people returned in haste. To Daniel the elders said, "Come, sit with us and inform us, since God has given you the prestige of old age."

51 But he replied, "Separate these two far from one another that I may examine them."

52 After they were separated one from the other, he called one of them and said: "How you have grown evil with age! Now have your past sins come to term:

53 passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent, and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says, "The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.'

54 Now, then, if you were a witness, tell me under what tree you saw them together."

55 "Under a mastic tree," he answered. "Your fine lie has cost you your head," said Daniel; "for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him and split you in two."

56 Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought. "Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah," Daniel said to him, "beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience.

57 This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel, and in their fear they yielded to you; but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness.

58 Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together."

59 "Under an oak," he said. "Your fine lie has cost you also your head," said Daniel; "for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two so as to make an end of you both."

60 The whole assembly cried aloud, blessing God who saves those that hope in him.

61 They rose up against the two elders, for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury. According to the law of Moses, they inflicted on them the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor:

62 they put them to death. Thus was innocent blood spared that day.

PSALM: Psalms 23: 1 - 6

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1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want;

2 he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters;

3 he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

GOSPEL: John 8: 1 - 11

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1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple; all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.

3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst

4 they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.

5 Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?"

6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.

7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."

8 And once more he bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.

9 But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

10 Jesus looked up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again."

Mass Readings For Sunday, April 10, 2011

"Jesus Wept" - James Tissot

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 37: 12 - 14

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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 130: 1 - 8

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1 Out of the depths I cry to thee, O LORD!

2 Lord, hear my voice! Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!

3 If thou, O LORD, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?

4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;

6 my soul waits for the LORD more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plenteous redemption.

8 And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

SECOND READING: Romans 8: 8 - 11

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8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

10 But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness.

11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you.

GOSPEL: John 11: 1 - 45 Or John 11: 3 - 7, 17, 20 - 27, 33 - 45

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1 Now a certain man was ill, Laz'arus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Laz'arus was ill.

3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill."

4 But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it."

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Laz'arus.

6 So when he heard that he was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

7 Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go into Judea again."

8 The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were but now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?"

9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any one walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

10 But if any one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."

11 Thus he spoke, and then he said to them, "Our friend Laz'arus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep."

12 The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover."

13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.

14 Then Jesus told them plainly, "Laz'arus is dead;

15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."

16 Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Laz'arus had already been in the tomb four days.

18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,

19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.

20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house.

21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

22 And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you."

23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

26 and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world."

28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying quietly, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you."

29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.

30 Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.

31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

32 Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw him, fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled;

34 and he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see."

35 Jesus wept.

36 So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"

37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days."

40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"

41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

42 I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me."

43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Laz'arus, come out."

44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him.

Or

3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill."

4 But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it."

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Laz'arus.

6 So when he heard that he was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

7 Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go into Judea again."

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Laz'arus had already been in the tomb four days.

20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house.

21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

22 And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you."

23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

26 and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world."

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled;

34 and he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see."

35 Jesus wept.

36 So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"

37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days."

40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"

41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

42 I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me."

43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Laz'arus, come out."

44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him.