Mass Readings for Wednesday, July 27, 2011

FIRST READING: Exodus 34: 29 - 35

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29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tables of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.

30 And when Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.

31 But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them.

32 And afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in Mount Sinai.

33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face;

34 but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the people of Israel what he was commanded,

35 the people of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone; and Moses would put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

PSALM: Psalms 99: 5 - 7, 9

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5 Extol the LORD our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!

6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.

7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his testimonies, and the statutes that he gave them.

9 Extol the LORD our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the LORD our God is holy!

GOSPEL: Matthew 13: 44 - 46

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44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,

46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Mass Readings for Tuesday, July 26, 2011

  

Memorial of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

FIRST READING: Exodus 33: 7 - 11; 34: 5 - 9, 28

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7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp; and he called it the tent of meeting. And every one who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.

8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose up, and every man stood at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he had gone into the tent.

9 When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the door of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses.

10 And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the door of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, every man at his tent door.

11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tent.

5 And the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

6 The LORD passed before him, and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."

8 And Moses made haste to bow his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

9 And he said, "If now I have found favor in thy sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the midst of us, although it is a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thy inheritance."

28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

PSALM: Psalms 103: 6 - 13

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6 The LORD works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.

8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger for ever.

10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor requite us according to our iniquities.

11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

13 As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear him.

GOSPEL: Matthew 13: 36 - 43

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36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field."

37 He answered, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of man;

38 the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one,

39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.

40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age.

41 The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,

42 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.

43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Mass Readings for Wednesday, July 20, 2011

FIRST READING: Exodus 16: 1 - 5, 9 - 15

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1 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.

2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness,

3 and said to them, "Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily."

9 And Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, `Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your murmurings.'"

10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

11 And the LORD said to Moses,

12 "I have heard the murmurings of the people of Israel; say to them, `At twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"

13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning dew lay round about the camp.

14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as hoarfrost on the ground.

15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.

PSALM: Psalms 78: 18 - 19, 23 - 28

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18 They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.

19 They spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness?

23 Yet he commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven;

24 and he rained down upon them manna to eat, and gave them the grain of heaven.

25 Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance.

26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind;

27 he rained flesh upon them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas;

28 he let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their habitations.

GOSPEL: Matthew 13: 1 - 9

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1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.

2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat there; and the whole crowd stood on the beach.

3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow.

4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,

6 but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away.

7 Other seeds fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.

8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

9 He who has ears, let him hear."

Mass Readings for Tuesday, July 19, 2011

FIRST READING: Exodus 14: 21 - 31 -- 15: 1

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21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

23 The Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

24 And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down upon the host of the Egyptians, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians,

25 clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily; and the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from before Israel; for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians."

26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen."

27 So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its wonted flow when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled into it, and the LORD routed the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not so much as one of them remained.

29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore.

31 And Israel saw the great work which the LORD did against the Egyptians, and the people feared the LORD; and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, "I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

PSALM: Exodus 15: 8 - 10, 12, 17

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8 At the blast of thy nostrils the waters piled up, the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.

9 The enemy said, `I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.'

10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them; they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

12 Thou didst stretch out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

17 Thou wilt bring them in, and plant them on thy own mountain, the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thy abode, the sanctuary, LORD, which thy hands have established.

GOSPEL: Matthew 12: 46 - 50

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46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.

48 But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"

49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!

50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother."