Daily Mass Readings for Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Solemnity of All Saints

FIRST READING: Revelation 7: 2 - 4, 9 - 14

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2 Then I saw another angel ascend from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea,

3 saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads."

4 And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel,

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

10 and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!"

11 And all the angels stood round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

12 saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen."

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they come?"

14 I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

PSALM: Psalms 24: 1 - 6

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1 The earth is the LORD's and the fulness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein;

2 for he has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers.

3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?

4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false, and does not swear deceitfully.

5 He will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of his salvation.

6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. [Selah]

SECOND READING: 1 John 3: 1 - 3

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1 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

2 Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

3 And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

GOSPEL: Matthew 5: 1 - 12

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1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him.

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Daily Mass Readings for Monday, October 31, 2011

FIRST READING: Romans 11: 29 - 36

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29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

30 Just as you were once disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience,

31 so they have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may receive mercy.

32 For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.

33 O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

34 "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?"

35 "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?"

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen.

PSALM: Psalms 69: 30 - 31, 33 - 34, 36 - 37

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Psalms 69: 30 - 31, 33 - 34, 36 - 37

30 But I am afflicted and in pain; let thy salvation, O God, set me on high! 

31 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. 

33 Let the oppressed see it and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. 

34 For the LORD hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds. 

36 For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; and his servants shall dwell there and possess it; 

37 the children of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

GOSPEL: Luke 14: 12 - 14

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12 He said also to the man who had invited him, "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid.

13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind,

14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

Daily Mass Readings for Sunday, October 30, 2011

FIRST READING: Malachi 1: 14 -- 2: 1 - 2, 8 - 10

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14 Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished; for I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name is feared among the nations.

1 "And now, O priests, this command is for you.

2 If you will not listen, if you will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; indeed I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.

8 But you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts,

9 and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you have not kept my ways but have shown partiality in your instruction."

10 Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

PSALM: Psalms 131: 1 - 3

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1 O LORD, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.

2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother's breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul.

3 O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.

SECOND READING: 1 Thessalonians 2: 7 - 9, 13

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7 But we were gentle among you, like a nurse taking care of her children.

8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

9 For you remember our labor and toil, brethren; we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you, while we preached to you the gospel of God.

13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

GOSPEL: Matthew 23: 1 - 12

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1 Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples,

2 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat;

3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice.

4 They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger.

5 They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,

6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues,

7 and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men.

8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren.

9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.

10 Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ.

11 He who is greatest among you shall be your servant;

12 whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Daily Mass Readings for Saturday, October 29, 2011

FIRST READING: Romans 11: 1 - 2, 11 - 12, 25 - 29

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1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.

2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Eli'jah, how he pleads with God against Israel?

11 So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.

12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!

25 Lest you be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand this mystery, brethren: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in,

26 and so all Israel will be saved; as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob";

27 "and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins."

28 As regards the gospel they are enemies of God, for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.

29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

PSALM: Psalms 94: 12 - 13, 14 - 15, 17 - 18

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12 Blessed is the man whom thou dost chasten, O LORD, and whom thou dost teach out of thy law

13 to give him respite from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.

14 For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;

15 for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

17 If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have dwelt in the land of silence.

18 When I thought, "My foot slips," thy steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.

GOSPEL: Luke 14: 1, 7 - 11

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1 One sabbath when he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him.

7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honor, saying to them,

8 "When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him;

9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, `Give place to this man,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.

10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, `Friend, go up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.

11 For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."