Daily Mass Readings for Friday, November 11, 2011

Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop

FIRST READING: Wisdom 13: 1 - 9

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1 For all men who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature; and they were unable from the good things that are seen to know him who exists, nor did they recognize the craftsman while paying heed to his works;

2 but they supposed that either fire or wind or swift air, or the circle of the stars, or turbulent water, or the luminaries of heaven were the gods that rule the world.

3 If through delight in the beauty of these things men assumed them to be gods, let them know how much better than these is their Lord, for the author of beauty created them.

4 And if men were amazed at their power and working, let them perceive from them how much more powerful is he who formed them.

5 For from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator.

6 Yet these men are little to be blamed, for perhaps they go astray while seeking God and desiring to find him.

7 For as they live among his works they keep searching, and they trust in what they see, because the things that are seen are beautiful.

8 Yet again, not even they are to be excused;

9 for if they had the power to know so much that they could investigate the world, how did they fail to find sooner the Lord of these things?

PSALM: Psalms 19: 2 - 5

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2 Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.

3 There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard;

4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,

5 which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

GOSPEL: Luke 17: 26 - 37

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26 As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of man.

27 They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 Likewise as it was in the days of Lot -- they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built,

29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom fire and sulphur rained from heaven and destroyed them all --

30 so will it be on the day when the Son of man is revealed.

31 On that day, let him who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away; and likewise let him who is in the field not turn back.

32 Remember Lot's wife.

33 Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.

34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.

35 There will be two women grinding together; one will be taken and the other left."

37 And they said to him, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."

Daily Mass Readings for Thursday, November 10, 2011

Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church

FIRST READING: Wisdom 7: 22 -- 8: 1

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22 for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me. For in her there is a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible,

23 beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent and pure and most subtle.

24 For wisdom is more mobile than any motion; because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.

25 For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.

26 For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.

27 Though she is but one, she can do all things, and while remaining in herself, she renews all things; in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets;

28 for God loves nothing so much as the man who lives with wisdom.

29 For she is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior,

30 for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom evil does not prevail.

1 She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well.

PSALM: Psalms 119: 89 - 91, 130, 135, 175

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89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is firmly fixed in the heavens.

90 Thy faithfulness endures to all generations; thou hast established the earth, and it stands fast.

91 By thy appointment they stand this day; for all things are thy servants.

130 The unfolding of thy words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.

135 Make thy face shine upon thy servant, and teach me thy statutes.

175 Let me live, that I may praise thee, and let thy ordinances help me.

GOSPEL: Luke 17: 20 - 25

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20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed;

21 nor will they say, `Lo, here it is!' or `There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you."

22 And he said to the disciples, "The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you will not see it.

23 And they will say to you, `Lo, there!' or `Lo, here!' Do not go, do not follow them.

24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of man be in his day.

25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

Daily Mass Readings for Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 47: 1 - 2, 8 - 9, 12

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1 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar.

2 Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me round on the outside to the outer gate, that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the south side.

8 And he said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the stagnant waters of the sea, the water will become fresh.

9 And wherever the river goes every living creature which swarms will live, and there will be very many fish; for this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.

12 And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing."

PSALM: Psalms 46: 2 - 3, 5 - 6, 8 - 9

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2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;

3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. [Selah]

5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her right early.

6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.

8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has wrought desolations in the earth.

9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear, he burns the chariots with fire!

SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 3: 9 - 11, 16 - 17

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9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it.

11 For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?

17 If any one destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are.

GOSPEL: John 2: 13 - 22

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13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers at their business.

15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all, with the sheep and oxen, out of the temple; and he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.

16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, "Take these things away; you shall not make my Father's house a house of trade."

17 His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for thy house will consume me."

18 The Jews then said to him, "What sign have you to show us for doing this?"

19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

20 The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?"

21 But he spoke of the temple of his body.

22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

Daily Mass Readings for Tuesday, November 8, 2011

FIRST READING: Wisdom 2: 23 -- 3: 9

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23 for God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity,

24 but through the devil's envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it.

1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.

2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be an affliction,

3 and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace.

4 For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality.

5 Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;

6 like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.

7 In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble.

8 They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them for ever.

9 Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his elect, and he watches over his holy ones.

PSALM: Psalms 34: 2 - 3, 16 - 19

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2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and be glad.

3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!

16 The face of the LORD is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.

18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

GOSPEL: Luke 17: 7 - 10

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7 "Will any one of you, who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep, say to him when he has come in from the field, `Come at once and sit down at table'?

8 Will he not rather say to him, `Prepare supper for me, and gird yourself and serve me, till I eat and drink; and afterward you shall eat and drink'?

9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?

10 So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, `We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'"