Daily Mass Readings for Thursday, February 09, 2012

FIRST READING: 1 Kings 11: 4 - 13

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4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

5 For Solomon went after Ash'toreth the goddess of the Sido'nians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not wholly follow the LORD, as David his father had done.

7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.

8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

9 And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,

10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the LORD commanded.

11 Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this has been your mind and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.

12 Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.

13 However I will not tear away all the kingdom; but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen."

PSALM: Psalms 106: 3 - 4, 35 - 37, 40

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3 Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!

4 Remember me, O LORD, when thou showest favor to thy people; help me when thou deliverest them;

35 but they mingled with the nations and learned to do as they did.

36 They served their idols, which became a snare to them.

37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons;

40 Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage.

GOSPEL: Mark 7: 24 - 30

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24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house, and would not have any one know it; yet he could not be hid.

25 But immediately a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet.

26 Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoeni'cian by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

27 And he said to her, "Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

28 But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."

29 And he said to her, "For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter."

30 And she went home, and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone.

Daily Mass Readings for Wednesday, February 08, 2012

FIRST READING: 1 Kings 10: 1 - 10

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1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions.

2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind.

3 And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king which he could not explain to her.

4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,

5 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her.

6 And she said to the king, "The report was true which I heard in my own land of your affairs and of your wisdom,

7 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it; and, behold, the half was not told me; your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report which I heard.

8 Happy are your wives! Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!

9 Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD loved Israel for ever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness."

10 Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones; never again came such an abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

PSALM: Psalms 37: 5 - 6, 30 - 31, 39 - 40

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5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.

6 He will bring forth your vindication as the light, and your right as the noonday.

30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.

31 The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.

39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their refuge in the time of trouble.

40 The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

GOSPEL: Mark 7: 14 - 23

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14 And he called the people to him again, and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand:

15 there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him."

17 And when he had entered the house, and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable.

18 And he said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him,

19 since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.)

20 And he said, "What comes out of a man is what defiles a man.

21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery,

22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.

23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man."

Daily Mass Readings for Tuesday, February 07, 2012

FIRST READING: 1 Kings 8: 22 - 23, 27 - 30

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22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven;

23 and said, "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to thy servants who walk before thee with all their heart;

27 "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!

28 Yet have regard to the prayer of thy servant and to his supplication, O LORD my God, hearkening to the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prays before thee this day;

29 that thy eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which thou hast said, `My name shall be there,' that thou mayest hearken to the prayer which thy servant offers toward this place.

30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant and of thy people Israel, when they pray toward this place; yea, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place; and when thou hearest, forgive.

PSALM: Psalms 84: 3 - 5, 10 - 11

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3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at thy altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in thy house, ever singing thy praise! [Selah]

5 Blessed are the men whose strength is in thee, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the LORD withhold from those who walk uprightly.

GOSPEL: Mark 7: 1 - 13

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1 Now when the Pharisees gathered together to him, with some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem,

2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed.

3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the elders;

4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.)

5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?"

6 And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, `This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'

8 You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men."

9 And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God, in order to keep your tradition!

10 For Moses said, `Honor your father and your mother'; and, `He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die';

11 but you say, `If a man tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is Corban' (that is, given to God) --

12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother,

13 thus making void the word of God through your tradition which you hand on. And many such things you do."

Daily Mass Readings For Monday, February 06, 2012

Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs

FIRST READING: 1 Kings 8: 1 - 7, 9 - 13

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1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.

2 And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Eth'anim, which is the seventh month.

3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

4 And they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up.

5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.

6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim.

7 For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles.

9 There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

10 And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD,

11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

12 Then Solomon said, "The LORD has set the sun in the heavens, but has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.

13 I have built thee an exalted house, a place for thee to dwell in for ever."

PSALM: Psalms 132: 6 - 10

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6 Lo, we heard of it in Eph'rathah, we found it in the fields of Ja'ar.

7 "Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!"

8 Arise, O LORD, and go to thy resting place, thou and the ark of thy might.

9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness, and let thy saints shout for joy.

10 For thy servant David's sake do not turn away the face of thy anointed one.

GOSPEL: Mark 6: 53 - 56

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53 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennes'aret, and moored to the shore.

54 And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized him,

55 and ran about the whole neighborhood and began to bring sick people on their pallets to any place where they heard he was.

56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or country, they laid the sick in the market places, and besought him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well.