Mass Readings for Saturday, July 28, 2012

"The Enemy Who Sows" -- by James Tissot

FIRST READING: Jeremiah 7: 1 - 11

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1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

2 "Stand in the gate of the LORD's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the LORD.

3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will let you dwell in this place.

4 Do not trust in these deceptive words: `This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.'

5 "For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly execute justice one with another,

6 if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt,

7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers for ever.

8 "Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail.

9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Ba'al, and go after other gods that you have not known,

10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, `We are delivered!' -- only to go on doing all these abominations?

11 Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, says the LORD.

PSALM: Psalms 84: 3 - 6, 8, 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.

6 As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools.

8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! [Selah]

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: Matthew 13: 24 - 30

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24 Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field;

25 but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.

26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.

27 And the servants of the householder came and said to him, `Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?'

28 He said to them, `An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, `Then do you want us to go and gather them?'

29 But he said, `No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.

30 Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

Mass Readings for Friday, July 27, 2012

FIRST READING: Jeremiah 3: 14 - 17

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14 Return, O faithless children, says the LORD; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

15 "`And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

16 And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says the LORD, they shall no more say, "The ark of the covenant of the LORD." It shall not come to mind, or be remembered, or missed; it shall not be made again.

17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.

PSALM: Jeremiah 31: 10 - 13

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10 "Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands afar off; say, `He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.'

11 For the LORD has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.

12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more.

13 Then shall the maidens rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

GOSPEL: Matthew 13: 18 - 23

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18 "Hear then the parable of the sower.

19 When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart; this is what was sown along the path.

20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the delight in riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."

Mass Readings for Thursday, July 26, 2012

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

FIRST READING: Jeremiah 2: 1 - 3, 7 - 8, 12 - 13

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1 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 
2 "Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD, I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. 
3 Israel was holy to the LORD, the first fruits of his harvest. All who ate of it became guilty; evil came upon them, says the LORD."  
7 And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. 
8 The priests did not say, 'Where is the LORD?' Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers* transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after things that do not profit. 
12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the LORD, 
13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. 

PSALM: Psalms 36: 6 - 11

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6 Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God, thy judgments are like the great deep; man and beast thou savest, O LORD. 
7 How precious is thy steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge in the shadow of thy wings. 
8 They feast on the abundance of thy house, and thou givest them drink from the river of thy delights. 
9 For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light do we see light. 
10 O continue thy steadfast love to those who know thee, and thy salvation to the upright of heart! 
11 Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. 

GOSPEL: Matthew 13: 10 - 17

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10 Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" 
11 And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 
12 For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 
13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 
14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: 'You shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall indeed see but never perceive. 
15 For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.' 
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 
17 Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Mass Readings For Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Feast of Saint James, Apostle

FIRST READING:2 Corinthians 4: 7 - 15

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7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.

8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;

9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

11 For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.

13 Since we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, "I believed, and so I spoke," we too believe, and so we speak,

14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.

15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

PSALM: Psalms 126: 1 - 6

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1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."

3 The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.

4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the watercourses in the Negeb!

5 May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy!

6 He that goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

GOSPEL: Matthew 20: 20 - 28

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20 Then the mother of the sons of Zeb'edee came up to him, with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something.

21 And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom."

22 But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" They said to him, "We are able."

23 He said to them, "You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."

24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers.

25 But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.

26 It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant,

27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave;

28 even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."