Mass Readings For Saturday, January 05, 2013

"Nathaniel Under the Fig Tree" -- by James Tissot

Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop

FIRST READING: 1 John 3: 11 - 21

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11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,

12 and not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.

13 Do not wonder, brethren, that the world hates you.

14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.

15 Any one who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

17 But if any one has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?

18 Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth.

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our hearts before him

20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God.

PSALM: Psalms 100: 1 - 5

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1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the lands!

2 Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

3 Know that the LORD is God! It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name!

5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

GOSPEL: John 1: 43 - 51

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43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."

44 Now Philip was from Beth-sa'ida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

45 Philip found Nathan'a-el, and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

46 Nathan'a-el said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

47 Jesus saw Nathan'a-el coming to him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!"

48 Nathan'a-el said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

49 Nathan'a-el answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

50 Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these."

51 And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."

Mass Readings For Friday, January 04, 2013

Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious

FIRST READING: 1 John 3: 7 - 10

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7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right is righteous, as he is righteous.

8 He who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

9 No one born of God commits sin; for God's nature abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God.

10 By this it may be seen who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not do right is not of God, nor he who does not love his brother.

PSALM: Psalms 98: 1, 7 - 9

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1 O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.

7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!

8 Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together

9 before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

GOSPEL: John 1: 35 - 42

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35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples;

36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"

37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

38 Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

39 He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

41 He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ).

42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter).

Mass Readings For Thursday, January 03, 2013

For the January 3 readings, there are 2 options. The first set of readings are for those parishes that observe the optional memorial of The Most Holy Name of Jesus. The second set of readings are the Christmas Weekday readings.

"The Vision of Saint Joseph"  -- by James Tissot

The Most Holy Name of Jesus (Optional Memorial)

FIRST READING: Philippians 2: 5 - 11

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5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

8 And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

PSALM: Psalms 113: 1 - 8

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1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!

2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore!

3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised!

4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!

5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,

6 who looks far down upon the heavens and the earth?

7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,

8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.

GOSPEL: Matthew 1: 18 - 23

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18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit;

19 and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

20 But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit;

21 she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us).

Or

"Saint John the Baptist Sees Jesus from Afar" -- by James Tissot

FIRST READING: 1 John 2: 29 - 3: 6

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29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that every one who does right is born of him.

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.

4 Every one who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

5 You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

6 No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him.

PSALM: Psalms 98: 1, 3 - 6

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1 O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.

3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!

6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!

GOSPEL: John 1: 29 - 34

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29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

30 This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.'

31 I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."

32 And John bore witness, "I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him.

33 I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'

34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

Mass Readings For Wednesday, January 02, 2013

"Saint John the Baptist and the Pharisees" -- by James Tissot

Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops, Fathers of the Church, and Doctors of the Church

FIRST READING: 1 John 2: 22 - 28

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22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.

23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.

24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father.

25 And this is what he has promised us, eternal life.

26 I write this to you about those who would deceive you;

27 but the anointing which you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that any one should teach you; as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in him.

28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.

PSALM: Psalms 98: 1 - 4

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1 O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.

2 The LORD has made known his victory, he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.

3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

GOSPEL: John 1: 19 - 28

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19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"

20 He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."

21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" And he answered, "No."

22 They said to him then, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

23 He said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, `Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."

24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.

25 They asked him, "Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?"

26 John answered them, "I baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you do not know,

27 even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."

28 This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.