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| "The Vision of Zechariah" -- by James Tissot |
Vigil
Mass
FIRST
READING: Jeremiah
1: 4 - 10
4
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
5
Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee: and
before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and made
thee a prophet unto the nations.
6
And I said: Ah, ah, ah, Lord God: behold, I cannot speak, for I am a
child.
7
And the Lord said to me: Say not: I am a child: for thou shalt go to
all that I shall send thee: and whatsoever I shall command thee, thou
shalt speak.
8
Be not afraid at their presence: for I am with thee to deliver thee,
saith the Lord.
9
And the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth: and the Lord
said to me: Behold I have given my words in thy mouth:
10
Lo, I have set thee this day over the nations, and over the kingdoms,
to root up, and pull down, and to waste, and to destroy, and to
build, and to plant.
PSALM:
Psalms 71:
1 - 6, 15, 17
1
In thee, O Lord, I have hoped, let me never be put to confusion:
2
Deliver me in thy justice, and rescue me. Incline thy ear unto me,
and save me.
3
Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a place of strength: that
thou mayst make me safe. For thou art my firmament and my refuge.
4
Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the sinner, and out of the
hand of the transgressor of the law and of the unjust.
5
For thou art my patience, O Lord: my hope, O Lord, from my youth;
6
By thee have I been confirmed from the womb: from my mother's womb
thou art my protector. Of thee shall I continually sing:
15
My mouth shall shew forth thy justice; thy salvation all the day
long. Because I have not known learning,
17
Thou hast taught me, O God, from my youth: and till now I will
declare thy wonderful works.
SECOND
READING: 1 Peter
1: 8 - 12
8
Whom having not seen, you love: in whom also now, though you see him
not, you believe: and believing shall rejoice with joy unspeakable
and glorified;
9
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
10
Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and diligently
searched, who prophesied of the grace to come in you.
11
Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in them
did signify: when it foretold those sufferings that are in Christ,
and the glories that should follow:
12
To whom it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to you they
ministered those things which are now declared to you by them that
have preached the gospel to you, the Holy Ghost being sent down from
heaven, on whom the angels desire to look.
GOSPEL:
Luke 1:
5 - 17
5
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest
named Zachary, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the
daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.
6
And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments
and justifications of the Lord without blame.
7
And they had no son, for that Elizabeth was barren, and they both
were well advanced in years.
8
And it came to pass, when he executed the priestly function in the
order of his course before God,
9
According to the custom of the priestly office, it was his lot to
offer incense, going into the temple of the Lord.
10
And all the multitude of the people was praying without, at the hour
of incense.
11
And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing on the right
side of the alter of incense.
12
And Zachary seeing him, was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13
But the angel said to him: Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is
heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt
call his name John:
14
And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice in his
nativity.
15
For he shall be great before the Lord; and shall drink no wine nor
strong drink: and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from
his mother's womb.
16
And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their
God.
17
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias; that he
may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the
incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a
perfect people.
*
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| "Birth of John the Baptist" -- by Jacopo Pontormo |
Mass
During the Day
FIRST
READING: Isaiah
49: 1 - 6
1
Give ear, ye islands, and hearken, ye people from afar. The Lord hath
called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath been
mindful of my name.
2
And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword: in the shadow of his
hand he hath protected me, and hath made me as a chosen arrow: in his
quiver he hath hidden me.
3
And he said to me: Thou art my servant Israel, for in thee will I
glory.
4
And I said: I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength without
cause and in vain: therefore my judgment is with the Lord, and my
work with my God.
5
And now saith the Lord, that formed me from the womb to be his
servant, that I may bring back Jacob unto him, and Israel will not be
gathered together: and I am glorified in the eyes of the Lord, and my
God is made my strength.
6
And he said: It is a small thing that thou shouldst be my servant to
raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to convert the dregs of Israel.
Behold, I have given thee to be the light of the Gentiles, that thou
mayst be my salvation even to the farthest part of the earth.
PSALM:
Psalms 139:
1 - 3, 13 - 15
1
Lord, thou hast proved me, and known me:
2
Thou hast know my sitting down, and my rising up.
3
Thou hast understood my thoughts afar off: my path and my line thou
hast searched out.
13
For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast protected me from my
mother's womb.
14
I will praise thee, for thou art fearfully magnified: wonderful are
thy works, and my soul knoweth right well.
15
My bone is not hidden from thee, which thou hast made in secret: and
my substance in the lower parts of the earth.
SECOND
READING: Acts 13:
22 - 26
22
And when he had removed him, he raised them up David to be king: to
whom giving testimony, he said: I have found David, the son of Jesse,
a man according to my own heart, who shall do all my wills.
23
Of this man's seed God according to his promise, hath raised up to
Israel a Saviour, Jesus:
24
John first preaching, before his coming, the baptism of penance to
all the people of Israel.
25
And when John was fulfilling his course, he said: I am not he, whom
you think me to be: but behold, there cometh one after me, whose
shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.
26
Men, brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among
you fear God, to you the word of this salvation is sent.
GOSPEL:
Luke 1:
57 - 66, 80
57
Now Elizabeth's full time of being delivered was come, and she
brought forth a son.
58
And her neighbours and kinsfolks heard that the Lord had shewed his
great mercy towards her, and they congratulated with her.
59
And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise
the child, and they called him by his father's name Zachary.
60
And his mother answering, said: Not so; but he shall be called John.
61
And they said to her: There is none of thy kindred that is called by
this name.
62
And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
63
And demanding a writing table, he wrote, saying: John is his name.
And they all wondered.
64
And immediately his mouth was opened, and his tongue loosed, and he
spoke, blessing God.
65
And fear came upon all their neighbours; and all these things were
noised abroad over all the hill country of Judea.
66
And all they that had heard them laid them up in their heart, saying:
What an one, think ye, shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord
was with him.
80
And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit; and was in the
deserts until the day of his manifestation to Israel.
