Sunday Mass Readings For August 04, 2013

"The Man Who Hoards" by -- James Tissot

FIRST READING: Ecclesiastes 1: 2, 2: 21 - 23

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2 Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes vanity of vanities, and all is vanity.

21 For when a man laboureth in wisdom, and knowledge, and carefulness, he leaveth what he hath gotten to an idle man: so this also is vanity, and a great evil.

22 For what profit shall a man have of all his labour, and vexation of spirit, with which he hath been tormented under the sun?

23 All his days are full of sorrows and miseries, even in the night he doth not rest in mind: and is not this vanity?

PSALM: Psalms 90: 3 - 6, 12 - 14, 17

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3 Turn not man away to be brought low: and thou hast said: Be converted, O ye sons of men.

4 For a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday, which is past. And as a watch in the night,

5 Things that are counted nothing, shall their years be.

6 In the morning man shall grow up like grass; in the morning he shall flourish and pass away: in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither.

12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

13 Return, O Lord, how long? and be entreated in favour of thy servants.

14 We are filled in the morning with thy mercy: and we have rejoiced, and are delighted all our days.

17 And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us: and direct thou the works of our hands over us; yea, the work of our hands do thou direct.

SECOND READING: Colossians 3: 1 - 5, 9 - 11

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1 Therefore, if you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above; where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God:

2 Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth.

3 For you are dead; and your life is hid with Christ in God.

4 When Christ shall appear, who is your life, then you also shall appear with him in glory.

5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, lust, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is the service of idols.

9 Lie not one to another: stripping yourselves of the old man with his deeds,

10 And putting on the new, him who is renewed unto knowledge, according to the image of him that created him.

11 Where there is neither Gentile nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian nor Scythian, bond nor free. But Christ is all, and in all.

GOSPEL: Luke 12: 13 - 21

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13 And one of the multitude said to him: Master, speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance with me.

14 But he said to him: Man, who hath appointed me judge, or divider, over you?

15 And he said to them: Take heed and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life doth not consist in the abundance of things which he possesseth.

16 And he spoke a similitude to them, saying: The land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits.

17 And he thought within himself, saying: What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

18 And he said: This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and will build greater; and into them will I gather all things that are grown to me, and my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul: Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years take thy rest; eat, drink, make good cheer.

20 But God said to him: Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee: and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?

21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God.

Mass Readings For Saturday, August 03, 2013

FIRST READING: Leviticus 25: 1, 8 - 17

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1 And the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sinai, saying:

8 Thou shalt also number to thee seven weeks of years, that is to say, seven times seven, which together make forty-nine years:

9 And thou shalt sound the trumpet in the seventh month, the tenth day of the month, in the time of the expiation in all your land.

10 And thou shalt sanctify the fiftieth year, and shalt proclaim remission to all the inhabitants of thy land: for it is the year of jubilee. Every man shall return to his possession, and every one shall go back to his former family:

11 Because it is the jubilee and the fiftieth year. You shall not sow, nor reap the things that grow in the field of their own accord, neither shall you gather the firstfruits of the vines,

12 Because of the sanctification of the jubilee: but as they grow you shall presently eat them.

13 In the year of the jubilee all shall return to their possessions.

14 When thou shalt sell any thing to thy neighbour, or shalt buy of him; grieve not thy brother: but thou shalt buy of him according to the number of years from the jubilee.

15 And he shall sell to thee according to the computation of the fruits.

16 The more years remain after the jubilee, the more shall the price increase: and the less time is counted, so much the less shall the purchase cost. For he shall sell to thee the time of the fruits.

17 Do not afflict your countrymen, but let every one fear his God: because I am the Lord your God.

PSALM: Psalms 67: 2 - 3, 5, 7 - 8

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2 May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may he cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.

3 That we may know thy way upon earth: thy salvation in all nations.

5 Let the nations be glad and rejoice: for thou judgest the people with justice, and directest the nations upon earth.

7 The earth hath yielded her fruit. May God, our God bless us,

8 May God bless us: and all the ends of the earth fear him.

GOSPEL: Matthew 14: 1 - 12

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1 At the time Herod the Tetrarch heard the fame of Jesus.

2 And he said to his servants: This is John the Baptist: he is risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works shew forth themselves in him.

3 For Herod had apprehended John and bound him, and put him into prison, because of Herodias, his brother's wife.

4 For John said to him: It is not lawful for thee to have her.

5 And having a mind to put him to death, he feared the people: because they esteemed him as a prophet.

6 But on Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them: and pleased Herod.

7 Whereupon he promised with an oath, to give her whatsoever she would ask of him.

8 But she being instructed before by her mother, said: Give me here in a dish the head of John the Baptist.

9 And the king was struck sad: yet because of his oath, and for them that sat with him at table, he commanded it to be given.

10 And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.

11 And his head was brought in a dish: and it was given to the damsel, and she brought it to her mother.

12 And his disciples came and took the body, and buried it, and came and told Jesus.

Catholic Mass Readings For Friday, August 02, 2013

"Jesus Unrolls the Book in the Synagogue" -- by James Tissot

FIRST READING: Leviticus 23: 1, 4 - 11, 15 - 16, 27, 34 - 37

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1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

4 These also are the holy days of the Lord, which you must celebrate in their seasons.

5 The first month, the fourteenth day of the month at evening, is the phase of the Lord:

6 And the fifteenth day of the same month is the solemnity of the unleavened bread of the Lord. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread.

7 The first day shall be most solemn unto you, and holy: you shall do no servile work therein:

8 But you shall offer sacrifice in fire to the Lord seven days. And the seventh day shall be more solemn, and more holy: and you shall do no servile work therein.

9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

10 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you shall have entered into the land which I will give you, and shall reap your corn, you shall bring sheaves of ears, the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest:

11 Who shall lift up the shed before the Lord, the next day after the sabbath, that it may be acceptable for you, and shall sanctify it.

15 You shall count therefore from the morrow after the sabbath, wherein you offered the sheaf of the firstfruits, seven full weeks.

16 Even unto the marrow after the seventh week be expired, that is to say, fifty days, and so you shall offer a new sacrifice to the Lord.

27 Upon the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the day of atonement, it shall be most solemn, and shall be called holy: and you shall afflict your souls on that day, and shall offer a holocaust to the Lord.

34 Say to the children of Israel: From the fifteenth day of this same seventh month, shall be kept the feast of tabernacles seven days to the Lord.

35 The first day shall be called most solemn and most holy: you shall do no servile work therein. And seven days you shall offer holocausts to the Lord.

36 The eighth day also shall be most solemn and most holy, and you shall offer holocausts to the Lord: for it is the day of assembly and congregation: you shall do no servile work therein.

37 These are the feasts of the Lord, which you shall call most solemn and most holy, and shall offer on them oblations to the Lord, holocausts and libations according to the rite of every day.

PSALM: Psalms 81: 3 - 6, 10 - 11

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3 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel: the pleasant psaltery with the harp.

4 Blow up the trumpet on the new moon, on the noted day of your solemnity.

5 For it is a commandment in Israel, and a judgment to the God of Jacob.

6 He ordained it for a testimony in Joseph, when he came out of the land of Egypt: he heard a tongue which he knew not.

10 There shall be no new god in thee: neither shalt thou adore a strange god.

11 For I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

GOSPEL: Matthew 13: 54 - 58

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54 And coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogues, so that they wondered and said: How came this man by this wisdom and miracles?

55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Jude:

56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence therefore hath he all these things?

57 And they were scandalized in his regard. But Jesus said to them: A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.

58 And he wrought not many miracles there, because of their unbelief.

Mass Readings For Thursday, August 01, 2013

Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguouri, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

FIRST READING: Exodus 40: 16 - 21, 34 - 38

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16 And Moses did all that the Lord had commanded.

17 So in the first month of the second year, the first day of the month, the tabernacle was set up.

18 And Moses reared it up, and placed the boards and the sockets and the bars, and set up the pillars,

19 And spread the roof over the tabernacle, putting over it a cover, as the Lord had commanded.

20 And he put the testimony in the ark, thrusting bars underneath, and the oracle above.

21 And when he had brought the ark into the tabernacle, he drew the veil before it to fulfill the commandment of the Lord.

34 The cloud covered the tabernacle of the testimony, and the glory of the Lord filled it.

35 Neither could Moses go into the tabernacle of the covenant, the cloud covering all things and the majesty of the Lord shining, for the cloud had covered all.

36 If at any time the cloud removed from the tabernacle, the children of Israel went forward by their troops:

37 If it hung over, they remained in the same place.

38 For the cloud of the Lord hung over the tabernacle by day, and a fire by night, in the sight of all the children of Israel throughout all their mansions.

PSALM: Psalms 84: 3 - 6, 8, 11

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3 For the sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtle a nest for herself where she may lay her young ones: Thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my king and my God.

4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord: they shall praise thee for ever and ever.

5 Blessed is the man whose help is from thee: in his heart he hath disposed to ascend by steps,

6 In the vale of tears, in the place which he hath set.

8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob.

11 For God loveth mercy and truth: the Lord will give grace and glory.

GOSPEL: Matthew 13: 47 - 53

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47 Again the kingdom of heaven is like to a net cast into the sea, and gathering together of all kind of fishes.

48 Which, when it was filled, they drew out, and sitting by the shore, they chose out the good into vessels, but the bad they cast forth.

49 So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just.

50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 Have ye understood all these things? They say to him: Yes.

52 He said unto them: Therefore every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven, is like to a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things and old.

53 And it came to pass: when Jesus had finished these parables, he passed from thence.