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Sunday, August 25, 2013

Sunday Catholic Mass Readings For August 25, 2013

"He Went Through the Villages on the Way to Jerusalem" --by James Tissot

FIRST READING: Isaiah 66: 18 - 21

18 But I know their works, and their thoughts: I come that I may gather them together with all nations and tongues: and they shall come and shall see my glory.
19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send of them that shall be saved, to the Gentiles into the sea, into Africa, and Lydia them that draw the bow: into Italy, and Greece, to the islands afar off, to them that have not heard of me, and have not seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory to the Gentiles:
20 And they shall bring all your brethren out of all nations for a gift to the Lord, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and in coaches, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as if the children of Israel should bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.
21 And I will take of them to be priests, and Levites, saith the Lord.

PSALM: Psalms 117: 1 - 2

1 O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.
2 For his mercy is confirmed upon us: and the truth of the Lord remaineth for ever.

SECOND READING: Hebrews 12: 5 - 7, 11 - 13

5 And you have forgotten the consolation, which speaketh to you, as unto children, saying: My son, neglect not the discipline of the Lord; neither be thou wearied whilst thou art rebuked by him.
6 For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth; and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 Persevere under discipline. God dealeth with you as with his sons; for what son is there, whom the father doth not correct?
11 Now all chastisement for the present indeed seemeth not to bring with it joy, but sorrow: but afterwards it will yield, to them that are exercised by it, the most peaceable fruit of justice.
12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,
13 And make straight steps with your feet: that no one, halting, may go out of the way; but rather be healed.

GOSPEL: Luke 13: 22 - 30

22 And he went through the cities and towns teaching, and making his journey to Jerusalem.
23 And a certain man said to him: Lord, are they few that are saved? But he said to them:
24 Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able.
25 But when the master of the house shall be gone in, and shall shut the door, you shall begin to stand without, and knock at the door, saying: Lord, open to us. And he answering, shall say to you: I know you not, whence you are.
26 Then you shall begin to say: We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
27 And he shall say to you: I know you not, whence you are: depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
29 And there shall come from the east and the west, and the north and the south; and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
30 And behold, they are last that shall be first; and they are first that shall be last.


Friday, August 23, 2013

Catholic Mass Readings For Saturday, August 24, 2013

"Saint Bartholomew" -- by James Tissot


FIRST READING: Revelation 21: 9 - 14

9 And there came one of the seven angels, who had the vials full of the seven last plagues, and spoke with me, saying: Come, and I will shew thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb.
10 And he took me up in spirit to a great and high mountain: and he shewed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God, and the light thereof was like to a precious stone, as to the jasper stone, even as crystal.
12 And it had a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and in the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
13 On the east, three gates: and on the north, three gates: and on the south, three gates: and on the west, three gates.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them, the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

PSALM: Psalms 145: 10 - 13, 17 - 18

10 Let all thy works, O lord, praise thee: and let thy saints bless thee.
11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom: and shall tell of thy power:
12 To make thy might known to the sons of men: and the glory of the magnificence of thy kingdom.
13 Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages: and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words: and holy in all his works.
17 The Lord is just in all his ways: and holy in all his works.
18 The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him: to all that call upon him in truth.

GOSPEL: John 1: 45 - 51

45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith to him: We have found him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus the son of Joseph of Nazareth.
46 And Nathanael said to him: Can any thing of good come from Nazareth? Philip saith to him: Come and see.
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him: and he saith of him: Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.
48 Nathanael saith to him: Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered, and said to him: Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
49 Nathanael answered him, and said: Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel.
50 Jesus answered, and said to him: Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, thou believest: greater things than these shalt thou see.
51 And he saith to him: Amen, amen I say to you, you shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.


Thursday, August 22, 2013

Catholic Mass Readings For Friday, August 23, 2013

"The Pharisees Question Jesus" -- by James Tissot


FIRST READING: Ruth 1: 1, 3 - 6, 14 - 16, 22

1 In the days of one of the judges, when the judges ruled, there came a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem Juda, went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.
3 And Elimelech the husband of Noemi died: and she remained with her sons.
4 And they took wives of the women of Moab, of which one was called Orpha, and the other Ruth. And they dwelt there ten years.
5 And they both died, to wit, Mahalon and Chelion: and the woman was left alone, having lost both her sons and her husband.
6 And she arose to go from the land of Moab to her own country with both her daughters in law: for she had heard that the Lord had looked upon his people, and had given them food.
14 And they lifted up their voice, and began to weep again: Orpha kissed her mother in law and returned: Ruth stuck close to her mother in law.
15 And Noemi said to her: Behold thy kinswoman is returned to her people, and to her gods, go thou with her.
16 She answered: Be not against me, to desire that I should leave thee and depart: for whithersoever thou shalt go, I will go: and where thou shalt dwell, I also will dwell. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.
22 So Noemi came with Ruth the Moabitess her daughter in law, from the land of her sojournment: and returned into Bethlehem, in the beginning of the barley harvest.

PSALM: Psalms 146: 5 - 10

5 Blessed is he who hath the God of Jacob for his helper, whose hope is in the Lord his God:
6 Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them.
7 Who keepeth truth for ever: who executeth judgment for them that suffer wrong: who giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth them that are fettered:
8 The Lord enlighteneth the blind. The Lord lifteth up them that are cast down: the Lord loveth the just.
9 The Lord keepeth the strangers, he will support the fatherless and the widow: and the ways of sinners he will destroy.
10 The Lord shall reign for ever: thy God, O Sion, unto generation and generation.

GOSPEL: Matthew 22: 34 - 40

34 But the Pharisees hearing that he had silenced the Sadducees, came together:
35 And one of them, a doctor of the law, asking him, tempting him:
36 Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said to him: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind.
38 This is the greatest and the first commandment.
39 And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets.


Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Catholic Mass Readings For Thursday, August 22, 2013



FIRST READING: Judges 11: 29 - 39

29 Therefore the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephte, and going round Galaad, and Manasses, and Maspha of Galaad, and passing over from thence to the children of Ammon,
30 He made a vow to the Lord, saying: If thou wilt deliver the children of Ammon into my hands,
31 Whosoever shall first come forth out of the doors of my house, and shall meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, the same will I offer a holocaust to the Lord.
32 And Jephte passed over to the children of Ammon, to fight against them: and the Lord delivered them into his hands.
33 And he smote them from Aroer till you come to Mennith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel, which is set with vineyards, with a very great slaughter: and the children of Ammon were humbled by the children of Israel.
34 And when Jephte returned into Maspha to his house, his only daughter met him with timbrels and with dances: for he had no other children.
35 And when he saw her, he rent his garments, and said: Alas! my daughter, thou hast deceived me, and thou thyself art deceived: for I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I can do no other thing.
36 And she answered him: My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to the Lord, do unto me whatsoever thou hast promised, since the victory hath been granted to thee, and revenge of thy enemies.
37 And she said to her father: Grant me only this which I desire: Let me go, that I may go about the mountains for two months, and may bewail my virginity with my companions.
38 And he answered her: Go. And he sent her away for two months. And when she was gone with her comrades and companions, she mourned her virginity in the mountains.
39 And the two months being expired, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed.

PSALM: Psalms 40: 5, 7 - 10

5 Blessed is the man whose trust is in the name of the Lord; and who hath not had regard to vanities, and lying follies.
7 Sacrifice and oblation thou didst not desire; but thou hast pierced ears for me. Burnt offering and sin offering thou didst not require:
8 Then said I, Behold I come. In the head of the book it is written of me
9 That I should do thy will: O my God, I have desired it, and thy law in the midst of my heart.
10 I have declared thy justice in a great church, lo, I will not restrain my lips: O Lord, thou knowest it.

GOSPEL: Matthew 22: 1 - 14

1 And Jesus answering, spoke again in parables to them, saying:
2 The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king, who made a marriage for his son.
3 And he sent his servants, to call them that were invited to the marriage; and they would not come.
4 Again he sent other servants, saying: Tell them that were invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my calves and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come ye to the marriage.
5 But they neglected, and went their own ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise.
6 And the rest laid hands on his servants, and having treated them contumeliously, put them to death.
7 But when the king had heard of it, he was angry, and sending his armies, he destroyed those murderers, and burnt their city.
8 Then he saith to his servants: The marriage indeed is ready; but they that were invited were not worthy.
9 Go ye therefore into the highways; and as many as you shall find, call to the marriage.
10 And his servants going forth into the ways, gathered together all that they found, both bad and good: and the marriage was filled with guests.
11 And the king went in to see the guests: and he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment.
12 And he saith to him: Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? But he was silent.
13 Then the king said to the waiters: Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
14 For many are called, but few are chosen.