Catholic Mass Readings For Wednesday, December 18, 2013

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

FIRST READING: Jeremiah 23: 5 - 8

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5 Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will raise up to David a just branch: and a king shall reign, and shall be wise, and shall execute judgement and justice in the earth.

6 In those days shall Juda be saved, and Israel shall dwell confidently: and this is the name that they shall call him: the Lord our just one.

7 Therefore behold the days to come, saith the Lord, and they shall say no more: The Lord liveth, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt:

8 But the Lord liveth, who hath brought out, and brought hither the seed of the house of Israel from the land of the north, and out of all the lands, to which I had cast them forth: and they shall dwell in their own land.

PSALM: Psalms 72: 1 - 2, 12 - 13, 18 - 19

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1 Give to the king thy judgment, O God: and to the king's son thy justice:

2 To judge thy people with justice, and thy poor with judgment.

12 For he shall deliver the poor from the mighty: and the needy that had no helper.

13 He shall spare the poor and needy: and he shall save the souls of the poor.

18 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone doth wonderful things.

19 And blessed be the name of his majesty for ever: and the whole earth shall be filled with his majesty. So be it. So be it.

GOSPEL: Matthew 1: 18 - 25

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18 Now the generation of Christ was in this wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, of the Holy Ghost.

19 Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately.

20 But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost.

21 And she shall bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins.

22 Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying:

23 Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

24 And Joseph rising up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took unto him his wife.

25 And he knew her not till she brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.

Catholic Mass Readings For Tuesday, December 17, 2013

FIRST READING: Genesis 49: 2, 8 - 10

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2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, O ye sons of Jacob, hearken to Israel your father:

8 Juda, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hands shall be on the necks of thy enemies: the sons of thy father shall bow down to thee.

9 Juda is a lion's whelp: to the prey, my son, thou art gone up: resting thou hast couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him?

10 The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations.

PSALM: Psalms 72: 1 - 4, 7 - 8, 17

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1 Give to the king thy judgment, O God: and to the king's son thy justice: To judge thy people with justice, and thy poor with judgment.

2 Let the mountains receive peace for the people: and the hills justice.

3 He shall judge the poor of the people, and he shall save the children of the poor: and he shall humble the oppressor.

4 And he shall continue with the sun, and before the moon, throughout all generations.

7 In his days shall justice spring up, and abundance of peace, till the moon be taken sway.

8 And he shall rule from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

17 Let his name be blessed for evermore: his name continueth before the sun. And in him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed: all nations shall magnify him.

GOSPEL: Matthew 1: 1 - 17

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1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Judah and his brethren.

3 And Judah begot Phares and Zara of Thamar. And Phares begot Esron. And Esron begot Aram.

4 And Aram begot Aminadab. And Aminadab begot Naasson. And Naasson begot Salmon.

5 And Salmon begot Booz of Rahab. And Booz begot Obed of Ruth. And Obed begot Jesse.

6 And Jesse begot David the king. And David the king begot Solomon, of her that had been the wife of Urias.

7 And Solomon begot Roboam. And Roboam begot Abia. And Abia begot Asa.

8 And Asa begot Josaphat. And Josaphat begot Joram. And Joram begot Ozias.

9 And Ozias begot Joatham. And Joatham begot Achaz. And Achaz begot Ezechias.

10 And Ezechias begot Manasses. And Manasses begot Amon. And Amon begot Josias.

11 And Josias begot Jechonias and his brethren in the transmigration of Babylon.

12 And after the transmigration of Babylon, Jechonias begot Salathiel. And Salathiel begot Zorobabel.

13 And Zorobabel begot Abiud. And Abiud begot Eliacim. And Eliacim begot Azor.

14 And Azor begot Sadoc. And Sadoc begot Achim. And Achim begot Eliud.

15 And Eliud begot Eleazar. And Eleazar begot Mathan. And Mathan begot Jacob.

16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

17 So all the generations, from Abraham to David, are fourteen generations. And from David to the transmigration of Babylon, are fourteen generations: and from the transmigration of Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.

Catholic Mass Readings For Monday, December 16, 2013

"The Chief Priests Ask Jesus by What Right Does He Act in This Way" -- by James Tissot

FIRST READING: Numbers 24: 2 - 7, 15 - 17

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2 And lifting up his eyes, he saw Israel abiding in their tents by their tribes: and the spirit of God rushing upon him,

3 He took up his parable and said: Balaam the son of Beor hath said: The man hath said, whose eye ire stopped up:

4 The hearer of the words of God hath said, he that hath beheld the vision of the Almighty, he that falleth, and so his eyes are opened:

5 How beautiful are thy tabernacles, O Jacob, and thy tents, O Israel!

6 As woody valleys, as watered gardens near the rivers, as tabernacles which the Lord hath pitched, as cedars by the waterside.

7 Water shall flow out of his bucket, and his seed shall be in many waters. For Agag his king shall be removed, and his kingdom shall be taken awry.

15 Therefore taking up his parable, again he said: Balaam the son of Beor hath said: The man whose eye is stopped up, hath said:

16 The hearer of the words of God hath said, who knoweth the doctrine of the Highest, and seeth the visions of the Almighty, who falling hath his eyes opened:

17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not near. A STAR SHALL RISE out of Jacob and a sceptre shall spring up from Israel: and shall strike the chiefs of Moab, and shall waste all the children of Seth.

PSALM: Psalms 25: 4 - 9

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4 Shew, O Lord, thy ways to me, and teach me thy paths.

5 Direct me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art God my Saviour; and on thee have I waited all the day long.

6 Remember, O Lord, thy bowels of compassion; and thy mercies that are from the beginning of the world.

7 The sins of my youth and my ignorances do not remember. According to thy mercy remember thou me: for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.

8 The Lord is sweet and righteous: therefore he will give a law to sinners in the way.

9 He will guide the mild in judgment: he will teach the meek his ways.

GOSPEL: Matthew 21: 23 - 27

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23 And when he was come into the temple, there came to him, as he was teaching, the chief priests and ancients of the people, saying: By what authority dost thou these things? and who hath given thee this authority?

24 Jesus answering, said to them: I also will ask you one word, which if you shall tell me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.

25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven or from men? But they thought within themselves, saying:

26 If we shall say, from heaven, he will say to us: Why then did you not believe him? But if we shall say, from men, we are afraid of the multitude: for all held John as a prophet.

27 And answering Jesus, they said: We know not. He also said to them: Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Sunday Catholic Mass Readings For December 15, 2013

"John sends disciples to Jesus" -- Franz Karl Eduard von Gebhardt

Third Sunday of Advent

FIRST READING: Isaiah 35: 1 - 6, 10

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1 The land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice, and shall flourish like the lily.

2 It shall bud forth and blossom, and shall rejoice with joy and praise: the glory of Libanus is given to it: the beauty of Carmel, and Saron, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the beauty of our God.

3 Strengthen ye the feeble hands, and confirm the weak knees.

4 Say to the fainthearted: Take courage, and fear not: behold your God will bring the revenge of recompense: God himself will come and will save you.

5 Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

6 Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall be free: for waters are broken out in the desert, and streams in the wilderness.

10 And the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and shall come into Sion with praise, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

PSALM: Psalms 146: 6 - 10

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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.

SECOND READING: James 5: 7 - 10

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7 Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth: patiently bearing till he receive the early and latter rain.

8 Be you therefore also patient, and strengthen your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

9 Grudge not, brethren, one against another, that you may not be judged. Behold the judge standeth before the door.

10 Take, my brethren, for an example of suffering evil, of labour and patience, the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord.

GOSPEL: Matthew 11: 2 - 11

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2 Now when John had heard in prison the works of Christ: sending two of his disciples he said to him:

3 Art thou he that art to come, or look we for another?

4 And Jesus making answer said to them: Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen.

5 The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the gospel preached to them.

6 And blessed is he that shall not be scandalized in me.

7 And when they went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: What went you out into the desert to see? a reed shaken with the wind?

8 But what went you out to see? a man clothed in soft garments? Behold they that are clothed in soft garments, are in the houses of kings.

9 But what went you out to see? a prophet? yea I tell you, and more than a prophet.

10 For this is he of whom it is written: Behold I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.

11 Amen I say to you, there hath not risen among them that are born of women a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is the lesser in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.