Catholic Mass Readings For Thursday, August 14, 2014

Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 12: 1 - 12

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1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a provoking house: who have eyes to see, and see not: and ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a provoking house.

3 Thou, therefore, O son of man, prepare thee all necessaries for removing, and remove by day in their sight: and thou shalt remove out of thy place to another place in their sight, if so be they will regard it: for they are a provoking house.

4 And thou shalt bring forth thy furniture as the furniture of one that is removing by day in their sight: and thou shalt go forth in the evening in their presence, as one goeth forth that removeth his dwelling.

5 Dig thee a way through the wall before their eyes: and thou shalt go forth through it.

6 In their sight thou shalt be carried out upon men's shoulders, thou shalt be carried out in the dark: thou shalt cover thy face, and shalt not see the ground: for I have set thee for a sign of things to come to the house of Israel.

7 I did therefore as he had commanded me: I brought forth my goods by day, as the goods of one that removeth: and in the evening I digged through the wall with my hand: and I went forth in the dark, and was carried on men's shoulders in their sight.

8 And the word of the Lord came to me in the morning, saying:

9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the provoking house, said to thee: What art thou doing?

10 Say to them: Thus saith the Lord God: This burden concerneth my prince that is in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel, that are among them.

11 Say: I am a sign of things to come to you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them: they shall be removed from their dwellings, and go into captivity.

12 And the prince that is in the midst of them, shall be carried on shoulders, he shall go forth in the dark: they shall dig through the wall to bring him out: his face shall be covered, that he may not see the ground with his eyes.

PSALM: Psalms 78: 56 - 59, 61 - 62

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56 Yet they tempted, and provoked the most high God: and they kept not his testimonies.

57 And they turned away, and kept not the covenant: even like their fathers they were turned aside as a crooked bow.

58 They provoked him to anger on their hills: and moved him to jealousy with their graven things.

59 God heard, and despised them, and he reduced Israel exceedingly as it were to nothing.

61 And he delivered their strength into captivity: and their beauty into the hands of the enemy.

62 And he shut up his people under the sword: and he despised his inheritance.

GOSPEL: Matthew 18: 21 -- 19: 1

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21 Then came Peter unto him and said: Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

22 Jesus saith to him: I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times.

23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants.

24 And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents.

25 And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26 But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

27 And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.

28 But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest.

29 And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.

31 Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done.

32 Then his lord called him; and said to him: Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me:

33 Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee?

34 And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt.

35 So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.

1 And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these words, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judea, beyond Jordan.

Catholic Mass Readings For Wednesday, August 13, 2014

"Two or Three Gathered in my Name" -- by James Tissot

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 9: 1 - 7; 10: 18 - 22

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1 And he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying: The visitations of the city are at hand, and every one hath a destroying weapon in his hand.

2 And behold six men came from the way of the upper gate, which looketh to the north: and each one had his weapon of destruction in his hand: and there was one man in the midst of them clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn at his reins: and they went in, and stood by the brazen altar.

3 And the glory of the Lord of Israel went up from the cherub, upon which he was, to the threshold of the house: and he called to the man that was clothed with linen, and had a writer's inkhorn at his loins.

4 And the Lord said to him: Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem: and mark Thau upon the foreheads of the men that sigh, and mourn for all the abominations that are committed in the midst thereof.

5 And to the others he said in my hearing: Go ye after him through the city, and strike: let not your eyes spare, nor be ye moved with pity.

6 Utterly destroy old and young, maidens, children and women: but upon whomsoever you shall see Thau, kill him not, and begin ye at my sanctuary. So they began at the ancient men who were before the house.

7 And he said to them: Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew them that were in the city.

18 And the glory of the Lord went forth from the threshold of the temple: and stood over the cherubims.

19 And the cherubims lifting up their wings, were raised from the earth before me: and as they went out, the wheels also followed: and it stood in the entry of the east gate of the house of the Lord: and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

20 This is the living creature, which I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chobar: and I understood that they were cherubims.

21 Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings: and the likeness of a man's hand was under their wings.

22 And as to the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces which I had seen by the river Chobar, and their looks, and the impulse of every one to go straight forward.

PSALM: Psalms 113: 1 - 6

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1 Praise the Lord, ye children: praise ye the name of the Lord.

2 Blessed be the name of the Lord, from henceforth now and for ever.

3 From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the name of the Lord is worthy of praise.

4 The Lord is high above all nations; and his glory above the heavens.

5 Who is as the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high:

6 And looketh down on the low things in heaven and in earth?

GOSPEL: Matthew 18: 15 - 20

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15 But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother.

16 And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand.

17 And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican.

18 Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven.

19 Again I say to you, that if two of you shall consent upon earth, concerning any thing whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by my Father who is in heaven.

20 For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Catholic Mass Readings For Tuesday, August 12, 2014

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 2: 8 -- 3: 4

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8 But thou, O son of man, hear all that I say to thee: and do not thou provoke me, as that house provoketh me: open thy mouth, and eat what I give thee.

9 And I looked, and behold, a hand was sent to me, wherein was a book rolled up:

10 and he spread it before me, and it was written within and without: and there were written in it lamentations, and canticles, and woe.

1 And he said to me: Son of man, eat all that thou shalt find: eat this book, and go speak to the children of Israel.

2 And I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that book:

3 And he said to me: Son of man, thy belly shall eat, and thy bowels shall be filled with this book, which I give thee. And I did eat it: and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.

4 And he said to me: Son of man, go to the house of Israel, and thou shalt speak my words to them.

PSALM: Psalms 119: 14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

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14 I have been delighted in the way of thy testimonies, as in all riches.

24 For thy testimonies are my meditation: and thy justifications my counsel.

72 The law of thy mouth is good to me, above thousands of gold and silver.

103 How sweet are thy words to my palate! more than honey to my mouth.

111 I have purchased thy testimonies for an inheritance for ever: because they are a joy to my heart.

131 I opened my mouth and panted: because I longed for thy commandments.

GOSPEL: Matthew 18: 1 - 5, 10, 12 - 14

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1 At that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who thinkest thou is the greater in the kingdom of heaven?

2 And Jesus calling unto him a little child, set him in the midst of them,

3 And said: Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven.

5 And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.

10 See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

12 What think you? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray: doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go to seek that which is gone astray?

13 And if it so be that he find it: Amen I say to you, he rejoiceth more for that, than for the ninety-nine that went not astray.

14 Even so it is not the will of your Father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Catholic Mass Readings For Monday, August 11, 2014

Memorial of Saint Clare of Assisi, Virgin

FIRST READING: Ezekiel 1: 2 - 5, 24 - 28

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2 On the fifth day of the month, the same was the fifth year of the captivity of king Joachin,

3 The word of the Lord came to Ezechiel the priest the son of Buzi in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chobar: and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.

4 And I saw, and behold a whirlwind came out of the north: and a great cloud, and a fire infolding it, and brightness was about it: and out of the midst thereof, that is, out of the midst of the fire, as it were the resemblance of amber:

5 And in the midst thereof the likeness of four living creatures: and this was their appearance: there was the likeness of a man in them.

24 And I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, as it were the voice of the most high God: when they walked, it was like the voice of a multitude, like the noise of an army, and when they stood, their wings were let down.

25 For when a voice came from above the firmament, that was over their heads, they stood, and let down their wings.

26 And above the firmament that was over their heads, was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of the sapphire stone, and upon the likeness of the throne, was a likeness as of the appearance of a man above upon it.

27 And I saw as it were the resemblance of amber as the appearance of fire within it round about: from his loins and upward, and from his loins downward, I saw as it were the resemblance of fire shining round about.

28 As the appearance of the rainbow when it is in a cloud on a rainy day: this was the appearance of the brightness round about.

PSALM: Psalms 148: 1 - 2, 11 - 14

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1 Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise ye him in the high places.

2 Praise ye him, all his angels, praise ye him, all his hosts.

11 Kings of the earth and all people: princes and all judges of the earth:

12 Young men and maidens: let the old with the younger, praise the name of the Lord:

13 For his name alone is exalted.

14 The praise of him is above heaven and earth: and he hath exalted the horn of his people. A hymn to all his saints to the children of Israel, a people approaching to him. Alleluia.

GOSPEL: Matthew 17: 22 - 26

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22 And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall rise again. And they were troubled exceedingly.

23 And when they were come to Capharnaum, they that received the didrachmas, came to Peter and said to him: Doth not your master pay the didrachmas?

24 He said: Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying: What is thy opinion, Simon? The kings of the earth, of whom do they receive tribute or custom? of their own children, or of strangers?

25 And he said: Of strangers. Jesus said to him: Then the children are free.

26 But that we may not scandalize them, go to the sea, and cast in a hook: and that fish which shall first come up, take: and when thou hast opened its mouth, thou shalt find a stater: take that, and give it to them for me and thee.