Daily Mass Readings

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Daily Mass Readings for Wednesday, December 21, 2011

FIRST READING: Song of Solomon 2: 8 - 14 or Zephaniah 3: 14 - 18

8 The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.

9 My beloved is like a gazelle, or a young stag. Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice.

10 My beloved speaks and says to me: "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;

11 for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.

12 The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

13 The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

14 O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is comely.

14 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!

15 The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has cast out your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear evil no more.

16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: "Do not fear, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.

17 The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing

18 as on a day of festival. "I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it.

PSALM: Psalms 33: 2 - 3, 11 - 12, 20 - 21

2 Praise the LORD with the lyre, make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!

3 Sing to him a new song, play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

11 The counsel of the LORD stands for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

20 Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and shield.

21 Yea, our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.

GOSPEL: Luke 1: 39 - 45

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,

40 and she entered the house of Zechari'ah and greeted Elizabeth.

41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit

42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.

45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

Steve Smith

I am a 68 year old single man from the mountains of Western North Carolina.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Daily Mass Readings for Tuesday, December 20, 2011

FIRST READING: Isaiah 7: 10 - 14

10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz,

11 "Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven."

12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test."

13 And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanu-el.

PSALM: Psalms 24: 1 - 6

1 The earth is the LORD's and the fulness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein;

2 for he has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers.

3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?

4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false, and does not swear deceitfully.

5 He will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of his salvation.

6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

GOSPEL: Luke 1: 26 - 38

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

28 And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!"

29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.

30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end."

34 And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?"

35 And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born * will be called holy, the Son of God.

36 And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

37 For with God nothing will be impossible."

38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Steve Smith

I am a 68 year old single man from the mountains of Western North Carolina.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Daily Mass Readings for Monday, December 19, 2011

FIRST READING: Judges 13: 2 - 7, 24 - 25

2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Mano'ah; and his wife was barren and had no children.

3 And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold, you are barren and have no children; but you shall conceive and bear a son.

4 Therefore beware, and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean,

5 for lo, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from birth; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines."

6 Then the woman came and told her husband, "A man of God came to me, and his countenance was like the countenance of the angel of God, very terrible; I did not ask him whence he was, and he did not tell me his name;

7 but he said to me, `Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son; so then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.'"

24 And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson; and the boy grew, and the LORD blessed him.

25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Ma'haneh-dan, between Zorah and Esh'ta-ol.

PSALM: Psalms 71: 3 - 6, 16 - 17

3 Be thou to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for thou art my rock and my fortress.

4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.

5 For thou, O Lord, art my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.

6 Upon thee I have leaned from my birth; thou art he who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of thee.

16 With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come, I will praise thy righteousness, thine alone.

17 O God, from my youth thou hast taught me, and I still proclaim thy wondrous deeds.

GOSPEL: Luke 1: 5 - 25

5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechari'ah, of the division of Abi'jah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,

9 according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

12 And Zechari'ah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechari'ah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth;

15 for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God,

17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Eli'jah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."

18 And Zechari'ah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."

19 And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news.

20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time."

21 And the people were waiting for Zechari'ah, and they wondered at his delay in the temple.

22 And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them and remained dumb.

23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid herself, saying,

25 "Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men."

Steve Smith

I am a 68 year old single man from the mountains of Western North Carolina.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Daily Mass Readings for Sunday, December 18, 2011

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

FIRST READING: 2 Samuel 7: 1 - 5, 8 - 12, 14, 16

1 Now when the king dwelt in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies round about,

2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent."

3 And Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart; for the LORD is with you."

4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan,

5 "Go and tell my servant David, `Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in?

8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David, `Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel;

9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.

10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly,

11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house.

12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men;

16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.'"

PSALM: Psalms 89: 2 - 5, 27, 29

2 For thy steadfast love was established for ever, thy faithfulness is firm as the heavens.

3 Thou hast said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant:

4 `I will establish your descendants for ever, and build your throne for all generations.'" [Selah]

5 Let the heavens praise thy wonders, O LORD, thy faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!

27 And I will make him the first-born, the highest of the kings of the earth.

29 I will establish his line for ever and his throne as the days of the heavens.

SECOND READING: Romans 16: 25 - 27

25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages

26 but is now disclosed and through the prophetic writings is made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith --

27 to the only wise God be glory for evermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.