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Friday, August 11, 2006

Mass Readings For Saturday, August 12, 2006

Saturday Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary


FIRST READING: Habakkuk 1: 12 - 17 -- 2:4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12 Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them as a judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast established them for chastisement.
13 Thou who art of purer eyes than to behold evil and canst not look on wrong, why dost thou look on faithless men, and art silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?
14 For thou makest men like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler.
15 He brings all of them up with a hook, he drags them out with his net, he gathers them in his seine; so he rejoices and exults.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his seine; for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich.
17 Is he then to keep on emptying his net, and mercilessly slaying nations for ever?
4 Behold, he whose soul is not upright in him shall fail, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

PSALM: Psalms 9: 8 - 13 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8 and he judges the world with righteousness, he judges the peoples with equity.
9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know thy name put their trust in thee, for thou, O LORD, hast not forsaken those who seek thee.
11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, O LORD! Behold what I suffer from those who hate me, O thou who liftest me up from the gates of death,

GOSPEL: Matthew 17: 14 - 20 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and kneeling before him said,
15 "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.
16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him."
17 And Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me."
18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"
20 He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you."












Thursday, August 10, 2006

Mass Readings For Friday, August 11, 2006

St. Clare of Assisi, Virgin, Foundress of II Order (Feast)


FIRST READING: Hosea 2: 16, 17, 21-22 or 2 Corinthians 4:6-10, 16-18 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

16 "And in that day, says the LORD, you will call me, `My husband,' and no longer will you call me, `My Ba'al.'
17 For I will remove the names of the Ba'als from her mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no more.
21 "And in that day, says the LORD, I will answer the heavens and they shall answer the earth;
22 and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel;

--OR--

6 For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.
8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day.
17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
18 because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

PSALM: Psalms 45: 11-12, 14-16 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11 and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him;
12 the people of Tyre will sue your favor with gifts, the richest of the people
14 in many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions, her escort, in her train.
15 With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.
16 Instead of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.

GOSPEL: John 15: 4 - 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.












Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Mass Readings For Thursday, August 10, 2006

St. Lawrence, Deacon, Martyr (Feast)


FIRST READING: 2 Corinthians 9: 6 - 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6 The point is this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
7 Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work.
9 As it is written, "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever."
10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your resources and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

PSALM: Psalms 112: 1 - 2, 5 - 9 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends, who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered for ever.
7 He is not afraid of evil tidings; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is steady, he will not be afraid, until he sees his desire on his adversaries.
9 He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever; his horn is exalted in honor.

GOSPEL: John 12: 24 - 26 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25 He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26 If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him.












Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Mass Readings For Wednesday, August 9, 2006



St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Virgin and Martyr (Optional Memorial)

FIRST READING: Jeremiah 31: 1 - 7
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1 "At that time, says the LORD, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people."
2 Thus says the LORD: "The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest,
3 the LORD appeared to him from afar. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
4 Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel! Again you shall adorn yourself with timbrels, and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.
5 Again you shall plant vineyards upon the mountains of Sama'ria; the planters shall plant, and shall enjoy the fruit.
6 For there shall be a day when watchmen will call in the hill country of E'phraim: `Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.'"
7 For thus says the LORD: "Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, `The LORD has saved his people, the remnant of Israel.'

PSALM: Jeremiah 31: 10 - 13
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10 "Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands afar off; say, `He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.'
11 For the LORD has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more.
13 Then shall the maidens rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

GOSPEL: Matthew 15: 21 - 28
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21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon."
23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying after us."
24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."
26 And he answered, "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
27 She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
28 Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.