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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Mass Readings For Thursday 06/25/2009


FIRST READING: Genesis 16: 1 - 12, 15 - 16 or 16: 6 -12, 15 - 16


1 Now Sar'ai, Abram's wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar;

2 and Sar'ai said to Abram, "Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my maid; it may be that I shall obtain children by her." And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sar'ai.

3 So, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, Sar'ai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.

4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

5 And Sar'ai said to Abram, "May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my maid to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!"

6 But Abram said to Sar'ai, "Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her as you please." Then Sar'ai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

7 The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.

8 And he said, "Hagar, maid of Sar'ai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sar'ai."

9 The angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit to her."

10 The angel of the LORD also said to her, "I will so greatly multiply your descendants that they cannot be numbered for multitude."

11 And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are with child, and shall bear a son; you shall call his name Ish'mael; because the LORD has given heed to your affliction.

12 He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against every man and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen."

15 And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ish'mael.

16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ish'mael to Abram.


OR


6 But Abram said to Sar'ai, "Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her as you please." Then Sar'ai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

7 The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.

8 And he said, "Hagar, maid of Sar'ai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sar'ai."

9 The angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit to her."

10 The angel of the LORD also said to her, "I will so greatly multiply your descendants that they cannot be numbered for multitude."

11 And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are with child, and shall bear a son; you shall call his name Ish'mael; because the LORD has given heed to your affliction.

12 He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against every man and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen."

15 And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ish'mael.

16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ish'mael to Abram.


PSALM: Psalms 106: 1 - 5


1 Praise the LORD! O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever!

2 Who can utter the mighty doings of the LORD, or show forth all his praise?

3 Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!

4 Remember me, O LORD, when thou showest favor to thy people; help me when thou deliverest them;

5 that I may see the prosperity of thy chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thy heritage.


GOSPEL: Matthew 7: 21 - 29


21 "Not every one who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

22 On that day many will say to me, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'

23 And then will I declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.'

24 "Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock;

25 and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

26 And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand;

27 and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it."

28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,

29 for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.














Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Mass Readings For Wednesday 06/24/2009


The Birth of St. John the Baptist (Solemnity)



FIRST READING: Isaiah 49: 1 - 6


1 Listen to me, O coastlands, and hearken, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.

2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away.

3 And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified."

4 But I said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God."

5 And now the LORD says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength --

6 he says: "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."



PSALM: Psalms 139: 1 - 3, 13 - 15


1 O LORD, thou hast searched me and known me!

2 Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar.

3 Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

13 For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well;

15 my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.



SECOND READING: Acts 13: 22 - 26


22 And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king; of whom he testified and said, `I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.'

23 Of this man's posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.

24 Before his coming John had preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

25 And as John was finishing his course, he said, `What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.'

26 "Brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you that fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation.



GOSPEL: Luke 1: 57 - 66, 80


57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son.

58 And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechari'ah after his father,

60 but his mother said, "Not so; he shall be called John."

61 And they said to her, "None of your kindred is called by this name."

62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called.

63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." And they all marveled.

64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.

65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea;

66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him.

80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.















Monday, June 22, 2009

Mass Readings For Tuesday 06/23/2009


FIRST READING: Genesis 13: 2, 5 - 18


2 Now Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents,

6 so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together,

7 and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. At that time the Canaanites and the Per'izzites dwelt in the land.

8 Then Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; for we are kinsmen.

9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left."

10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw that the Jordan valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zo'ar; this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomor'rah.

11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan valley, and Lot journeyed east; thus they separated from each other.

12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, while Lot dwelt among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.

13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.

14 The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward;

15 for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants for ever.

16 I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted.

17 Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you."

18 So Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron; and there he built an altar to the LORD.

PSALM: Psalms 15: 2 - 5


2 He who walks blamelessly, and does what is right, and speaks truth from his heart;

3 who does not slander with his tongue, and does no evil to his friend, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;

4 in whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

5 who does not put out his money at interest, and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

GOSPEL: Matthew 7: 6, 12 - 14


6 "Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you.

12 So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.













Mass Readings For Monday 06/22/2009


Saints John Fisher, Bishop, Martyr and Thomas More, Martyr
(Optional Memorial)

FIRST READING: Genesis 12: 1 - 9


1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.

2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves."

4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

5 And Abram took Sar'ai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions which they had gathered, and the persons that they had gotten in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan,

6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

8 Thence he removed to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.


PSALM: Psalms 33: 12 - 13, 18 - 20, 22


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

13 The LORD looks down from heaven, he sees all the sons of men;

18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,

19 that he may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine.

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

22 Let thy steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in thee.


GOSPEL: Matthew 7: 1 - 5


1 "Judge not, that you be not judged.

2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.

3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

4 Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?

5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.