Daily Mass Readings for Saturday, December 10, 2011

FIRST READING: Sirach 48: 1 - 4, 9 - 11

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1 Then the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, and his word burned like a torch.

2 He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal he made them few in number.

3 By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, and also three times brought down fire.

4 How glorious you were, O Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! And who has the right to boast which you have?

9 You who were taken up by a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with horses of fire;

10 you who are ready at the appointed time, it is written, to calm the wrath of God before it breaks out in fury, to turn the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.

11 Blessed are those who saw you, and those who have been adorned in love; for we also shall surely live.

PSALM: Psalms 80: 2 - 3, 15 - 16, 18 - 19

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2 before E'phraim and Benjamin and Manas'seh! Stir up thy might, and come to save us!

3 Restore us, O God; let thy face shine, that we may be saved!

15 the stock which thy right hand planted.

16 They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance!

18 Then we will never turn back from thee; give us life, and we will call on thy name!

19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! let thy face shine, that we may be saved!

GOSPEL: Matthew 17: 10 - 13

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10 And the disciples asked him, "Then why do the scribes say that first Eli'jah must come?"

11 He replied, "Eli'jah does come, and he is to restore all things;

12 but I tell you that Eli'jah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of man will suffer at their hands."

13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Daily Mass Readings for Friday, December 9, 2011

FIRST READING: Isaiah 48: 17 - 19

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17 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.

18 O that you had hearkened to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;

19 your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me."

PSALM: Psalms 1: 1 - 4, 6

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1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away.

6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

GOSPEL: Matthew 11: 16 - 19

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16 "But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates,

17 `We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.'

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, `He has a demon';

19 the Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds."

Daily Mass Readings for Thursday, December 8, 2011

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

FIRST READING: Genesis 3: 9 - 15, 20

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9 But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"

10 And he said, "I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."

11 He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"

12 The man said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate."

13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I ate."

14 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

20 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

PSALM: Psalms 98: 1 - 4

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1 O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.

2 The LORD has made known his victory, he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.

3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

SECOND READING: Ephesians 1: 3 - 6, 11 - 12

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3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

5 He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

6 to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

11 In him, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will,

12 we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory.

GOSPEL: Luke 1: 26 - 38

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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.