Daily Mass Readings for Friday, April 27, 2012

FIRST READING: Acts 9: 1 - 20

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1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

3 Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him.

4 And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

5 And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting;

6 but rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."

7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

8 Saul arose from the ground; and when his eyes were opened, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Anani'as. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Anani'as." And he said, "Here I am, Lord."

11 And the Lord said to him, "Rise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul; for behold, he is praying,

12 and he has seen a man named Anani'as come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight."

13 But Anani'as answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to thy saints at Jerusalem;

14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon thy name."

15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;

16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."

17 So Anani'as departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized,

19 and took food and was strengthened. For several days he was with the disciples at Damascus.

20 And in the synagogues immediately he proclaimed Jesus, saying, "He is the Son of God."

PSALM: Psalms 117: 1 - 2

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1 Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!

2 For great is his steadfast love toward us; and the faithfulness of the LORD endures for ever. Praise the LORD!

GOSPEL: John 6: 52 - 59

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52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you;

54 he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.

58 This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever."

59 This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caper'na-um.

Daily Mass Readings for Thursday, April 26, 2012

FIRST READING: Acts 8: 26 - 40

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26 But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert road.

27 And he rose and went. And behold, an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a minister of the Can'dace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of all her treasure, had come to Jerusalem to worship

28 and was returning; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

29 And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot."

30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?"

31 And he said, "How can I, unless some one guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

32 Now the passage of the scripture which he was reading was this: "As a sheep led to the slaughter or a lamb before its shearer is dumb, so he opens not his mouth.

33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken up from the earth."

34 And the eunuch said to Philip, "About whom, pray, does the prophet say this, about himself or about some one else?"

35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture he told him the good news of Jesus.

36 And as they went along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is water! What is to prevent my being baptized?"

38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught up Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.

40 But Philip was found at Azo'tus, and passing on he preached the gospel to all the towns till he came to Caesare'a.

PSALM: Psalms 66: 8 - 9, 16 - 17, 20

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8 Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard,

9 who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.

17 I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue.

20 Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!

GOSPEL: John 6: 44 - 51

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44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

45 It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.' Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.

46 Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father.

47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.

48 I am the bread of life.

49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die.

51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh."

Daily Mass Readings For Wednesday, April 25, 2012

"Saint Mark" - by James Tissot

Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist

FIRST READING: 1 Peter 5: 5 - 14

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5 Likewise you that are younger be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you.

7 Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you.

8 Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour.

9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world.

10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you.

11 To him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

12 By Silva'nus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God; stand fast in it.

13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark.

14 Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you that are in Christ.

PSALM: Psalms 89: 2 - 3, 6 - 7, 16 - 17

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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:

6 For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,

7 a God feared in the council of the holy ones, great and terrible above all that are round about him?

16 who exult in thy name all the day, and extol thy righteousness.

17 For thou art the glory of their strength; by thy favor our horn is exalted.

GOSPEL: Mark 16: 15 - 20

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15 And he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.

16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."

19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

20 And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen.

Daily Mass Readings for Tuesday, April 24, 2012

FIRST READING: Acts 7: 51; 8: 1

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51 "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

52 Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered,

53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it."

54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth against him.

55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;

56 and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God."

57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together upon him.

58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

60 And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

1 And Saul was consenting to his death.

PSALM: Psalms 31: 3 - 4, 6 - 8, 17, 21

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3 Yea, thou art my rock and my fortress; for thy name's sake lead me and guide me,

4 take me out of the net which is hidden for me, for thou art my refuge.

6 Thou hatest those who pay regard to vain idols; but I trust in the LORD.

7 I will rejoice and be glad for thy steadfast love, because thou hast seen my affliction, thou hast taken heed of my adversities,

8 and hast not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; thou hast set my feet in a broad place.

17 Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I call on thee; let the wicked be put to shame, let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.

21 Blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was beset as in a besieged city.

GOSPEL: John 6: 30 - 35

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30 So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform?

31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

32 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world."

34 They said to him, "Lord, give us this bread always."

35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.