Jul 20, 2024

27 July 2024 - Daily Mass Reading

Saturday of week 16 in Ordinary Time 
 or Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary 
Liturgical Colour: Green. Year: B(II)

Readings at Mass / General Calendar 

________

First reading
Jeremiah 7:1-11

Reform your behaviour and I will stay here with you, says the Lord

The word that was addressed to Jeremiah by the Lord:
    ‘Go and stand at the gate of the Temple of the Lord and there proclaim this message. Say, “Listen to the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who come in by these gates to worship the Lord. The Lord Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this: Amend your behaviour and your actions and I will stay with you here in this place. Put no trust in delusive words like these: This is the sanctuary of the Lord, the sanctuary of the Lord, the sanctuary of the Lord! But if you do amend your behaviour and your actions, if you treat each other fairly, if you do not exploit the stranger, the orphan and the widow (if you do not shed innocent blood in this place), and if you do not follow alien gods, to your own ruin, then here in this place I will stay with you, in the land that long ago I gave to your fathers for ever. Yet here you are, trusting in delusive words, to no purpose! Steal, would you, murder, commit adultery, perjure yourselves, burn incense to Baal, follow alien gods that you do not know? – and then come presenting yourselves in this Temple that bears my name, saying: Now we are safe – safe to go on committing all these abominations! Do you take this Temple that bears my name for a robbers’ den? I, at any rate, am not blind – it is the Lord who speaks.”’

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 83(84):3-6,8,11

How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

My soul is longing and yearning,
    is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
    to God, the living God.

How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

The sparrow herself finds a home
    and the swallow a nest for her brood;
she lays her young by your altars,
    Lord of hosts, my king and my God.

How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

They are happy, who dwell in your house,
    for ever singing your praise.
They walk with ever-growing strength,
    they will see the God of gods in Zion.

How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

One day within your courts
    is better than a thousand elsewhere.
The threshold of the house of God
    I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked.

How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.


________

Gospel Acclamation
Heb4:12

Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!


Or:
Jm1:21

Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept and submit to the word
which has been planted in you
and can save your souls.
Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Matthew 13:24-30

Let them both grow till the harvest

Jesus put another parable before the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well. The owner’s servants went to him and said, “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” “Some enemy has done this” he answered. And the servants said, “Do you want us to go and weed it out?” But he said, “No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.”’


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday 27 July 2024
Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary 
 or Saturday of week 16 in Ordinary Time 
Liturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II)

Readings at Mass / Readings for the memorial

________

EITHER: --------

First reading
Genesis 3:9-15,20

The mother of all those who live

After Adam had eaten of the tree the Lord God called to him. ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden;’ he replied ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked ‘Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It was the woman you put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’ Then the Lord God asked the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman replied, ‘The serpent tempted me and I ate.’
    Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,

‘Be accursed beyond all cattle,
all wild beasts.
You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust
every day of your life.
I will make you enemies of each other:
you and the woman,
your offspring and her offspring.
It will crush your head
and you will strike its heel.’

The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live.


OR: --------

First reading
Genesis 12:1-7

All the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you

The Lord said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name so famous that it will be used as a blessing.

‘I will bless those who bless you:
I will curse those who slight you.
All the tribes of the earth
shall bless themselves by you.’

So Abram went as the Lord told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had amassed and the people they had acquired in Haran. They set off for the land of Canaan, and arrived there.
    Abram passed through the land as far as Shechem’s holy place, the Oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘It is to your descendants that I will give this land.’ So Abram built there an altar for the Lord who had appeared to him.


OR: --------

First reading
2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-11,16

The Lord will make you great; the Lord will make you a House

Once David had settled into his house and the Lord had given him rest from all the enemies surrounding him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, ‘Look, I am living in a house of cedar while the ark of God dwells in a tent.’ Nathan said to the king, ‘Go and do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you.’
    But that very night the word of the Lord came to Nathan:
    ‘Go and tell my servant David, “Thus the Lord speaks: Are you the man to build me a house to dwell in? I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader of my people Israel; I have been with you on all your expeditions; I have cut off all your enemies before you. I will give you fame as great as the fame of the greatest on earth. I will provide a place for my people Israel; I will plant them there and they shall dwell in that place and never be disturbed again; nor shall the wicked continue to oppress them as they did, in the days when I appointed judges over my people Israel; I will give them rest from all their enemies. The Lord will make you great; the Lord will make you a House. Your House and your sovereignty will always stand secure before me and your throne be established for ever.”’


OR: --------

First reading
1 Chronicles 15:3-4,15-16,16:1-2

They brought in the ark of God and put it inside the tent that David had pitched for it

David gathered all Israel together to bring the ark of God up to the place he had prepared for it. David called together the sons of Aaron and the sons of Levi. And the Levites carried the ark of God with the shafts on their shoulders, as Moses had ordered in accordance with the word of the Lord.
    David then told the heads of the Levites to assign duties for their kinsmen as cantors, with their various instruments of music, harps and lyres and cymbals, to play joyful tunes. 
    They brought the ark of God in and put it inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and they offered holocausts before God, and communion sacrifices. And when David had finished offering holocausts and communion sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.


OR: --------

First reading
Proverbs 8:22-31

Before the earth came into being, Wisdom was born

The Wisdom of God cries aloud:

The Lord created me when his purpose first unfolded,
    before the oldest of his works.
From everlasting I was firmly set,
    from the beginning, before earth came into being.
The deep was not, when I was born,
    there were no springs to gush with water.
Before the mountains were settled,
    before the hills, I came to birth;
before he made the earth, the countryside,
    or the first grains of the world’s dust.
When he fixed the heavens firm, I was there,
    when he drew a ring on the surface of the deep,
when he thickened the clouds above,
    when he fixed fast the springs of the deep,
when he assigned the sea its boundaries
    – and the waters will not invade the shore –
    when he laid down the foundations of the earth,
I was by his side, a master craftsman,
    delighting him day after day,
    ever at play in his presence,
at play everywhere in his world,
    delighting to be with the sons of men.


OR: --------

First reading
Ecclesiasticus 24:1-4,8-12,18-21

From eternity, in the beginning, God created wisdom


Wisdom speaks her own praises,
    in the midst of her people she glories in herself.
She opens her mouth in the assembly of the Most High,
    she glories in herself in the presence of the Mighty One:
‘I came forth from the mouth of the Most High,
    and I covered the earth like a mist.
I had my tent in the heights,
    and my throne in a pillar of cloud.
Then the creator of all things instructed me,
    and he who created me fixed a place for my tent.
He said, “Pitch your tent in Jacob,
    make Israel your inheritance.”
From eternity, in the beginning, he created me,
    and for eternity I shall remain.
I ministered before him in the holy tabernacle,
    and thus was I established on Zion.
In the beloved city he has given me rest,
    and in Jerusalem I wield my authority.
I have taken root in a privileged people,
    in the Lord’s property, in his inheritance.
Approach me, you who desire me,
    and take your fill of my fruits,
for memories of me are sweeter than honey,
    inheriting me is sweeter than the honeycomb.
They who eat me will hunger for more,
    they who drink me will thirst for more.
Whoever listens to me will never have to blush,
    whoever acts as I dictate will never sin.’


OR: --------

First reading
Isaiah 7:10-14,8:10

The maiden is with child

The Lord spoke to Ahaz and said, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign for yourself coming either from the depths of Sheol or from the heights above.’ ‘No,’ Ahaz answered ‘I will not put the Lord to the test.’
    Then Isaiah said:

‘Listen now, House of David:
are you not satisfied with trying the patience of men
without trying the patience of my God, too?
The Lord himself, therefore,
will give you a sign.
It is this: the maiden is with child
and will soon give birth to a son
whom she will call Immanuel,
a name which means “God-is-with-us.”’


OR: --------

First reading
Isaiah 9:1-6

A Son is given to us


The people that walked in darkness
has seen a great light;
on those who live in a land of deep shadow
a light has shone.
You have made their gladness greater,
you have made their joy increase;
they rejoice in your presence
as men rejoice at harvest time,
as men are happy when they are dividing the spoils.

For the yoke that was weighing on him,
the bar across his shoulders,
the rod of his oppressor,
these you break as on the day of Midian.

For all the footgear of battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
is burnt,
and consumed by fire.

For there is a child born for us,
a son given to us
and dominion is laid on his shoulders;
and this is the name they give him:
Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God,
Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace.


OR: --------

First reading
Isaiah 61:9-11

I exult for joy in the Lord


Their race will be famous throughout the nations,
their descendants throughout the peoples.
All who see them will admit
that they are a race whom the Lord has blessed.

‘I exult for joy in the Lord,
my soul rejoices in my God,
for he has clothed me in the garments of salvation,
he has wrapped me in the cloak of integrity,
like a bridegroom wearing his wreath,
like a bride adorned in her jewels.

‘For as the earth makes fresh things grow,
as a garden makes seeds spring up,
so will the Lord make both integrity and praise
spring up in the sight of the nations.’


OR: --------

First reading
Micah 5:1-4

He will stand and feed his flock with the power of the Lord

The Lord says this:

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
the least of the clans of Judah,
out of you will be born for me
the one who is to rule over Israel;
his origin goes back to the distant past,
to the days of old.
The Lord is therefore going to abandon them
till the time when she who is to give birth gives birth.
Then the remnant of his brothers will come back
to the sons of Israel.
He will stand and feed his flock
with the power of the Lord,
with the majesty of the name of his God.
They will live secure, for from then on he will extend his power
to the ends of the land.
He himself will be peace.


OR: --------

First reading
Zechariah 2:14-17
'I am coming', says the Lord


Sing, rejoice,
daughter of Zion;
for I am coming
to dwell in the middle of you
– it is the Lord who speaks.
Many nations will join the Lord,
on that day;
they will become his people.
But he will remain among you,
and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to you.
But the Lord will hold Judah
as his portion in the Holy Land,
and again make Jerusalem his very own.
Let all mankind be silent before the Lord!
For he is awaking and is coming from his holy dwelling.

________

EITHER: --------

Responsorial Psalm
1 Samuel 2:1,4-8

My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.

My heart exults in the Lord.
    I find my strength in my God;
my mouth laughs at my enemies
    as I rejoice in your saving help.

My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.

The bows of the mighty are broken,
    but the weak are clothed with strength.
Those with plenty must labour for bread,
    but the hungry need work no more.
The childless wife has children now
    but the fruitful wife bears no more.

My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.

It is the Lord who gives life and death,
    he brings men to the grave and back;
it is the Lord who gives poverty and riches.
    He brings men low and raises them on high.

My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.

He lifts up the lowly from the dust,
    from the dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes
    to give him a glorious throne.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
    on them he has set the world.

My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.


OR: --------

Responsorial Psalm
Judith 13:18a-19

You are the highest honour of our race!

May you be blessed, my daughter, by God Most High,
beyond all women on earth;
and may the Lord God be blessed,
the Creator of heaven and earth.

You are the highest honour of our race!

The trust you have shown
shall not pass from the memories of men,
but shall ever remind them
of the power of God.

You are the highest honour of our race!


OR: --------

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 44(45):11-12,14-17

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words.

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words:
    forget your own people and your father’s house.
So will the king desire your beauty:
    He is your lord, pay homage to him.

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words.

The daughter of the king is clothed with splendour,
    her robes embroidered with pearls set in gold.
She is led to the king with her maiden companions.

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words.

They are escorted amid gladness and joy;
    they pass within the palace of the king.
Sons shall be yours in place of your fathers:
    you will make them princes over all the earth.

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words.


OR: --------

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 112(113):1-7

May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!

Praise, O servants of the Lord,
    praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
    both now and for evermore!

May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!

From the rising of the sun to its setting
    praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord,
    above the heavens his glory.

May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!

Who is like the Lord, our God,
    who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
    to look down upon heaven and earth?
From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
    from the dungheap he raises the poor

May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!


OR: --------

Responsorial Psalm
Luke 1:46-55

The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name!
or
Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.

My soul glorifies the Lord,
    my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour.

The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name!
or
Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.

He looks on his servant in her nothingness;
    henceforth all ages will call me blessed.
The Almighty works marvels for me.
    Holy his name!

The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name!
or
Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.

His mercy is from age to age,
    on those who fear him.
He puts forth his arm in strength
    and scatters the proud-hearted.

The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name!
or
Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.

He casts the mighty from their thrones
    and raises the lowly.
He fills the starving with good things,
    sends the rich away empty.

The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name!
or
Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.

He protects Israel, his servant,
    remembering his mercy,
the mercy promised to our fathers,
    to Abraham and his sons for ever.

The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name!
or
Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.

________

Gospel Acclamation
cf.Lk1:28

Alleluia, alleluia!
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!
Blessed art thou among women.
Alleluia!


Or:
cf.Lk1:45

Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who believed
that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.
Alleluia!


Or:
cf.Lk2:19

Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed is the Virgin Mary,
who treasured the word of God
and pondered it in her heart.
Alleluia!


Or:
Lk11:28

Alleluia, alleluia!
Happy are those 
who hear the word of God
and keep it.
Alleluia!


Or:

Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary,
and most worthy of all praise,
for the sun of justice, Christ our God,
was born of you.
Alleluia!


Or:

Alleluia, alleluia!
Happy is the Virgin Mary,
who, without dying,
won the palm of martyrdom
beneath the cross of the Lord.
Alleluia!


________

EITHER: --------

Gospel
Matthew 1:1-16,18-23

The ancestry and conception of Jesus Christ

A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:

Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, Tamar being their mother,
Perez was the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram was the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon was the father of Boaz, Rahab being his mother,
Boaz was the father of Obed, Ruth being his mother,
Obed was the father of Jesse;
and Jesse was the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
Solomon was the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,
Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Azariah,
Azariah was the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah;
and Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers.
Then the deportation to Babylon took place.

After the deportation to Babylon:
Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor was the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud was the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob;
and Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary;
of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son 
and they will call him Emmanuel,

a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’


OR: --------

Gospel
Matthew 1:18-23

How Jesus Christ came to be born

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son 
and they will call him Emmanuel,

a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’


OR: --------

Gospel
Matthew 2:13-15,19-23

The flight into Egypt and the return to Nazareth

After the wise men had left, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him.’ So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet:

I called my son out of Egypt.

After Herod’s death, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you and go back to the land of Israel, for those who wanted to kill the child are dead.’ So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, went back to the land of Israel. But when he learnt that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as ruler of Judaea he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he left for the region of Galilee. There he settled in a town called Nazareth. In this way the words spoken through the prophets were to be fulfilled:

‘He will be called a Nazarene.’


OR: --------

Gospel
Matthew 12:46-50

My mother and my brothers are anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven

Jesus was speaking to the crowds when his mother and his brothers appeared; they were standing outside and were anxious to have a word with him. But to the man who told him this Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’ And stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.’


OR: --------

Gospel
Luke 1:26-38

'I am the handmaid of the Lord'

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.


OR: --------

Gospel
Luke 1:39-47

Blessed is she who believed the promise

Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’
    And Mary said:

‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour.’


OR: --------

Gospel
Luke 2:1-14

'In the town of David a saviour has been born to you'

Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a census of the whole world to be taken. This census – the first – took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria, and everyone went to his own town to be registered. So Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee and travelled up to Judaea, to the town of David called Bethlehem, since he was of David’s House and line, in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn. 
    In the countryside close by there were shepherds who lived in the fields and took it in turns to watch their flocks during the night. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified, but the angel said, ‘Do not be afraid. Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly with the angel there was a great throng of the heavenly host, praising God and singing:

‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace to men who enjoy his favour.’


OR: --------

Gospel
Luke 2:15-19

The shepherds hurried to Bethlehem and found the baby lying in the manger

Now when the angels had gone from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they hurried away and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.


OR: --------

Gospel
Luke 2:27-35

'A sword will pierce your soul too'

Prompted by the Spirit Simeon came to the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:

‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace,
just as you promised;
because my eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared for all the nations to see,
a light to enlighten the pagans
and the glory of your people Israel.’

As the child’s father and mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’


OR: --------

Gospel
Luke 2:41-52

Mary stored up all these things in her heart

Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.
    Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’
    ‘Why were you looking for me?’ he replied. ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ But they did not understand what he meant.
    He then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority.
    His mother stored up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and men.


OR: --------

Gospel
Luke 11:27-28

'Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!'

As Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, ‘Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!’ But he replied, ‘Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!’


OR: --------

Gospel
John 2:1-11

'My hour has not come yet' - 'Do whatever he tells you'

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited. When they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the wedding was all finished, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ Jesus said ‘Woman, why turn to me? My hour has not come yet.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ There were six stone water jars standing there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews: each could hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’, and they filled them to the brim. ‘Draw some out now’ he told them ‘and take it to the steward.’ They did this; the steward tasted the water, and it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from – only the servants who had drawn the water knew – the steward called the bridegroom and said, ‘People generally serve the best wine first, and keep the cheaper sort till the guests have had plenty to drink; but you have kept the best wine till now.’
    This was the first of the signs given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in Galilee. He let his glory be seen, and his disciples believed in him.


OR: --------

Gospel
John 19:25-27

'Woman, this is your son'

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.
.

Related Post

No comments: