Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading: Am 5:14-15, 21-24

Seek good and not evil,

that you may live;

Then truly will the LORD, the God of hosts,

be with you as you claim!

Hate evil and love good,

and let justice prevail at the gate;

Then it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts,

will have pity on the remnant of Joseph.

I hate, I spurn your feasts, says the LORD,

I take no pleasure in your solemnities;

Your cereal offerings I will not accept,

nor consider your stall-fed peace offerings.

Away with your noisy songs!

I will not listen to the melodies of your harps.

But if you would offer me burnt offerings,

then let justice surge like water,

and goodness like an unfailing stream.

Psalm: Ps 50:7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 16bc-17

Responsorial Psalm

R.    (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“Hear, my people, and I will speak;

Israel, I will testify against you;

God, your God, am I.”

R.    To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,

for your burnt offerings are before me always.

I take from your house no bullock,

no goats out of your fold.”

R.    To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“For mine are all the animals of the forests,

beasts by the thousand on my mountains.

I know all the birds of the air,

and whatever stirs in the plains, belongs to me.”

R.    To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“If I were hungry, I should not tell you,

for mine are the world and its fullness.

Do I eat the flesh of strong bulls,

or is the blood of goats my drink?”

R.    To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“Why do you recite my statutes,

and profess my covenant with your mouth,

Though you hate discipline

and cast my words behind you?”

R.    To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

Gospel: Mt 8:28-34

 

When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes,

two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him.

They were so savage that no one could travel by that road.

They cried out, “What have you to do with us, Son of God?

Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?”

Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding.

The demons pleaded with him,

“If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.”

And he said to them, “Go then!”

They came out and entered the swine,

and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea

where they drowned.

The swineherds ran away,

and when they came to the town they reported everything,

including what had happened to the demoniacs.

There upon the whole town came out to meet Jesus,

and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.

Quote of the Day:

Nothing restrains anger, curbs pride, heals the wound of malice, bridles self-indulgence, quenches the passions, checks avarice and puts unclean thoughts to flight, as does the name of Jesus. 

-- St. Bernard

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

First Reading: Acts 12:1-11

In those days, King Herod laid hands upon some members of the Church to harm them.

He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword,

and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews

he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

–It was the feast of Unleavened Bread.–

He had him taken into custody and put in prison

under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each.

He intended to bring him before the people after Passover.

Peter thus was being kept in prison,

but prayer by the Church was fervently being made

to God on his behalf.

On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial,

Peter, secured by double chains,

was sleeping between two soldiers,

while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison.

Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him

and a light shone in the cell.

He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying,

“Get up quickly.”

The chains fell from his wrists.

The angel said to him, “Put on your belt and your sandals.”

He did so.

Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.”

So he followed him out,

not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real;

he thought he was seeing a vision.

They passed the first guard, then the second,

and came to the iron gate leading out to the city,

which opened for them by itself.

They emerged and made their way down an alley,

and suddenly the angel left him.

Then Peter recovered his senses and said,

“Now I know for certain

 that the Lord sent his angel

 and rescued me from the hand of Herod

 and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.”

Psalm: Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Responsorial Psalm

R.     (5) The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

I will bless the LORD at all times;

his praise shall be ever in my mouth.

Let my soul glory in the LORD;

the lowly will hear me and be glad.

R.     The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

Glorify the LORD with me,

let us together extol his name.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.

R.     The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,

and your faces may not blush with shame.

When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,

and from all his distress he saved him.

R.     The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

The angel of the LORD encamps

around those who fear him, and delivers them.

Taste and see how good the LORD is;

blessed the man who takes refuge in him.

R.     The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

Second Reading: 2 Tm 4:6-8, 17-18

I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation,

and the time of my departure is at hand.

I have competed well; I have finished the race;

I have kept the faith.

From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,

which the Lord, the just judge,

will award to me on that day, and not only to me,

but to all who have longed for his appearance.

The Lord stood by me and gave me strength,

so that through me the proclamation might be completed

and all the Gentiles might hear it.

And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.

The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat

and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom.

To him be glory forever and ever.  Amen.

Gospel: Mt 16:13-19

 

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi

he asked his disciples,

“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,

still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter said in reply,

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

And so I say to you, you are Peter,

and upon this rock I will build my Church,

and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;

and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Key Verse: 

I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;

and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Quote of the Day:

It is blasphemy if you pray before God while you are full of anger.

-- St. Ephraem the Syrian

Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, bishop and martyr

First Reading: Am 2:6-10, 13-16

Thus says the LORD:

For three crimes of Israel, and for four,

I will not revoke my word;

Because they sell the just man for silver,

and the poor man for a pair of sandals.

They trample the heads of the weak

into the dust of the earth,

and force the lowly out of the way.

Son and father go to the same prostitute,

profaning my holy name.

Upon garments taken in pledge

they recline beside any altar;

And the wine of those who have been fined

they drink in the house of their god.

Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them,

who were as tall as the cedars,

and as strong as the oak trees.

I destroyed their fruit above,

and their roots beneath.

It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,

and who led you through the desert for forty years,

to occupy the land of the Amorites.

Beware, I will crush you into the ground

as a wagon crushes when laden with sheaves.

Flight shall perish from the swift,

and the strong man shall not retain his strength;

The warrior shall not save his life,

nor the bowman stand his ground;

The swift of foot shall not escape,

nor the horseman save his life.

And the most stouthearted of warriors

shall flee naked on that day, says the LORD.

Psalm: Ps 50:16bc-17, 18-19, 20-21, 22-23

 
Responsorial Psalm

R.     (22a) Remember this, you who never think of God.

“Why do you recite my statutes,

and profess my covenant with your mouth,

Though you hate discipline

and cast my words behind you?”

R.     Remember this, you who never think of God.

“When you see a thief, you keep pace with him,

and with adulterers you throw in your lot.

To your mouth you give free rein for evil,

you harness your tongue to deceit.”

R.     Remember this, you who never think of God.

“You sit speaking against your brother;

against your mother’s son you spread rumors.

When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?

Or do you think that I am like yourself?

I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.”

R.     Remember this, you who never think of God.

“Consider this, you who forget God,

lest I rend you and there be no one to rescue you.

He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;

and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”

R.     Remember this, you who never think of God.

Gospel: Mt 8:18-22

 

When Jesus saw a crowd around him,

he gave orders to cross to the other shore.

A scribe approached and said to him,

“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,

but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”

Another of his disciples said to him,

“Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”

But Jesus answered him, “Follow me,

and let the dead bury their dead.”

Key Verse:  Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,

but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”

Quote of the Day:

To be perfect in our vocation is nothing else than to fulfill the duties which our state of life obliges us to perform, and to accomplish them well, and only for the honor and love of God.

-- St. Francis de Sales

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading: 1 Kgs 19:16b, 19-21

 

The LORD said to Elijah:

“You shall anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah,

as prophet to succeed you.”

Elijah set out and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat,

as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen;

he was following the twelfth.

Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him.

Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said,

“Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,

and I will follow you.”

Elijah answered, “Go back!

Have I done anything to you?”

Elisha left him, and taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them;

he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh,

and gave it to his people to eat.

Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his attendant.

Psalm: Ps 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11

Responsorial Psalm

R.     (cf. 5a) You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;

I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.

O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,

you it is who hold fast my lot.”

R.     You are my inheritance, O Lord.

I bless the LORD who counsels me;

even in the night my heart exhorts me.

I set the LORD ever before me;

with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

R.     You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,

my body, too, abides in confidence

because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,

nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.

R.     You are my inheritance, O Lord.

You will show me the path to life,

fullness of joys in your presence,

the delights at your right hand forever.

R.     You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Second Reading: Gal 5:1, 13-18

Brothers and sisters:

For freedom Christ set us free;

so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.

For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters.

But do not use this freedom

as an opportunity for the flesh;

rather, serve one another through love.

For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement,

namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

But if you go on biting and devouring one another,

beware that you are not consumed by one another.

I say, then: live by the Spirit

and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.

For the flesh has desires against the Spirit,

and the Spirit against the flesh;

these are opposed to each other,

so that you may not do what you want.

But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Gospel: Lk 9:51-62

 

When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled,

he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,

and he sent messengers ahead of him.

On the way they entered a Samaritan village

to prepare for his reception there,

but they would not welcome him

because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.

When the disciples James and John saw this they asked,

“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven

to consume them?”

Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.

As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him,

“I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus answered him,

“Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,

but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”

And to another he said, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”

But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead.

But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

And another said, “I will follow you, Lord,

but first let me say farewell to my family at home.”

To him Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plow

and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Key Verse:  “No one who sets a hand to the plow

and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Quote of the Day:

We must give alms. Charity wins souls and draws them to virtue.

-- St. Angela Merici

Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading: Lam 2:2, 10-14, 18-19

The Lord has consumed without pity

all the dwellings of Jacob;

He has torn down in his anger

the fortresses of daughter Judah;

He has brought to the ground in dishonor

her king and her princes.

On the ground in silence sit

the old men of daughter Zion;

They strew dust on their heads

and gird themselves with sackcloth;

The maidens of Jerusalem

bow their heads to the ground.

Worn out from weeping are my eyes,

within me all is in ferment;

My gall is poured out on the ground

because of the downfall of the daughter of my people,

As child and infant faint away

in the open spaces of the town.

In vain they ask their mothers,

“Where is the grain?”

As they faint away like the wounded

in the streets of the city,

And breathe their last

in their mothers’ arms.

To what can I liken or compare you,

O daughter Jerusalem?

What example can I show you for your comfort,

virgin daughter Zion?

For great as the sea is your downfall;

who can heal you?

Your prophets had for you

false and specious visions;

They did not lay bare your guilt,

to avert your fate;

They beheld for you in vision

false and misleading portents.

Cry out to the Lord;

moan, O daughter Zion!

Let your tears flow like a torrent

day and night;

Let there be no respite for you,

no repose for your eyes.

Rise up, shrill in the night,

at the beginning of every watch;

Pour out your heart like water

in the presence of the Lord;

Lift up your hands to him

for the lives of your little ones

Who faint from hunger

at the corner of every street.
 

Psalm: Ps 74:1b-2, 3-5, 6-7, 20-21

Responsorial Psalm

R.     (19b) Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.

Why, O God, have you cast us off forever?

Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

Remember your flock which you built up of old,

the tribe you redeemed as your inheritance,

Mount Zion, where you took up your abode.

R.     Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.

Turn your steps toward the utter ruins;

toward all the damage the enemy has done in the sanctuary.

Your foes roar triumphantly in your shrine;

they have set up their tokens of victory.

They are like men coming up with axes to a clump of trees.

R.     Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.

With chisel and hammer they hack at all the paneling of the sanctuary.

They set your sanctuary on fire;

the place where your name abides they have razed and profaned.

R.     Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.

Look to your covenant,

for the hiding places in the land and the plains are full of violence.

May the humble not retire in confusion;

may the afflicted and the poor praise your name.

R.     Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.

Gospel: Mt 8:5-17

 

When Jesus entered Capernaum,

a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,

“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”

He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”

The centurion said in reply,

“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;

only say the word and my servant will be healed.

For I too am a man subject to authority,

with soldiers subject to me.

And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes;

and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes;

and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,

“Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.

I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,

and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven,

but the children of the Kingdom

will be driven out into the outer darkness,

where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

And Jesus said to the centurion,

“You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.”

And at that very hour his servant was healed.

Jesus entered the house of Peter,

and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.

He touched her hand, the fever left her,

and she rose and waited on him.

When it was evening, they brought him many

who were possessed by demons,

and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick,

to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet:

He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.

Key Verse:

“You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.”

And at that very hour his servant was healed.

Quote of the Day: 

Every virtue in your soul is a precious ornament which makes you dear to God and to man. But holy purity, the queen of virtues, the angelic virtue, is a jewel so precious that those who possess it become like the angels of God in Heaven, even though clothed in mortal flesh.

-- St. John Bosco

Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading: 2 Kgs 25:1-12

In the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign,

on the tenth day of the month,

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his whole army

advanced against Jerusalem, encamped around it,

and built siege walls on every side.

The siege of the city continued until the eleventh year of Zedekiah.

On the ninth day of the fourth month,

when famine had gripped the city,

and the people had no more bread,

the city walls were breached.

Then the king and all the soldiers left the city by night

through the gate between the two walls

that was near the king’s garden.

Since the Chaldeans had the city surrounded,

they went in the direction of the Arabah.

But the Chaldean army pursued the king

and overtook him in the desert near Jericho,

abandoned by his whole army.

The king was therefore arrested and brought to Riblah

to the king of Babylon, who pronounced sentence on him.

He had Zedekiah’s sons slain before his eyes.

Then he blinded Zedekiah, bound him with fetters,

and had him brought to Babylon.

On the seventh day of the fifth month

(this was in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar,

king of Babylon),

Nebuzaradan, captain of the bodyguard,

came to Jerusalem as the representative

of the king of Babylon.

He burned the house of the LORD,

the palace of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem;

every large building was destroyed by fire.

Then the Chaldean troops who were with the captain of the guard

tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem.

Then Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard,

led into exile the last of the people remaining in the city,

and those who had deserted to the king of Babylon,

and the last of the artisans.

But some of the country’s poor, Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard,

left behind as vinedressers and farmers.

 

Psalm: Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

Responsorial Psalm

R.     (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

By the streams of Babylon

we sat and wept

when we remembered Zion.

On the aspens of that land

we hung up our harps.

R.     Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

Though there our captors asked of us

the lyrics of our songs,

And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:

“Sing for us the songs of Zion!”

R.     Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

How could we sing a song of the LORD

in a foreign land?

If I forget you, Jerusalem,

may my right hand be forgotten!

R.     Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

May my tongue cleave to my palate

if I remember you not,

If I place not Jerusalem

ahead of my joy.

R.     Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

Gospel: Mt 8:1-4

 

When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.

And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said,

“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”

He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,

“I will do it.  Be made clean.”

His leprosy was cleansed immediately.

Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one,

but go show yourself to the priest,

and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;

that will be proof for them.”

Key Verse: 

“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”

He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,

“I will do it.  Be made clean.”

Quote of the Day: 

There is no sin or wrong that gives a man a foretaste of hell in this life as anger and impatience.

-- St.Catherine of Sienna