Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green. Year: B(II).
| First reading |
|---|
| Galatians 4:22-24,26-27,31-5:1 |
Christ freed us: do not submit again to slavery
The Law says, if you remember, that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave-girl, and one by his free-born wife. The child of the slave-girl was born in the ordinary way; the child of the free woman was born as the result of a promise. This can be regarded as an allegory: the women stand for the two covenants. The first who comes from Mount Sinai, and whose children are slaves, is Hagar. The Jerusalem above, however, is free and is our mother, since scripture says: Shout for joy, you barren women who bore no children! Break into shouts of joy and gladness, you who were never in labour. For there are more sons of the forsaken one than sons of the wedded wife. So, my brothers, we are the children, not of the slave-girl, but of the free-born wife.
When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.
| 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!
| Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:88 |
|---|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Because of your love give me life,
and I will do your will.
Alleluia!
| Or: | Ps94:8 |
|---|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
| Gospel | Luke 11:29-32 |
|---|
As Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be a sign
The crowds got even bigger, and Jesus addressed them:
‘This is a wicked generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. On Judgement day the Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here. On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here.’
Christian Art
Each day, The Christian Art website gives a picture and reflection on the Gospel of the day.
The readings on this page are from the Jerusalem Bible, which is used at Mass in most of the English-speaking world. The New American Bible readings, which are used at Mass in the United States, are available in the Universalis apps, programs and downloads.
You can also view this page with the Gospel in Greek and English.
Content from Universalis
Office of Readings
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.| INTRODUCTION |
|---|
O God, come to our aid.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
| Hymn |
|---|
Come, Spirit blest, with God the Son
and God the Father, ever one:
shed forth your grace within our breast
and live in us, a ready guest.
By every power, by heart and tongue,
by act and deed, your praise be sung.
Inflame with perfect love each sense,
that others’ souls may kindle thence.
Psalm 72 (73)
Why should the just suffer?
How good God is to Israel, to those who are pure of heart.
How good God is to the upright,
to those who are pure of heart!
But as for me, my feet nearly stumbled,
my steps were on the point of going astray,
as I envied the boasters and sinners,
envied their comfort and peace.
For them there are no burdens,
their bellies are full and sleek.
They do not labour, like ordinary men;
they do not suffer, like mortals.
They wear their pride like a necklace,
their violence covers them like a robe.
Wickedness oozes from their very being,
the thoughts of their hearts break forth:
they deride, they utter abominations,
and from their heights they proclaim injustice.
They have set their mouth in the heavens,
and their tongue traverses the earth.
Thus they sit in their lofty positions,
and the flood-waters cannot reach them.
They ask, “How can God know?
Does the Most High have any understanding?”
Behold, then, the wicked, always prosperous:
their riches growing for ever.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
How good God is to Israel, to those who are pure of heart.
Psalm 72 (73)
Their rejoicing will be turned to weeping, their joy to sorrow.
I said, “It was pointless to purify my heart,
to wash my hands in innocence –
for still I suffered all through the day,
still I was punished every morning.”
If I had said, “I will speak like them,”
I would have betrayed the race of your children.
I pondered and tried to understand:
my eyes laboured to see –
until I entered God’s holy place
and heard how they would end.
For indeed you have put them on a slippery surface
and have thrown them down in ruin.
How they are laid waste!
How suddenly they fall and perish in terror!
You spurn the sight of them, Lord,
as a dream is abandoned when the sleeper awakes.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Their rejoicing will be turned to weeping, their joy to sorrow.
Psalm 72 (73)
All those who abandon you shall perish; but to be near God is my happiness.
My heart was sore, my being was troubled –
I was a fool, I knew nothing;
I was like a dumb beast before you.
But still I stay with you:
you hold my right hand.
You lead me according to your counsel,
until you raise me up in glory.
For who else is for me, in heaven?
On earth, I want nothing when I am with you.
My flesh and heart are failing,
but it is God that I love:
God is my portion for ever.
Behold, those who abandon you will perish:
you have condemned all who go whoring away from you.
But for myself, I take joy in clinging to God,
in putting my trust in the Lord, my God,
to proclaim your works at the gates of the daughters of Zion.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
All those who abandon you shall perish; but to be near God is my happiness.
℣. Your promise is sweet to my taste, Lord.
℟. It is sweeter than honey in the mouth.
| First Reading | Haggai 2:10-23 |
|---|
The promises made to Zerubbabel
On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord was addressed to the prophet Haggai as follows, ‘The Lord of Hosts says this: Ask the priests for a decision on this question, “If a man carries consecrated meat in the fold of his gown and with this fold touches bread, broth, wine, or food of any kind, does such food become holy?”’ The priests answered, ‘No, it does not.’ Haggai then said, ‘If a man made unclean by contact with a corpse touches any of this, does it become unclean?’ The priests answered, ‘Yes, it does.’ Haggai then spoke out. ‘It is the same with this people,’ he said, ‘the same with this nation as I see it – it is the Lord who speaks – the same with everything they turn their hands to; and what they offer here is unclean.
‘Reflect carefully from today onwards. Before one stone had been laid on another in the sanctuary of the Lord, what state were you in? A man would come to a twenty-measure heap and there would be ten; he would come to a vat to draw fifty measures and there would be twenty. I struck with blight and mildew and hail everything you turned your hands to. And still you would not return to me – it is the Lord who speaks. Reflect carefully from today onwards (from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day the foundation of the sanctuary of the Lord was laid, think carefully) if grain is still short in the barn, and if vine and fig tree, pomegranate and olive, still bear no fruit. From today onwards I intend to bless you.’
On the twenty-fourth day of the month the word of the Lord was addressed a second time to Haggai, as follows, ‘Speak to Zerubbabel, the high commissioner of Judah. Say this, “I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kings of the nations. I will overthrow the chariots and their charioteers; horses and their riders will be brought down; they shall fall, each to the sword of his fellow. When that day comes – it is the Lord of Hosts who speaks – I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant – it is the Lord of Hosts who speaks – and make you like a signet ring. For I have chosen you – it is the Lord of Hosts who speaks.”’
| Responsory | Hg 2:6-7,9 |
|---|
℟. I will shake heaven and earth,* and the treasure of all nations shall be laid bare.
℣. The glory of this temple shall be surprisingly great, and this place will know peace and prosperity,* and the treasure of all nations shall be laid bare.
| Second Reading |
|---|
| St Fulgentius of Ruspe's Tract against Fabian |
Sharing in the body and blood of the Lord sanctifies us
When we offer the sacrifice the words of our Saviour are fulfilled just as the blessed Apostle Paul reported them: On the same night he was betrayed the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and said: ‘This is my body, which is for you: do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’ Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.
So the sacrifice is offered to proclaim the death of the Lord and to be a commemoration of him who laid down his life for us. He himself has said: A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. So, since Christ died for us, out of love, it follows that when we offer the sacrifice in commemoration of his death, we are asking for love to be given us by the coming of the Holy Spirit. We beg and we pray that just as through love Christ deigned to be crucified for us, so we may receive the grace of the Holy Spirit; and that by that grace the world should be a dead thing in our eyes and we should be dead to the world, crucified and dead. We pray that we should imitate the death of our Lord. Christ, when he died, died, once for all, to sin, so his life now is life with God. We pray, therefore, that in imitating the death of our Lord we should walk in newness of life, dead to sin and living for God.
The love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been sent to us. When we share in the Lord’s body and blood, when we eat his bread and drink his cup, this truly means that we die to the world and have our hidden life with Christ in God, crucifying our flesh and its weaknesses and its desires.
Thus it is that all the faithful who love God and their neighbour drink the cup of the Lord’s love even if they do not drink the cup of bodily suffering. Soaked through with that drink, they mortify the flesh in which they walk this earth. Putting on the Lord Jesus Christ like a cloak, their desires are no longer those of the body. They do not contemplate what can be seen but what is invisible to the eyes. This is how the cup of the Lord is drunk when divine love is present; but without that love, you may even give your body to be burned and still it will do you no good. What the gift of love gives us is the chance to become in truth what we celebrate as a mystery in the sacrifice.
| Responsory |
|---|
℟. Jesus took some bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying:* This is my body which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.
℣. This is the bread come down from heaven: anyone who eats this bread shall live for ever.* This is my body which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.
Let us pray.
Lord God,
open our hearts to your grace.
Let it go before us and be with us,
that we may always be intent upon doing your will.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Let us praise the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
The psalms and canticles here are our own translation from the Latin. The Grail translation of the psalms, which is used liturgically in most of the English-speaking world, cannot be displayed on the Web for copyright reasons. The Universalis apps and programs do contain the Grail translation of the psalms.
You can also view this page in Latin and English.
Content from Universalis