Daily Readings

At that time, says the LORD,I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel,and they shall be my people.Thus says the LORD:The people that escaped the swordhave found favor in the desert.As Israel comes forward to be given his rest,the LORD appears to him from afar:With age-old love I have loved you;so I have kept my mercy toward you.Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt,O virgin Israel;Carrying your festive tambourines,you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers.Again you shall plant vineyardson the mountains of Samaria;those who plant them shall enjoy the fruits.Yes, a day will come when the watchmenwill call out on Mount Ephraim:“Rise up, let us go to Zion,to the LORD, our God.”

For thus says the LORD:Shout with joy for Jacob,exult at the head of the nations;proclaim your praise and say:The LORD has delivered his people,the remnant of Israel.

R. (see 10d)  The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,proclaim it on distant isles, and say:He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,he guards them as a shepherd his flock.R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.The LORD shall ransom Jacob,he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,they shall come streaming to the LORD’s blessings.R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,and young men and old as well.I will turn their mourning into joy.I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.A great prophet has arisen in our midstand God has visited his people.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,“Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!My daughter is tormented by a demon.”But he did not say a word in answer to her.His disciples came and asked him,“Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”He said in reply,“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”He said in reply,“It is not right to take the food of the childrenand throw it to the dogs.”She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scrapsthat fall from the table of their masters.”Then Jesus said to her in reply,“O woman, great is your faith!Let it be done for you as you wish.”And her daughter was healed from that hour.

The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel:Write all the words I have spoken to you in a book.

For thus says the LORD:Incurable is your wound,grievous your bruise;There is none to plead your cause,no remedy for your running sore,no healing for you.All your lovers have forgotten you,they do not seek you.I struck you as an enemy would strike,punished you cruelly;Why cry out over your wound?your pain is without relief.Because of your great guilt,your numerous sins,I have done this to you.

Thus says the LORD:See!  I will restore the tents of Jacob,his dwellings I will pity;City shall be rebuilt upon hill,and palace restored as it was.From them will resound songs of praise,the laughter of happy men.I will make them not few, but many;they will not be tiny, for I will glorify them.His sons shall be as of old,his assembly before me shall stand firm;I will punish all his oppressors.His leader shall be one of his own,and his rulers shall come from his kin.When I summon him, he shall approach me;how else should one take the deadly riskof approaching me? says the LORD.You shall be my people,and I will be your God.

R. (17)  The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,and all the kings of the earth your glory,When the LORD has rebuilt Zionand appeared in his glory;When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,and not despised their prayer.R. The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.Let this be written for the generation to come,and let his future creatures praise the LORD:“The LORD looked down from his holy height,from heaven he beheld the earth,To hear the groaning of the prisoners,to release those doomed to die.”R. The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.The children of your servants shall abide,and their posterity shall continue in your presence,That the name of the LORD may be declared on Zion;and his praise, in Jerusalem,When the peoples gather togetherand the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.R. The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.Rabbi, you are the Son of God;you are the King of Israel.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus made the disciples get into a boatand precede him to the other side of the sea,while he dismissed the crowds.After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.When it was evening he was there alone.Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.During the fourth watch of the night,he came toward them, walking on the sea.When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”He said, “Come.”But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”After they got into the boat, the wind died down.Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret.When the men of that place recognized him,they sent word to all the surrounding country.People brought to him all those who were sickand begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak,and as many as touched it were healed.

or:

Matthew 15:1-2, 10-14

Some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?They do not wash their hands when they eat a meal.”He summoned the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand.It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles the man;but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.”Then his disciples approached and said to him,“Do you know that the Pharisees took offensewhen they heard what you said?”He said in reply, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not plantedwill be uprooted.Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.If a blind man leads a blind man,both will fall into a pit.”

In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah,in the fifth month of the fourth year,the prophet Hananiah, son of Azzur, from Gibeon,said to me in the house of the LORDin the presence of the priests and all the people:“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.Within two years I will restore to this placeall the vessels of the temple of the LORD which Nebuchadnezzar,king of Babylon, took away from this place to Babylon. And I will bring back to this place Jeconiah,son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the LORD,‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

The prophet Jeremiah answered the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people assembledin the house of the LORD, and said:Amen! thus may the LORD do!May he fulfill the things you have prophesiedby bringing the vessels of the house of the LORDand all the exiles back from Babylon to this place!But now, listen to what I am about to state in your hearingand the hearing of all the people.From of old, the prophets who were before you and me prophesiedwar, woe, and pestilence against many lands and mighty kingdoms.But the prophet who prophesies peaceis recognized as truly sent by the LORDonly when his prophetic prediction is fulfilled.

Thereupon the prophet Hananiah took the yokefrom the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it,and said in the presence of all the people:“Thus says the LORD: ‘Even so, within two yearsI will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,from off the neck of all the nations.’” At that, the prophet Jeremiah went away.

Some time after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yokefrom off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah,The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:Go tell Hananiah this:  Thus says the LORD:By breaking a wooden yoke, you forge an iron yoke!For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:A yoke of iron I will place on the necksof all these nations serving Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,and they shall serve him; even the beasts of the field I give him.

To the prophet Hananiah the prophet Jeremiah said:Hear this, Hananiah!The LORD has not sent you,and you have raised false confidence in this people.For this, says the LORD, I will dispatch you from the face of the earth;this very year you shall die,because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.That same year, in the seventh month, Hananiah the prophet died.

R. (68b) Lord, teach me your statutes.Remove from me the way of falsehood,and favor me with your law.R. Lord, teach me your statutes.Take not the word of truth from my mouth,for in your ordinances is my hope.R. Lord, teach me your statutes.Let those turn to me who fear youand acknowledge your decrees.R. Lord, teach me your statutes.Let my heart be perfect in your statutes,that I be not put to shame.R. Lord, teach me your statutes.Sinners wait to destroy me,but I pay heed to your decrees.R. Lord, teach me your statutes.From your ordinances I turn not away,for you have instructed me.R. Lord, teach me your statutes.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.Rabbi, you are the Son of God;you are the King of Israel.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus made the disciples get into a boatand precede him to the other side of the sea,while he dismissed the crowds.After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.When it was evening he was there alone.Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.During the fourth watch of the night,he came toward them, walking on the sea.When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”Peter said to him in reply,“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”He said, “Come.”Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”After they got into the boat, the wind died down.Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret.When the men of that place recognized him,they sent word to all the surrounding country.People brought to him all those who were sickand begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak,and as many as touched it were healed.