Daily Readings

Brothers and sisters:As a body is one though it has many parts,and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,so also Christ.For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body,whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

Now the body is not a single part, but many.

Now you are Christ’s Body, and individually parts of it.Some people God has designated in the Churchto be, first, Apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers;then, mighty deeds;then gifts of healing, assistance, administration,and varieties of tongues.Are all Apostles?  Are all prophets?  Are all teachers?Do all work mighty deeds?  Do all have gifts of healing?Do all speak in tongues?  Do all interpret?Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.

R. (3) We are his people: the sheep of his flock.Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;serve the LORD with gladness;come before him with joyful song.R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.Know that the LORD is God;he made us, his we are;his people, the flock he tends.R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.Enter his gates with thanksgiving,his courts with praise;Give thanks to him; bless his name.R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.For he is good, the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,and his faithfulness, to all generations. R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.

At the cross her station keeping,Stood the mournful Mother weeping,Close to Jesus to the last.Through her heart, his sorrow sharing,All his bitter anguish bearing,Now at length the sword had passed.Oh, how sad and sore distressedWas that Mother highly blessedOf the sole begotten One!Christ above in torment hangs,She beneath beholds the pangsOf her dying, glorious Son.Is there one who would not weep,'Whelmed in miseries so deep,Christ's dear Mother to behold?Can the human heart refrainFrom partaking in her pain,In that mother's pain untold?Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,She beheld her tender Child,All with bloody scourges rent.For the sins of his own nationSaw him hang in desolationTill his spirit forth he sent.O sweet Mother!  font of love,Touch my spirit from above,Make my heart with yours accord.Make me feel as you have felt;Make my soul to glow and meltWith the love of Christ, my Lord.Holy Mother, pierce me through,In my heart each wound renewOf my Savior crucified.Let me share with you his pain,Who for all our sins was slain,Who for me in torments died.Let me mingle tears with you,Mourning him who mourned for me,All the days that I may live.By the cross with you to stay,There with you to weep and pray,Is all I ask of you to give.Virgin of all virgins blest!Listen to my fond request:Let me share your grief divine.Let me to my latest breath,In my body bear the deathOf that dying Son of yours.Wounded with his every wound,Steep my soul till it has swoonedIn his very Blood away.Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,Lest in flames I burn and die,In his awful judgment day.Christ, when you shall call me hence,Be your Mother my defense,Be your cross my victory.While my body here decays,May my soul your goodness praise,Safe in heaven eternally.Amen.  (Alleluia)

R. Alleluia, alleluia.Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary;without dying you won the Martyr’s crownbeneath the Cross of the Lord.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his motherand his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,and Mary Magdalene.When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he lovedhe said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”Then he said to the disciple,“Behold, your mother.”And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

or

Luke 2:33-35

Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,“Behold, this child is destinedfor the fall and rise of many in Israel,and to be a sign that will be contradictedand you yourself a sword will pierceso that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!" In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died. Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses, "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live." Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

R. (see 7b) Do not forget the works of the Lord! Hearken, my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable, I will utter mysteries from of old. R. Do not forget the works of the Lord! While he slew them they sought him and inquired after God again, Remembering that God was their rock and the Most High God, their redeemer. R. Do not forget the works of the Lord! But they flattered him with their mouths and lied to him with their tongues, Though their hearts were not steadfast toward him, nor were they faithful to his covenant. R. Do not forget the works of the Lord! But he, being merciful, forgave their sin and destroyed them not; Often he turned back his anger and let none of his wrath be roused. R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!

Brothers and sisters: Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

R. Alleluia, alleluia. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your Cross you have redeemed the world. R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to Nicodemus: "No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.  

Wrath and anger are hateful things,yet the sinner hugs them tight.The vengeful will suffer the LORD’s vengeance,for he remembers their sins in detail.Forgive your neighbor’s injustice;then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.Could anyone nourish anger against anotherand expect healing from the LORD?Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself,can he seek pardon for his own sins?If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath,who will forgive his sins?Remember your last days, set enmity aside;remember death and decay, and cease from sin!Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor;remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults.

R. (8) The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.Bless the LORD, O my soul;and all my being, bless his holy name.Bless the LORD, O my soul,and forget not all his benefits.R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.He pardons all your iniquities,heals all your ills.He redeems your life from destruction,crowns you with kindness and compassion.R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.He will not always chide,nor does he keep his wrath forever.Not according to our sins does he deal with us,nor does he requite us according to our crimes.R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.For as the heavens are high above the earth,so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.As far as the east is from the west,so far has he put our transgressions from us.R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

Brothers and sisters:None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.For if we live, we live for the Lord,and if we die, we die for the Lord;so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.For this is why Christ died and came to life,that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:love one another as I have loved you.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,“Lord, if my brother sins against me,how often must I forgive?As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a kingwho decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting,a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back,his master ordered him to be sold,along with his wife, his children, and all his property,in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’Moved with compassion the master of that servantlet him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servantswho owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,‘Pay back what you owe.’Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’But he refused. Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prisonuntil he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,they were deeply disturbed, and went to their masterand reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,as I had pity on you?’Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturersuntil he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you,unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”