Daily Readings

Thus says the LORD:Here is my servant whom I uphold,my chosen one with whom I am pleased,upon whom I have put my spirit;he shall bring forth justice to the nations,not crying out, not shouting,not making his voice heard in the street.a bruised reed he shall not break,and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,until he establishes justice on the earth;the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,I have grasped you by the hand;I formed you, and set youas a covenant of the people,a light for the nations,to open the eyes of the blind,to bring out prisoners from confinement,and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

R. (11b)  The Lord will bless his people with peace.Give to the LORD, you sons of God,    give to the LORD glory and praise,Give to the LORD the glory due his name;    adore the LORD in holy attire.R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.The voice of the LORD is over the waters,    the LORD, over vast waters.The voice of the LORD is mighty;    the voice of the LORD is majestic. R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.The God of glory thunders,    and in his temple all say, “Glory!”The LORD is enthroned above the flood;    the LORD is enthroned as king forever.R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Peter proceeded to speak to those gatheredin the house of Cornelius, saying: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightlyis acceptable to him.You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptismthat John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazarethwith the Holy Spirit and power.He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

R. Alleluia, alleluia.The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered:This is my beloved Son, listen to him.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordanto be baptized by him.John tried to prevent him, saying,“I need to be baptized by you,and yet you are coming to me?”Jesus said to him in reply,“Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for usto fulfill all righteousness.”Then he allowed him.After Jesus was baptized,he came up from the water and behold,the heavens were opened for him,and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a doveand coming upon him.And a voice came from the heavens, saying,“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Beloved:We have this confidence in himthat if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,we know that what we have asked him for is ours. If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin,about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.We know that anyone begotten by God does not sin;but the one begotten by God he protects,and the Evil One cannot touch him. We know that we belong to God,and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One. We also know that the Son of God has comeand has given us discernment to know the one who is true. And we are in the one who is true,in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Children, be on your guard against idols.

R.        (see 4a)  The Lord takes delight in his people.or:R.        Alleluia.Sing to the LORD a new song            of praise in the assembly of the faithful.Let Israel be glad in their maker,            let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.R.        The Lord takes delight in his people.or:R.        Alleluia.Let them praise his name in the festive dance,            let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.For the LORD loves his people,            and he adorns the lowly with victory.R.        The Lord takes delight in his people.or:R.        Alleluia.Let the faithful exult in glory;            let them sing for joy upon their couches;Let the high praises of God be in their throats.            This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.R.        The Lord takes delight in his people.or:R.        Alleluia.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by deathlight has arisen.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea,where he spent some time with them baptizing. John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,because there was an abundance of water there,and people came to be baptized,for John had not yet been imprisoned. Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jewabout ceremonial washings. So they came to John and said to him,“Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan,to whom you testified,here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.”John answered and said,“No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ,but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom;the best man, who stands and listens for him,rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.”

Beloved:Who indeed is the victor over the worldbut the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,not by water alone, but by water and Blood. The Spirit is the one who testifies,and the Spirit is truth. So there are three who testify,the Spirit, the water, and the Blood, and the three are of one accord. If we accept human testimony,the testimony of God is surely greater. Now the testimony of God is this,that he has testified on behalf of his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of Godhas this testimony within himself.Whoever does not believe God has made him a liarby not believing the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony:God gave us eternal life,and this life is in his Son. Whoever possesses the Son has life;whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.I write these things to you so that you may knowthat you have eternal life,you who believe in the name of the Son of God.

R.        (12a)  Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.or:R.        Alleluia.Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;            praise your God, O Zion.For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;            he has blessed your children within you.R.        Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.or:R.        Alleluia.He has granted peace in your borders;            with the best of wheat he fills you.He sends forth his command to the earth;            swiftly runs his word!R.        Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.or:R.        Alleluia.He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,            his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.He has not done thus for any other nation;            his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.R.        Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.or:R.        Alleluia.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdomand cured every disease among the people.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was;and when he saw Jesus,he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,“I do will it.  Be made clean.” And the leprosy left him immediately. Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but“Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansingwhat Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” The report about him spread all the more,and great crowds assembled to listen to himand to be cured of their ailments,but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.