Daily Readings

The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man,say to the prince of Tyre: Thus says the Lord GOD:

Because you are haughty of heart,you say, “A god am I!I occupy a godly thronein the heart of the sea!”—And yet you are a man, and not a god,however you may think yourself like a god.Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel,there is no secret that is beyond you.By your wisdom and your intelligenceyou have made riches for yourself;You have put gold and silverinto your treasuries.By your great wisdom applied to your tradingyou have heaped up your riches;your heart has grown haughty from your riches–therefore thus says the Lord GOD:Because you have thought yourselfto have the mind of a god,Therefore I will bring against youforeigners, the most barbarous of nations.They shall draw their swordsagainst your beauteous wisdom,they shall run them through your splendid apparel.They shall thrust you down to the pit, there to diea bloodied corpse, in the heart of the sea.Will you then say, “I am a god!”when you face your murderers?No, you are man, not a god,handed over to those who will slay you.You shall die the death of the uncircumcisedat the hands of foreigners,for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD.

R. (39c)  It is I who deal death and give life.“I would have said, ‘I will make an end of themand blot out their name from men’s memories,’Had I not feared the insolence of their enemies,feared that these foes would mistakenly boast.”R. It is I who deal death and give life.“‘Our own hand won the victory;the LORD had nothing to do with it.’”For they are a people devoid of reason,having no understanding.R. It is I who deal death and give life.“How could one man rout a thousand,or two men put ten thousand to flight,Unless it was because their Rock sold themand the LORD delivered them up?”R. It is I who deal death and give life.Close at hand is the day of their disaster,and their doom is rushing upon them!Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people;on his servants he shall have pity.R. It is I who deal death and give life.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.Jesus Christ became poor although he was richSo that by his poverty you might become rich.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to his disciples:“Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is richto enter the Kingdom of heaven.Again I say to you,it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needlethan for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,“Who then can be saved?”Jesus looked at them and said,“For men this is impossible,but for God all things are possible.”Then Peter said to him in reply,“We have given up everything and followed you.What will there be for us?”Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to youthat you who have followed me, in the new age,when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,judging the twelve tribes of Israel.And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sistersor father or mother or children or landsfor the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,and will inherit eternal life.But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, by a sudden blowI am taking away from you the delight of your eyes,but do not mourn or weep or shed any tears.Groan in silence, make no lament for the dead,bind on your turban, put your sandals on your feet,do not cover your beard, and do not eat the customary bread.That evening my wife died,and the next morning I did as I had been commanded.Then the people asked me, “Will you not tell us what all these thingsthat you are doing mean for us?”I therefore spoke to the people that morning, saying to them:Thus the word of the LORD came to me:Say to the house of Israel:  Thus says the Lord GOD:I will now desecrate my sanctuary, the stronghold of your pride,the delight of your eyes, the desire of your soul.The sons and daughters you left behind shall fall by the sword.Ezekiel shall be a sign for you:all that he did you shall do when it happens.Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.You shall do as I have done,not covering your beards nor eating the customary bread.Your turbans shall remain on your heads, your sandals on your feet.You shall not mourn or weep,but you shall rot away because of your sins and groan one to another.

R. (see 18a)  You have forgotten God who gave you birth.You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you.You forgot the God who gave you birth.When the LORD saw this, he was filled with loathingand anger toward his sons and daughters.R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.“I will hide my face from them,” he said,“and see what will then become of them.What a fickle race they are,sons with no loyalty in them!”R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.“Since they have provoked me with their ‘no-god’and angered me with their vain idols,I will provoke them with a ‘no-people’;with a foolish nation I will anger them.”R.  You have forgotten God who gave you birth.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.Blessed are the poor in spirit;for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

A young man approached Jesus and said,“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?There is only One who is good.If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”He asked him, “Which ones?”And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill;you shall not commit adultery;you shall not steal;you shall not bear false witness;honor your father and your mother;and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”The young man said to him,“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,sell what you have and give to the poor,and you will have treasure in heaven.Then come, follow me.”When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,for he had many possessions.

Thus says the LORD:Observe what is right, do what is just;for my salvation is about to come,my justice, about to be revealed.The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,ministering to him,loving the name of the LORD,and becoming his servants—all who keep the sabbath free from profanationand hold to my covenant,them I will bring to my holy mountainand make joyful in my house of prayer;their burnt offerings and sacrificeswill be acceptable on my altar,for my house shall be calleda house of prayer for all peoples. 

R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!May God have pity on us and bless us;may he let his face shine upon us.So may your way be known upon earth;among all nations, your salvation.R. O God, let all the nations praise you!May the nations be glad and exultbecause you rule the peoples in equity;the nations on the earth you guide.R. O God, let all the nations praise you!May the peoples praise you, O God;may all the peoples praise you!May God bless us,and may all the ends of the earth fear him!R. O God, let all the nations praise you! 

Brothers and sisters:I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles,I glory in my ministry in order to make my race jealousand thus save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world,what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you once disobeyed Godbut have now received mercy because of their disobedience,so they have now disobeyed in order that,by virtue of the mercy shown to you,they too may now receive mercy. For God delivered all to disobedience,that he might have mercy upon all. 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdomand cured every disease among the 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 Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus' 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 Jesus 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 the woman's daughter was healed from that hour.