Daily Readings

There was a certain man from Ramathaim, Elkanah by name,a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim.He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu,son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.He had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah;Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless.This man regularly went on pilgrimage from his cityto worship the LORD of hosts and to sacrifice to him at Shiloh,where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas,were ministering as priests of the LORD.When the day came for Elkanah to offer sacrifice,he used to give a portion each to his wife Peninnahand to all her sons and daughters,but a double portion to Hannah because he loved her,though the LORD had made her barren.Her rival, to upset her, turned it into a constant reproach to herthat the LORD had left her barren.This went on year after year;each time they made their pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the LORD,Peninnah would approach her,and Hannah would weep and refuse to eat.Her husband Elkanah used to ask her: “Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you refuse to eat?Why do you grieve?Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

R.        (17a)  To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.or:R.        Alleluia.How shall I make a return to the LORD            for all the good he has done for me?The cup of salvation I will take up,            and I will call upon the name of the LORD. R.        To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.or:R.        Alleluia.My vows to the LORD I will pay            in the presence of all his people. Precious in the eyes of the LORD            is the death of his faithful ones.O LORD, I am your servant;            I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;            you have loosed my bonds.R.        To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.or:R.        Alleluia.My vows to the LORD I will pay            in the presence of all his people,In the courts of the house of the LORD,            in your midst, O Jerusalem.R.        To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.or:R.        Alleluia.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.The Kingdom of God is at hand;repent and believe in the Gospel.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

After John had been arrested,Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God:“This is the time of fulfillment.The Kingdom of God is at hand.Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”As he passed by the Sea of Galilee,he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea;they were fishermen.Jesus said to them,“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”Then they left their nets and followed him.He walked along a little fartherand saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.They too were in a boat mending their nets.Then he called them.So they left their father Zebedee in the boatalong with the hired men and followed him. 

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.”