Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Book of Isaiah 6:1-2.3-8.
In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple.
Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two they veiled their feet, and with two they hovered aloft.
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!” they cried one to the other. “All the earth is filled with his glory!”
At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.
Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
He touched my mouth with it. “See,” he said, “now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!”

Psalms 138(137):1-5.7-8.
Of David. I thank you, LORD, with all my heart; before the gods to you I sing.
I bow low toward your holy temple; I praise your name for your fidelity and love. For you have exalted over all your name and your promise.
When I cried out, you answered; you strengthened my spirit.
All the kings of earth will praise you, LORD, when they hear the words of your mouth.
They will sing of the ways of the LORD: “How great is the glory of the LORD!”
Though I walk in the midst of dangers, you guard my life when my enemies rage. You stretch out your hand; your right hand saves me.
The LORD is with me to the end. LORD, your love endures forever. Never forsake the work of your hands!

First Letter to the Corinthians 15:1-11.
Now I am reminding you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures;
that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures;
that he appeared to Kephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me.
For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God (that is) with me.
Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 5:1-11.
While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.
Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”
Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.”
When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.
They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him,
and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.
Commentary of the day : Saint José Maria Escriva de Balaguer
« Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give» (Mt 10,8)

1st book of Kings 3:4-13.
The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, because that was the most renowned high place. Upon its altar Solomon offered a thousand holocausts.
In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.”
Solomon answered: “You have shown great favor to your servant, my father David, because he behaved faithfully toward you, with justice and an upright heart; and you have continued this great favor toward him, even today, seating a son of his on his throne.
O LORD, my God, you have made me, your servant, king to succeed my father David; but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act.
I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted.
Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong. For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?”
The LORD was pleased that Solomon made this request.
So God said to him: “Because you have asked for this–not for a long life for yourself, nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies, but for understanding so that you may know what is right–
I do as you requested. I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now, and after you there will come no one to equal you.
In addition, I give you what you have not asked for, such riches and glory that among kings there is not your like.

Psalms 119:9.10.11.12.13.14.
How can the young walk without fault? Only by keeping your words.
With all my heart I seek you; do not let me stray from your commands.
In my heart I treasure your promise, that I may not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your laws.
With my lips I recite all the edicts you have spoken.
I find joy in the way of your decrees more than in all riches.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:30-34.
The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught.
He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat.
So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.
People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
Commentary of the day : Saint Caesarius of Arles
“Jesus saw the vast crowd; his heart was moved with pity “

Book of Sirach 47:2-13.
Like the choice fat of the sacred offerings, so was DAVID in Israel.
He made sport of lions as though they were kids, and of bears, like lambs of the flock.
As a youth he slew the giant and wiped out the people’s disgrace, When his hand let fly the slingstone that crushed the pride of Goliath.
Since he called upon the Most High God, who gave strength to his right arm To defeat the skilled warrior and raise up the might of his people,
Therefore the women sang his praises and ascribed to him tens of thousands. When he assumed the royal crown, he battled
and subdued the enemy on every side. He destroyed the hostile Philistines and shattered their power till our own day.
With his every deed he offered thanks to God Most High, in words of praise. With his whole being he loved his Maker and daily had his praises sung;
He added beauty to the feasts and solemnized the seasons of each year With string music before the altar, providing sweet melody for the psalms
So that when the Holy Name was praised, before daybreak the sanctuary would resound.
The LORD forgave him his sins and exalted his strength forever; He conferred on him the rights of royalty and established his throne in Israel.
Because of his merits he had as his successor a wise son, who lived in security:
SOLOMON reigned during an era of peace, for God made tranquil all his borders. He built a house to the name of God, and established a lasting sanctuary.

Psalms 18:31.47.50.51.
God’s way is unerring; the LORD’S promise is tried and true; he is a shield for all who trust in him.
The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock! Exalted be God, my savior!
Thus I will proclaim you, LORD, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name.
You have given great victories to your king, and shown kindness to your anointed, to David and his posterity forever.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:14-29.
King Herod heard about it, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
Others were saying, “He is Elijah”; still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.”
But when Herod learned of it, he said, “It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”
Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.
She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee.
Herodias’s own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
He even swore (many things) to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Commentary of the day : The Roman Missal
John the Baptist, Christ’s witness throughout his life