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THE DAILY GOSPEL AND READINGS 31 MAY 2024

/ Michael J. Cunningham / Leave a comment

Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Lectionary: 572

Reading I

Zep 3:14-18a

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
            Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
            O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you,
            he has turned away your enemies;
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
            you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
            Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
            a mighty savior;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
            and renew you in his love,
He will sing joyfully because of you,
            as one sings at festivals.

Or      

Rom 12:9-16

Brothers and sisters:
Let love be sincere;
hate what is evil,
hold on to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection;
anticipate one another in showing honor.
Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope,
endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,
exercise hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you,
bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.
Have the same regard for one another;
do not be haughty but associate with the lowly;
do not be wise in your own estimation.
 

Responsorial Psalm

Isaiah 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

R.        (6)  Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
God indeed is my savior;
            I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
            and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
            at the fountain of salvation.
R.        Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
            among the nations make known his deeds,
            proclaim how exalted is his name.
R.        Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
            let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
            for great in your midst
            is the Holy One of Israel!
R.        Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

Alleluia

See Lk 1:45

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Lk 1:39-56

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:
 “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
            my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
            for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
            the Almighty has done great things for me,
            and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
            in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
            he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
            and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
            and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
            for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
            the promise he made to our fathers,
            to Abraham and his children for ever.”

Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.
 

THE DAILY GOSPEL AND READINGS 25 MAY 2024

/ Michael J. Cunningham / Leave a comment

Saturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 346

Reading 1

Jas 5:13-20

Beloved:
Is anyone among you suffering?
He should pray.
Is anyone in good spirits?
He should sing a song of praise.
Is anyone among you sick?
He should summon the presbyters of the Church,
and they should pray over him
and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
The prayer of faith will save the sick person,
and the Lord will raise him up.
If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another
and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.
Elijah was a man like us;
yet he prayed earnestly that it might not rain,
and for three years and six months it did not rain upon the land.
Then Elijah prayed again, and the sky gave rain
and the earth produced its fruit.

My brothers and sisters,
if anyone among you should stray from the truth
and someone bring him back,
he should know that whoever brings back a sinner
from the error of his way will save his soul from death
and will cover a multitude of sins.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 141:1-2, 3 and 8

R. (2a) Let my prayer come like incense before you.
O LORD, to you I call; hasten to me;
hearken to my voice when I call upon you.
Let my prayer come like incense before you;
the lifting up of my hands, like the evening sacrifice.
R. Let my prayer come like incense before you.
O LORD, set a watch before my mouth,
a guard at the door of my lips.
For toward you, O God, my LORD, my eyes are turned;
in you I take refuge; strip me not of life.
R. Let my prayer come like incense before you.

Alleluia

See Mt 11:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 10:13-16

People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,
“Let the children come to me; do not prevent them,
for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it.”
Then he embraced the children and blessed them,
placing his hands on them.

THE DAILY GOSPEL AND READINGS 23 MAY 2024

/ Michael J. Cunningham / Leave a comment

Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 344

Reading 1

Jas 5:1-6

Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.
Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,
your gold and silver have corroded,
and that corrosion will be a testimony against you;
it will devour your flesh like a fire.
You have stored up treasure for the last days.
Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers
who harvested your fields are crying aloud;
and the cries of the harvesters
have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure;
you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.
You have condemned;
you have murdered the righteous one;
he offers you no resistance.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 49:14-15ab, 15cd-16, 17-18, 19-20

R. (Matthew 5:3) Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
This is the way of those whose trust is folly,
the end of those contented with their lot:
Like sheep they are herded into the nether world;
death is their shepherd and the upright rule over them.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Quickly their form is consumed;
the nether world is their palace.
But God will redeem me
from the power of the nether world by receiving me.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Fear not when a man grows rich,
when the wealth of his house becomes great,
For when he dies, he shall take none of it;
his wealth shall not follow him down.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Though in his lifetime he counted himself blessed,
“They will praise you for doing well for yourself,”
He shall join the circle of his forebears
who shall never more see light.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!

Alleluia

See 1 Thes 2:13

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Receive the word of God, not as the word of men,
but as it truly is, the word of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 9:41-50

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.
It is better for you to enter into life crippled
than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.
Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,
where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

“Everyone will be salted with fire.
Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid,
with what will you restore its flavor?
Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.”