Daily Readings

The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

A Reading From the Book of Genesis     3: 9-15, 20

3:9	And the Lord God called Adam and said to him: “Where are you?”
3:10	And he said, “I heard your voice in Paradise, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and so I hid myself.”
3:11	He said to him, “Then who told you that you were naked, if you have not eaten of the tree from which I instructed you that you should not eat?”
3:12	And Adam said, “The woman, whom you gave to me as a companion, gave to me from the tree, and I ate.”
3:13	And the Lord God said to the woman, “Why have you done this?” And she responded, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
3:14	And the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed among all living things, even the wild beasts of the earth. Upon your breast shall you travel, and the ground shall you eat, all the days of your life.
3:15	I will put enmities between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. She will crush your head, and you will lie in wait for her heel.”
3:20	And Adam called the name of his wife, ‘Eve,’ because she was the mother of all the living.

or

Acts 1: 12- 14

1:12	Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain, which is called Olivet, which is next to Jerusalem, within a Sabbath day’s journey.
1:13	And when they had entered into the cenacle, they ascended to the place where Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Jude of James, were staying.
1:14	All these were persevering with one accord in prayer with the women, and with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

John 19: 25- 34

19:25	And standing beside the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, and Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
19:26	Therefore, when Jesus had seen his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son.”
19:27	Next, he said to the disciple, “Behold your mother.” And from that hour, the disciple accepted her as his own.
19:28	After this, Jesus knew that all had been accomplished, so in order that the Scripture might be completed, he said, “I thirst.”
19:29	And there was a container placed there, full of vinegar. Then, placing a sponge full of vinegar around hyssop, they brought it to his mouth.
19:30	Then Jesus, when he had received the vinegar, said: “It is consummated.” And bowing down his head, he surrendered his spirit.
19:31	Then the Jews, because it was the preparation day, so that the bodies would not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a great day), they petitioned Pilate in order that their legs might be broken, and they might be taken away.
19:32	Therefore, the soldiers approached, and, indeed, they broke the legs of the first one, and of the other who was crucified with him.
19:33	But after they had approached Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
19:34	Instead, one of the soldiers opened his side with a lance, and immediately there went out blood and water.

Pentecost Sunday

Acts 2: 1- 11

2:1	And when the days of Pentecost were completed, they were all together in the same place.
2:2	And suddenly, there came a sound from heaven, like that of a wind approaching violently, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
2:3	And there appeared to them separate tongues, as if of fire, which settled upon each one of them.
2:4	And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they began to speak in various languages, just as the Holy Spirit bestowed eloquence to them.
2:5	Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, pious men from every nation that is under heaven.
2:6	And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together and was confused in mind, because each one was listening to them speaking in his own language.
2:7	Then all were astonished, and they wondered, saying: “Behold, are not all of these who are speaking Galileans?
2:8	And how is it that we have each heard them in our own language, into which we were born?
2:9	Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and those who inhabit Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
2:10	Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya which are around Cyrene, and new arrivals of the Romans,
2:11	likewise Jews and new converts, Cretans and Arabs: we have heard them speaking in our own languages the mighty deeds of God.”

First Corinthians 12: 3- 7, 12- 13

12:3	Because of this, I would have you know that no one speaking in the Spirit of God utters a curse against Jesus. And no one is able to say that Jesus is Lord, except in the Holy Spirit.
12:4	Truly, there are diverse graces, but the same Spirit.
12:5	And there are diverse ministries, but the same Lord.
12:6	And there are diverse works, but the same God, who works everything in everyone.
12:7	However, the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one toward what is beneficial.

12:12	For just as the body is one, and yet has many parts, so all the parts of the body, though they are many, are only one body. So also is Christ.
12:13	And indeed, in one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether servant or free. And we all drank in the one Spirit.

or, Galatians 5: 16- 25

5:16	So then, I say: Walk in the spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.
5:17	For the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. And since these are against one another, you may not do whatever you want.
5:18	But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
5:19	Now the works of the flesh are manifest; they are: fornication, lust, homosexuality, self-indulgence,
5:20	the serving of idols, drug use, hostility, contentiousness, jealousy, wrath, quarrels, dissensions, divisions,
5:21	envy, murder, inebriation, carousing, and similar things. About these things, I continue to preach to you, as I have preached to you: that those who act in this way shall not obtain the kingdom of God.
5:22	But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, forbearance,
5:23	meekness, faith, modesty, abstinence, chastity. There is no law against such things.
5:24	For those who are Christ’s have crucified their flesh, along with its vices and desires.
5:25	If we live by the Spirit, we should also walk by the Spirit.

John 20: 19- 23

20:19	Then, when it was late on the same day, on the first of the Sabbaths, and the doors were closed where the disciples were gathered, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and he said to them: “Peace to you.”
20:20	And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and side. And the disciples were gladdened when they saw the Lord.
20:21	Therefore, he said to them again: “Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
20:22	When he had said this, he breathed on them. And he said to them: “Receive the Holy Spirit.
20:23	Those whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and those whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.”

or, John 15: 26- 27, 16: 12- 15

15:26	But when the Advocate has arrived, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will offer testimony about me.
15:27	And you shall offer testimony, because you are with me from the beginning.”

16:12	I still have many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them now.
16:13	But when the Spirit of truth has arrived, he will teach the whole truth to you. For he will not be speaking from himself. Instead, whatever he will hear, he will speak. And he will announce to you the things that are to come.
16:14	He shall glorify me. For he will receive from what is mine, and he will announce it to you.
16:15	All things whatsoever that the Father has are mine. For this reason, I said that he will receive from what is mine and that he will announce it to you.

Mass in the Morning

Acts 28: 16- 20, 30- 31

28:16	And when we had arrived at Rome, Paul was given permission to stay by himself, with a soldier to guard him.
28:17	And after the third day, he called together the leaders of the Jews. And when they had convened, he said to them: “Noble brothers, I have done nothing against the people, nor against the customs of the fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.
28:18	And after they held a hearing about me, they would have released me, because there was no case for death against me.
28:19	But with the Jews speaking against me, I was constrained to appeal to Caesar, though it was not as if I had any kind of accusation against my own nation.
28:20	And so, because of this, I requested to see you and to speak to you. For it is because of the hope of Israel that I am encircled with this chain.”

28:30	Then he remained for two whole years in his own rented lodgings. And he received all who went in to him,
28:31	preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which are from the Lord Jesus Christ, with all faithfulness, without prohibition.

John 21: 20- 25

21:20	Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, the one who also had leaned on his chest at supper and said, “Lord, who is it who shall betray you?”
21:21	Therefore, when Peter had seen him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, but what about this one?”
21:22	Jesus said to him: “If I want him to remain until I return, what is that to you? You follow me.”
21:23	Therefore, the saying went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I return, what is that to you?”
21:24	This is the same disciple who offers testimony about these things, and who has written these things. And we know that his testimony is true.
21:25	Now there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if each of these were written down, the world itself, I suppose, would not be able to contain the books that would be written.

Pentecost Vigil

Genesis 11: 1- 9

11:1	Now the earth was of one language and of the same speech.
11:2	And when they were advancing from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt in it.
11:3	And each one said to his neighbor, “Come, let us make bricks, and bake them with fire.” And they had bricks instead of stones, and pitch instead of mortar.
11:4	And they said: “Come, let us make a city and a tower, so that its height may reach to heaven. And let us make our name famous before we are divided into all the lands.”
11:5	Then the Lord descended to see the city and the tower, which the sons of Adam were building.
11:6	And he said: “Behold, the people are united, and all have one tongue. And since they have begun to do this, they will not desist from their plans, until they have completed their work.
11:7	Therefore, come, let us descend, and in that place confound their tongue, so that they may not listen, each one to the voice of his neighbor.”
11:8	And so the Lord divided them from that place into all the lands, and they ceased to build the city.
11:9	And for this reason, its name was called ‘Babel,’ because in that place the language of the whole earth became confused. And from then on, the Lord scattered them across the face of every region.

Exodus 19: 3- 8, 16- 20

19:3	Then Moses ascended to God. And the Lord called to him from the mountain, and he said: “This you shall say to the house of Jacob, and announce to the sons of Israel:
19:4	‘You have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, in what way I carried you upon the wings of eagles and how I have taken you for myself.
19:5	If, therefore, you will hear my voice, and you will keep my covenant, you will be to me a particular possession out of all people. For all the earth is mine.
19:6	And you will be to me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you will speak to the sons of Israel.”
19:7	Moses went, and calling together those greater by birth among the people, he set forth all the words which the Lord had commanded.
19:8	And all the people responded together: “Everything that the Lord has spoken, we shall do.” And when Moses had related the words of the people to the Lord,

19:16	And now, the third day arrived and the morning dawned. And behold, thunders began to be heard, and also lightning flashed, and a very dense cloud covered the mountain, and the noise of the trumpet resounded vehemently. And the people who were in the camp were fearful.
19:17	And when Moses had led them out to meet God, from the place of the camp, they stood at the base of the mountain.
19:18	Then all of Mount Sinai was smoking. For the Lord had descended over it with fire, and smoke ascended from it, as from a furnace. And the entire mountain was terrible.
19:19	And the sound of the trumpet gradually increased to be louder, and extended to be longer. Moses was speaking, and God was answering him.
19:20	And the Lord descended over Mount Sinai, to the very top of the mountain, and he called Moses to its summit. And when he had ascended there,

Ezekiel 37: 1- 14

37:1	The hand of the Lord was set upon me, and he led me away in the Spirit of the Lord, and he released me in the midst of a plain which was full of bones.
37:2	And he led me around, through them, on every side. Now they were very many upon the face of the plain, and they were exceedingly dry.
37:3	And he said to me, “Son of man, do you think that these bones will live?” And I said, “O Lord God, you know.”
37:4	And he said to me, “Prophesy about these bones. And you shall say to them: Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord!
37:5	Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will send spirit into you, and you shall live.
37:6	And I will set sinews upon you, and I will cause flesh to grow over you, and I will extend skin over you. And I will give you spirit, and you shall live. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”
37:7	And I prophesied, just as he had instructed me. But a noise occurred, as I was prophesying, and behold: a commotion. And the bones joined together, each one at its joint.
37:8	And I saw, and behold: sinews and flesh rose up over them; and skin was extended over them. But they had no spirit within them.
37:9	And he said to me: “Prophesy to the spirit! Prophesy, O son of man, and you shall say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord God: Approach, O spirit, from the four winds, and blow across these ones who were slain, and revive them.”
37:10	And I prophesied, just as he had instructed me. And spirit entered into them, and they lived. And they stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
37:11	And he said to me: “Son of man: All these bones are the house of Israel. They say: ‘Our bones are dried out, and our hope has perished, and we have been cut off.’
37:12	Because of this, prophesy, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your tombs, and I will lead you away from your sepulchers, O my people. And I will lead you into the land of Israel.
37:13	And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have opened your sepulchers, and when I will have led you away from your tombs, O my people.
37:14	And I will place my Spirit within you, and you shall live. And I will cause you to rest upon your own soil. And you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and acted, says the Lord God.”

Joel 3: 1- 5

3:1	For, behold, in those days and in that time, when I will have converted the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
3:2	I will gather all the Gentiles, and will lead them into the valley of Jehoshaphat. And there I will dispute with them over my people, and over Israel, my inheritance, for they have scattered them among the nations and have divided my land.
3:3	And they have cast lots over my people; and the boy they have placed in the brothel, and the girl they have sold for wine, so that they might drink.
3:4	Truly, what is there between you and me, Tyre and Sidon and all the distant places of the Philistines? How will you take vengeance on me? And if you were to revenge yourselves against me, I would deliver a repayment to you, quickly and soon, upon your head.
3:5	For you have carried away my silver and gold. And my desirable and most beautiful, you have taken into your shrines.

Romans 8: 22- 27

8:22	For we know that every creature groans inwardly, as if giving birth, even until now;
8:23	and not only these, but also ourselves, since we hold the first-fruits of the Spirit. For we also groan within ourselves, anticipating our adoption as the sons of God, and the redemption of our body.
8:24	For we have been saved by hope. But a hope which is seen is not hope. For when a man sees something, why would he hope?
8:25	But since we hope for what we do not see, we wait with patience.
8:26	And similarly, the Spirit also helps our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself asks on our behalf with ineffable sighing.
8:27	And he who examines hearts knows what the Spirit seeks, because he asks on behalf of the saints in accordance with God.

John 7: 37- 39

7:37	Then, on the last great day of the feast, Jesus was standing and crying out, saying: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink:
7:38	whoever believes in me, just as Scripture says, ‘From his chest shall flow rivers of living water.’ ”
7:39	Now he said this about the Spirit, which those who believe in him would soon be receiving. For the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.