Reading
The Second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy 1: 1-8
| 1:1 | Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, in accord with the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus, |
| 1:2 | to Timothy, most beloved son. Grace, mercy, peace, from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord. |
| 1:3 | I give thanks to God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a pure conscience. For without ceasing I hold the remembrance of you in my prayers, night and day, |
| 1:4 | desiring to see you, recalling your tears so as to be filled with joy, |
| 1:5 | calling to mind the same faith, which is in you unfeigned, which also first dwelt in your grandmother, Lois, and in your mother, Eunice, and also, I am certain, in you. |
| 1:6 | Because of this, I admonish you to revive the grace of God, which is in you by the imposition of my hands. |
| 1:7 | For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of virtue, and of love, and of self-restraint. |
| 1:8 | And so, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner. Instead, collaborate with the Gospel in accord with the virtue of God, |
Or:
The Letter of St. Paul to Titus 1: 1- 5
| 1:1 | Paul, a servant of God and an Apostle of Jesus Christ, in accord with the faith of God’s elect and in acknowledgment of the truth which is accompanied by piety, |
| 1:2 | in the hope of the eternal life that God, who does not lie, promised before the ages of time, |
| 1:3 | which, at the proper time, he has manifested by his Word, in the preaching that has been entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior; |
| 1:4 | to Titus, beloved son according to the common faith. Grace and peace, from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Savior. |
| 1:5 | For this reason, I left you behind in Crete: so that those things which are lacking, you would correct, and so that you would ordain, throughout the communities, priests, (just as I also ordained you) |
Mark 4: 26- 34
| 4:26 | And he said: “The kingdom of God is like this: it is as if a man were to cast seed on the land. |
| 4:27 | And he sleeps and he arises, night and day. And the seed germinates and grows, though he does not know it. |
| 4:28 | For the earth bears fruit readily: first the plant, then the ear, next the full grain in the ear. |
| 4:29 | And when the fruit has been produced, immediately he sends out the sickle, because the harvest has arrived.” |
| 4:30 | And he said: “To what should we compare the kingdom of God? Or to what parable should we compare it? |
| 4:31 | It is like a grain of mustard seed which, when it has been sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds which are in the earth. |
| 4:32 | And when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all the plants, and it produces great branches, so much so that the birds of the air are able to live under its shadow.” |
| 4:33 | And with many such parables he spoke the word to them, as much as they were able to hear. |
| 4:34 | But he did not speak to them without a parable. Yet separately, he explained all things to his disciples. |