Reading
The Book of Genesis 22: 1-2, 9-13, 15-18
| 22:1 | After these things occurred, God tested Abraham, and he said to him, “Abraham, Abraham.” And he answered, “Here I am.” |
| 22:2 | He said to him: “Take your only begotten son Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of vision. And there you shall offer him as a holocaust upon one of the mountains, which I will show to you.” |
| 22:9 | And they came to the place that God had shown to him. There he built an altar, and he set the wood in order upon it. And when he had bound his son Isaac, he laid him on the altar upon the pile of wood. |
| 22:10 | And he reached out his hand and took hold of the sword, in order to sacrifice his son. |
| 22:11 | And behold, an Angel of the Lord called out from heaven, saying, “Abraham, Abraham.” And he answered, “Here I am.” |
| 22:12 | And he said to him, “Do not extend your hand over the boy, and do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, since you have not spared your only begotten son for my sake.” |
| 22:13 | Abraham lifted up his eyes, and he saw behind his back a ram among the thorns, caught by the horns, which he took and offered as a holocaust, instead of his son. |
| 22:14 | And he called the name of that place: ‘The Lord Sees.’ Thus, even to this day, it is said: ‘On the mountain, the Lord will see.’ |
| 22:15 | Then the Angel of the Lord called out to Abraham a second time from heaven, saying: |
| 22:16 | “By my own self, I have sworn, says the Lord. Because you have done this thing, and have not spared your only begotten son for my sake, |
| 22:17 | I will bless you, and I will multiply your offspring like the stars of heaven, and like the sand which is on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gates of their enemies. |
| 22:18 | And in your offspring, all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you obeyed my voice.” |
Second reading
The Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans 8: 31-34
| 8: | |
| 8:31 | So, what should we say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? |
| 8:32 | He who did not spare even his own Son, but handed him over for the sake of us all, how could he not also, with him, have given us all things? |
| 8:33 | Who will make an accusation against the elect of God? God is the One who justifies; |
| 8:34 | who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus who has died, and who has indeed also risen again, is at the right hand of God, and even now he intercedes for us. |
Gospel
The Holy Gospel According to Mark 9: 2-10
| 9:2 | And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the infirm. |
| 9:3 | And he said to them: “You should take nothing for the journey, neither staff, nor traveling bag, nor bread, nor money; and you should not have two tunics. |
| 9:4 | And into whatever house you shall enter, lodge there, and do not move away from there. |
| 9:5 | And whoever will not have received you, upon departing from that city, shake off even the dust on your feet, as a testimony against them.” |
| 9:6 | And going forth, they traveled around, through the towns, evangelizing and curing everywhere. |
| 9:7 | Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all the things that were being done by him, but he doubted, because it was said |
| 9:8 | by some, “For John has risen from the dead,” yet truly, by others, “For Elijah has appeared,” and by still others, “For one of the prophets from of old has risen again.” |
| 9:9 | And Herod said: “I beheaded John. So then, who is this, about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him. |
| 9:10 | And when the Apostles returned, they explained to him all the things that they had done. And taking them with him, he withdrew to a deserted place apart, which belongs to Bethsaida. |