March 29, 2018

There are two sets of readings today: one set for the Chrism Mass and one set for the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

Chrism Mass

Reading

Isaiah 61:1 – 9

61:1 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the meek, so as to heal the contrite of heart, to preach leniency to captives and release to the confined,
61:2 and so to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vindication of our God: to console all who are mourning,
61:3 to take up the mourners of Zion and to give them a crown in place of ashes, an oil of joy in place of mourning, a cloak of praise in place of a spirit of grief. And there, they shall be called the strong ones of justice, the planting of the Lord, unto glorification.
61:4 And they will rebuild the deserted places of past ages, and they will raise up the ruins of antiquity, and they will repair the desolate cities, which had been dissipated for generation after generation.
61:5 And foreigners will stand up and will pasture your flocks. And the sons of sojourners will be your farmers and the workers of your vineyards.
61:6 But you yourselves will be called the priests of the Lord. It will be said to you, “You are the ministers of our God.” You will eat from the strength of the Gentiles, and you will pride yourself on their glory.
61:7 Instead of your double confusion and shame, they will praise their portion. Because of this, they will possess double in their land. Everlasting joy will be for them.
61:8 For I am the Lord, who loves judgment and who holds hatred for robbery within a burnt offering. And I will turn their work into truth, and I will forge a perpetual covenant with them.
61:9 And they will know their offspring among the nations, and their progeny in the midst of the peoples. All who see them will recognize them: that these are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed.

Gospel according to Luke 4:16 – 21

4:16 And he went to Nazareth, where he had been raised. And he entered into the synagogue, according to his custom, on the Sabbath day. And he rose up to read.
4:17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. And as he unrolled the book, he found the place where it was written:
4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because of this, he has anointed me. He has sent me to evangelize the poor, to heal the contrite of heart,
4:19 to preach forgiveness to captives and sight to the blind, to release the broken into forgiveness, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of retribution.”
4:20 And when he had rolled up the book, he returned it to the minister, and he sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him.
4:21 Then he began to say to them, “On this day, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper

First Reading: Exodus 12:1 – 14

12:1 The Lord also said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:
12:2 “This month will be for you the beginning of the months. It will be first in the months of the year.
12:3 Speak to the entire assembly of the sons of Israel, and say to them: On the tenth day of this month, let everyone take a lamb, by their families and houses.
12:4 But if the number is less than may suffice to be able to consume the lamb, he shall accept his neighbor, who has been joined with his house according to the number of souls that may suffice to be able to eat the lamb.

2nd Reading: First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 11:23 – 26

11:23 For I have received from the Lord what I have also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the same night that he was handed over, took bread,
11:24 and giving thanks, he broke it, and said: “Take and eat. This is my body, which shall be given up for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
11:25 Similarly also, the cup, after he had eaten supper, saying: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
11:26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord, until he returns.

Gospel according to John 13:1 – 15

13:1 Before the feast day of the Passover, Jesus knew that the hour was approaching when he would pass from this world to the Father. And since he had always loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
13:2 And when the meal had taken place, when the devil had now put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him,
13:3 knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he came from God and was going to God,
13:4 he rose up from the meal, and he set aside his vestments, and when he had received a towel, he wrapped it around himself.
13:5 Next he put water into a shallow bowl, and he began to wash the feet of the disciples and to wipe them with the towel with which he was wrapped.
13:6 And then he came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to him, “Lord, would you wash my feet?”
13:7 Jesus responded and said to him: “What I am doing, you do not now understand. But you shall understand it afterward.”
13:8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you will have no place with me.”
13:9 Simon Peter said to him, “Then Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!”
13:10 Jesus said to him: “He who is washed need only wash his feet, and then he will be entirely clean. And you are clean, but not all.”
13:11 For he knew which one would betray him. For this reason, he said, “You are not all clean.”
13:12 And so, after he washed their feet and received his vestments, when he had sat down at table again, he said to them: “Do you know what I have done for you?
13:13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you speak well: for so I am.
13:14 Therefore, if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash the feet of one another.
13:15 For I have given you an example, so that just as I have done for you, so also should you do.