Second Maccabees 7: 1, 20- 31
| 7:1 | And it happened also that seven brothers, united with their mother, were apprehended and compelled by the king to eat the flesh of swine against divine law, being tormented with scourges and whips. |
| 7:20 | Now the mother was wonderful beyond measure, and a worthy memorial of the good, for she watched her seven sons perish within the time of one day, and she bore it with a good soul, because of the hope that she had in God. |
| 7:21 | And, with fortitude, she exhorted every one of them, in the language of the fathers, being filled with wisdom. And, joining masculine courage with feminine thinking, |
| 7:22 | she said to them: “I do not know how you were formed in my womb. For I did not give you spirit, nor soul, nor life; neither did I construct each of your limbs. |
| 7:23 | Nevertheless, the Creator of the world, who formed the nativity of man, and who founded the origins of all, will restore both spirit and life to you again, with his mercy, just as you now despise yourselves for the sake of his laws.” |
| 7:24 | But Antiochus, thinking himself despised, and at the same time also despising the voice of the reproacher, when only the youngest was still left, not only exhorted him with words, but also assured him with an oath, that he would make him wealthy and happy, and, if he would convert from the laws of his fathers, he would have him as a friend, and he would provide him with necessary things. |
| 7:25 | But, when the youth was not swayed by these things, the king called the mother and persuaded her to act toward the youth to save him. |
| 7:26 | And so, when he had exhorted her with many words, she promised that she would counsel her son. |
| 7:27 | Then, leaning towards him and mocking the cruel tyrant, she said in the language of the fathers: “My son, take pity on me, for I carried you for nine months in my womb, and I gave you milk for three years, and I nourished you and led you through to this stage of life. |
| 7:28 | I ask you, child, gaze upon heaven and earth, and all that is in them, and understand that God made them, and the family of man, out of nothing. |
| 7:29 | So shall it be that you will not fear this executioner, but, participating worthily with your brothers, you shall accept death, so that, by this mercy, I shall receive you again with your brothers.” |
| 7:30 | While she was still saying these things, the youth said: “What are you waiting for? I will not obey the precepts of the king, but the precepts of the law, which was given to us through Moses. |
| 7:31 | In truth, you, who have been the inventor of all malice against the Hebrews, will not escape the hand of God. |
Luke 9: 11- 28
| 9:11 | But when the crowd had realized this, they followed him. And he received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God. And those who were in need of cures, he healed. |
| 9:12 | Then the day began to decline. And drawing near, the twelve said to him: “Dismiss the crowds, so that, by going into the surrounding towns and villages, they may separate and find food. For we are here in a deserted place.” |
| 9:13 | But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said, “There is with us no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we are to go and buy food for this entire multitude.” |
| 9:14 | Now there were about five thousand men. So he said to his disciples, “Have them recline to eat in groups of fifty.” |
| 9:15 | And they did so. And they caused them all to recline to eat. |
| 9:16 | Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish, he gazed up to heaven, and he blessed and broke and distributed them to his disciples, in order to set them before the crowd. |
| 9:17 | And they all ate and were satisfied. And twelve baskets of fragments were taken up, which were left over from them. |
| 9:18 | And it happened that, when he was praying alone, his disciples also were with him, and he questioned them, saying: “Who do the multitudes say that I am?” |
| 9:19 | But they answered by saying: “John the Baptist. But some say Elijah. Yet truly, others say that one of the prophets from before has risen again.” |
| 9:20 | Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” In response, Simon Peter said, “The Christ of God.” |
| 9:21 | But speaking sharply to them, he instructed them not to tell this to anyone, |
| 9:22 | saying, “For the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the leaders of the priests and the scribes, and be killed, and on the third day rise again.” |
| 9:23 | Then he said to everyone: “If anyone is willing to come after me: let him deny himself, and take up his cross every day, and follow me. |
| 9:24 | For whoever will have saved his life, will lose it. Yet whoever will have lost his life for my sake, will save it. |
| 9:25 | For how does it benefit a man, if he were to gain the whole world, yet lose himself, or cause himself harm? |
| 9:26 | For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words: of him the Son of man will be ashamed, when he will have arrived in his majesty and that of his Father and of the holy Angels. |
| 9:27 | And yet, I tell you a truth: There are some standing here who shall not taste death, until they see the kingdom of God.” |
| 9:28 | And it happened that, about eight days after these words, he took Peter and James and John, and he ascended onto a mountain, so that he might pray. |