29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Date: October 20, 2013

First Reading (Exodus 17: 8-13)
A reading from the book of Exodus.
When the Israelites were at Rephidim, the Amalekites came and attacked them. So Moses stated to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites in the morning. As for me, I will stand with God's staff in my hand at the top of the hill." Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had directed, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. It happened that when Moses raised his hands, the Israelites would win but when he lowered them, the Amalekites would have the advantage. As Moses' arms grew weary they placed a stone for him to sit on while Aaron and Hur on either side held up his arms which remained steadily until sunset. For his part Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the sword.

Second Reading (2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:2)
A reading from the second letter of Saint Paul to Timothy.
Beloved: Continue with what you have learned and what has been entrusted to you, knowing from whom you received it. Besides, you have known the Scriptures from childhood; they will give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, refuting error, for correcting and training in Christian life. Through Scripture the man of God is made expert and thoroughly equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by the hope I have of his coming and his kingdom, I urge you to preach the Word, in season and out of season, reproving, rebuking or advising, always with patience and providing instruction.

Gospel (Luke 18: 1-8)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke.
Jesus told them a parable to show them that they should pray continually and not lose heart. He stated, "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor people. In the same town was a widow who kept coming to him, stating, 'Defend my rights against my opponent.' For a time he refused, but finally he thought: 'Even though I neither fear God nor care about people, this widow bothers me so much I will see that she gets justice; then she will stop coming and wearing me out." And Jesus explained, "Listen to what the evil judge says. Will God not do justice for his chosen ones who cry to him day and night even if he delays in answering them? I tell you, he will speedily do them justice. Yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Date: October 13, 2013

First Reading (2 Kings 5: 14-17)
A reading from the second book of Kings.
Naaman went down to the Jordan where he washed himself seven times as Elisha had ordered. His skin became soft like that of a child and he was cleansed. Then Naaman returned to the man of God with all his men. He entered and stated to him, "Now I know that there is no other God anywhere in the world but in Israel. I ask you to accept these gifts from your servant." But Elisha replied, "I swear by the Lord whom I serve, I will accept nothing." And however much Naaman insisted, Elisha would not accept his gifts. So Naaman told him, "Since you refuse, let me acquire some sacks of soil from your land – the quantity that two mules can carry. I shall use it to build an altar to the Lord, for I shall not offer sacrifices to any other god but him."

Second Reading (2 Timothy 2: 8-13)
A reading from the second letter of Saint Paul to Timothy.
Beloved: Remember Christ Jesus, risen from the dead, Jesus, son of David, as preached in my Gospel. For this Gospel I labor and even wear chains like an evildoer, but the word of God is not chained. And so I bear everything for the sake of the chosen people, that they, too, may obtain the salvation given to us in Christ Jesus and share eternal glory. This statement is true: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure with him, we shall reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are unfaithful, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself.

Gospel (Luke 17: 11-19)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke.
On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was passing along the border between Samaria and Galilee, and as he entered a village, ten lepers came to meet him. Keeping their distance, they called to him, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" Then Jesus stated to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." Now, as they went their way, they found they were cured. One of them, as soon as he saw he was cleansed, turned back praising God in a loud voice, and throwing himself on his face before Jesus, he gave him thanks. This man was a Samaritan. Then Jesus stated, "Were not all ten healed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God but this alien?" And Jesus stated to him, "Stand up and go your separate way, for your faith has saved you."

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Date: October 6, 2013

First Reading (Habakkuk 1: 2-3 and 2: 2-4)
A reading from the book of the Prophet Habakkuk.
Lord, how long will I cry for help while you pay no attention to me? I denounce the oppression and you do not save. Why do you make me see injustice? Then the Lord replied to me and stated, "Write down the vision, inscribe it on tables so it can be easily read, since this is a vision for an appointed time; it will not fail but will be fulfilled in due time. If it delays, wait for it, for it will come and will not be deferred. Look: I do not look with favor on the one who gives away; the upright, on the other hand, will live by his faithfulness."

Second Reading (2 Timothy 1: 6-8 and 13-14)
A reading from the second letter of Saint Paul to Timothy.
Beloved: I invite you to fan into a flame the gift of God you received through the laying on of my hands. For God did not confer on us a spirit of bashfulness, but of strength, love and good judgment. Do not be ashamed of testifying to our Lord, nor of seeing me in chains. On the contrary, do your share in laboring for the Gospel with the strength of God. Follow the pattern of the sound doctrine which you have heard from me, concerning faith and love in Christ Jesus. Keep this precious deposit with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

Gospel (Luke 17: 5-10)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke.
The apostles stated to the Lord, "Increase our faith." And the Lord replied, "If you have faith even the size of a mustard seed, you may say to this tree: 'Be uprooted and plant yourself in the sea,' and it will obey you. Who among you would say to your servant coming from the fields after plowing or tending sheep: 'Come at once and sit down at the table.'? No, you tell him: 'Prepare my dinner. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; you can eat and drink afterwards.' Do you thank this servant for doing what you commanded? So for you. When you have done all that you have been told to do, you must say: 'We are no more than servants; we have only done our duty."

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Date: September 29, 2013

First Reading (Amos 6: 1 and 4-7)
A reading from the book of the Prophet Amos.
Woe to those proud people who live, overconfident on the hill of Samaria! Woe to you, men of renown, from the first among the nations, to whom the people of Israel come! You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and sprawl on your couches; you eat lamb from the flock and veal from calves fattened in the stall. You strum on your harps, and like David, try out new musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you do not grieve over the ruins of Joseph. Therefore you will be the first to go into exile; and the feast of sprawlers will be over.

Second Reading (1 Timothy 6: 11-16)
A reading from the first letter of Saint Paul to Timothy.
But you, man of God, shun righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Strive to be holy and godly. Live in faith and love, with endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith and win everlasting life to which you were called when you made the good profession of faith in the presence of so many witnesses. Now, in the presence of God who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus who gave the good testimony before Pontius Pilate, I command you to keep the commandment. Keep yourself pure and blameless until the glorious coming of Christ Jesus, our Lord, which God will bring about at the proper time, he, the magnificent sovereign, King of kings and Lord of lords. To him, alone immortal, who lives in unapproachable light and whom no one has ever seen or can see, to him be honor and power for ever and ever. Amen!

Gospel (Luke 16: 19-31)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke.
Jesus continued with this parable and stated this to the Pharisees: "Once there was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted every day. At his gate lay Lazarus, a poor man covered with sores, who longed to eat just the scraps falling from the rich man's table. Even dogs used to come and lick his sores. It happened that the poor man died and angels carried him to take his place with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. From hell where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham afar off, and with him Lazarus at rest. He called out: 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus with the tip of his finger dipped in water to cool my tongue, for I suffer so much in this fire.' Abraham replied: 'My son, remember that in your lifetime you were well-off while the lot of Lazarus was misfortune. Now he is in comfort and you are in agony. But that is not all. Between your place and ours a great chasm has been fixed, so that no one can cross over from here to you or from your side to us.' The rich man implored once more: 'Then I beg you, Father Abraham, to send Lazarus to my father's house where my five brothers live. Let him warn them so that they may not end up in this place of torment.' Abraham replied: 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.' But the rich man said: 'No, Father Abraham. But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' Abraham replied: 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the grave.'"

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Date: September 22, 2013

First Reading (Amos 8: 4–7)
A reading from the book of the Prophet Amos.
Hear this, you who trample on the needy to do away with the weak of the land. You who say, "When will the new moon or the sabbath feast be over that we may open the store and sell our grain? Let us lower the measure and raise the price; let us cheat and tamper with the scales, and even sell the refuse with the whole grain. We will buy up the poor for money and the needy for a pair of sandals." The Lord, the pride of Jacob, has sworn by himself, "I shall never forget their deeds."

Second Reading (1 Timothy 2: 1–8)
A reading from the first letter of Saint Paul to Timothy.
Beloved: First of all, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for rulers of states and all in authority, that we may enjoy a quiet and peaceful life in godliness and respect. This is good and pleases God. For he wants all to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth. As there is one God, there is one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave is life for the redemption of all. This is the testimony, given in its proper time, and of this, God has made me apostle and herald. I am not lying, I am telling the truth: He made me teacher of the nations regarding faith and truth. I want the men in every place to lift pure hands in prayer to heaven without anger and dissension.

Gospel (Luke 16: 1–13)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke.
At another time Jesus told his disciples, "There was a rich man whose steward was reported to him for fraudulent service. He summoned the steward and asked him: 'What is this I hear about you? I want you to render an account of your service for it is about to be terminated.' The steward thought to himself: 'What am I to do now? My master will surely dismiss me. I am not strong enough to do hard work, and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do: I must make sure that when I am dismissed, there will be some people to welcome me into their house.' So he called his master's debtors individually. He asked the first who came: 'How much do you owe my master?' The reply was: 'A hundred jars of oil.' The steward said: 'Here is your bill. Sit down quickly and write there fifty.' To the second he put the same question: 'How much do you owe? The answer was: 'A thousand bushels of wheat.' Then he stated: 'Take your bill and write eight hundred.' The master commended the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the people of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the people of light. And so I tell you: use filthy money to make friends for yourselves, so that when it fails, these people may welcome you into the eternal homes. Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great ones; whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling filthy money, who could entrust you with true wealth? And if you have not been trustworthy with things which are not really yours, who will give you the wealth which is your own? No servant can serve two masters. Either he does not like the one and is fond of the other, or he regards one highly and the other with contempt. You cannot give yourself both to God and to Money."

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Date: September 15, 2013

First Reading (Exodus 32: 7-11 and 13-14)
A reading from the book of Exodus.
Therefore the Lord stated to Moses, "Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a molten calf; they have bowed down before it sacrificed to it and said: 'These are your gods, Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.'" The Lord additionally stated to Moses, "I see that these people are a stiff-necked people. Now just leave me that my anger may blaze against them. I will destroy them, but of you I will make a great nation." But Moses calmed the anger of the Lord, his God, and said, "Why, O Lord, should your anger burst against your people whom your brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with a mighty hand? Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the promise you yourself swore: I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land I spoke about I will give to them as an everlasting inheritance." The Lord then changed his mind and would not harm his people.

Second Reading (1 Timothy 1: 12-17)
A reading from the first letter of Saint Paul to Timothy.
I give thanks to Christ Jesus, our Lord, who is my strength, who has considered me trustworthy and appointed me to his service, although I had been a blasphemer, a persecutor and a rabid enemy. However, he took mercy on me because I did not know what I was doing when I opposed the faith; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, together with faith and Christian love. This saying is true and worthy of belief: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. Because of that I was forgiven; Christ Jesus wanted to display his greatness in me so that I might be an example for all who are to believe and obtain eternal life. To the King of ages, the only God who lives beyond every perishable and visible creation – to him be honor and glory forever. Amen!

Gospel (Luke 15: 1-32)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke.
Meanwhile, tax collectors and sinners were seeking the company of Jesus, all of them eager to hear what he had to say. But the Pharisees and the scribes frowned at this, muttering, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." Therefore, Jesus told them this parable: "Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and seek out the lost one till he finds it? And finding it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders? Then he will call his friends and neighbors together and say: 'Celebrate with me for I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you, just so, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine upright who do not need to repent. What woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one, will not light a lamp and sweep the house in a thorough search until she finds the lost coin? And finding it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say: 'Celebrate with me for I have found the silver coin I lost!' I tell you, in the same way there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner." And then Jesus continued with this parable: "There was a man with two sons. The younger son said to his father: 'Give me my share of the estate.' So the father divided his property between them. Some days later, the younger son gathered all his belongings and started off for a distant land where he squandered his wealth in loose living. Having spent everything, he was hard pressed when a severe famine broke out in that land. So he hired himself out to a well-to-do citizen of that place and was sent to work on a pig farm. So famished was he that he longed to fill his stomach even with the food given to the pigs, but no one offered him anything. Finally coming to his senses, he said: 'How many of my father's hired workers have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will get up and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against God and before you. I no longer deserved to be called your son. Treat me then as one of your hired servants.' With that thought in mind he set off for his father's house. He was still a long way off when his father caught sight of him. His father was so deeply moved with compassion that he ran out to meet him, threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. The son said: 'Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you. I no longer deserve to be called your son…' But the father turned to his servants: 'Quick! Bring out the finest robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and kill it. We shall celebrate and have a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and is found.' And the celebration commenced. Meanwhile, the elder son had been working in the fields. As he returned and was near the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what it was all about. The servant answered: "Your brother has come home safe and sound, and your father is so happy about it that he has ordered this celebration and killed the fattened calf.' The elder son became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and pleaded with him. The indignant son said: 'Look I have slaved for you all these years. Never have I disobeyed your orders. Yet you have never given me even a young goat to celebrate with my friends. Then when his son of yours returns after squandering your property with loose women, you kill the fattened calf for him.' The father said: 'My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But this brother of yours was dead, and has come back to life. He was lost and is found. And for that we had to rejoice and be glad.'"

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Date: September 8, 2013

First Reading (Wisdom 9: 13–18)
A reading from the book of Wisdom.
Indeed, who can know the intentions of God? Who can discern the plan of the Lord? For human reason is timid, our notions misleading; a perishable body is a burden for the soul and our tent of clay weighs down the active mind. We are barely able to know about the things on earth and it is a struggle to understand what is close to us; who then may hope to understand heavenly things? Who has ever known your will unless you first gave him Wisdom and sent down your holy spirit to him? In this way you directed the human race on the right path; they learned what pleases you and were saved by Wisdom.

Second Reading (Philemon: 9b–10 and 12–17)
A reading from the letter of Saint Paul to Philemon.
The one talking is Paul, the old man, now prisoner for Christ. And my request is on behalf of Onesimus, whose father and I have become while I was in prison. In returning him to you, I am sending you my own heart. I would have liked to keep him at my side, to serve me on your behalf while I am in prison for the Gospel, but I did not want to do anything without your agreement, nor impose a good deed upon you without your free consent. Perhaps Onesimus has been parted for you for a while so that you may have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but better than a slave. For he is a very dear brother to me, and he will be even dearer to you. And so, because of our friendship, receive him as if he were I myself.

Gospel (Luke 14: 25–33)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke.
One day, when large crowds were following and walking along with Jesus, he turned and stated to them, "If you come to me, without being ready to give up your love for your father and mother, your spouse and children, your brothers and sisters, and indeed yourself, you cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not follow me carrying his own cross cannot be my disciple. Do you build a house without first sitting down to count the cost to see whether you have enough to complete it? Otherwise, if you have laid the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone will make fun of you: 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' And when a king wages war against another king, does he go to fight without first sitting down to consider whether his ten thousand can stand against the twenty thousand of his opponent? And if not, while the other is still a long way off he sends messengers for peace talks. In the same way, none of you may become my disciple if he does not give up everything he has.