First Reading - Neh 8:2-4.5-
6.8-10
Ezra, the priest, brought
[the book of] the law before
the assembly, which consisted of men, women, and those
children old enough to understand. Standing at one end of
the open place that was before
the Water Gate, he read out of
the book from daybreak till
midday, in the presence of the
men, the women, and those
children old enough to understand; and all the people listened attentively to the book
of the law.
Ezra the scribe stood on
a wooden platform that had
been made for the occasion.
He opened the scroll so that
all the people might see it –
for he was standing higher up
than any of the people – ; and,
as he opened it, all the people
rose. Ezra blessed the Lord,
the great God, and all the people, their hands raised high,
answered, “Amen, amen!”
Then they bowed down and prostrated themselves before
the Lord, their faces to the
ground. Ezra read plainly
from the book of the law of
God, interpreting it so that all
could understand what was
read.
Then Nehemiah, that is,
His Excellency, and Ezra the
priest-scribe and the Levites
who were instructing the people said to all the people: “Today is holy to the Lord your
God. Do not be sad, and do not
weep” – for all the people were
weeping as they heard the
words of the law.
He said further: “Go, eat
rich foods and drink sweet
drinks, and allot portions to
those who have nothing prepared; for today is holy to our
Lord. Do not be saddened this
day, for rejoicing in the Lord
must be your strength!”
Responsorial Psalm - Ps 19
R –Your words, Lord, are
Spirit and life!
* The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; the
decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the
simple. R.
* The precepts of the Lord
are right, rejoicing the heart;
the command of the Lord is
clear, enlightening the eye. R.
* The fear of the Lord is
pure, enduring forever; the
ordinances of the Lord are
true, all of them just. R.
* Let the words of my mouth
and the thoughts of my heart
fi nd favor before you, O Lord,
my rock and my redeemer. R.
Second Reading - 1 Cor 12:12-
30
Brothers and sisters:
As a body is one and though
it has many parts, and all the
parts of the body, though
many, are one body, so also
Christ. For in one Spirit we
were all baptized into one
body, whether Jews or Greeks,
slaves or free persons, and we
were all given to drink of one
Spirit.
Now the body is not a single
part, but many. If a foot should
say, “Because I am not a hand
I do not belong to the body,” it
does not for this reason belong
any less to the body. Or if an
ear should say, “Because I am
not an eye I do not belong to
the body,” it does not for this
reason belong any less to the
body.
If the whole body were an
eye, where would the hearing
be? If the whole body were
hearing, where would the
sense of smell be? But as it is,
God placed the parts, each
one of them, in the body as he
intended. If they were all one
part, where would the body
be? But as it is, there are many
parts, yet one body.
The eye cannot say to the
hand, “I do not need you,” nor
again the head to the feet, “I
do not need you.” Indeed, the
parts of the body that seem
to be weaker are all the more
necessary, and those parts of
the body that we consider less
honorable we surround with
greater honor, and our less
presentable parts are treated
with greater propriety, whereas our more presentable parts
do not need this. But God has
so constructed the body as to
give greater honor to a part that is without it, so that there
may be no division in the body,
but that the parts may have
the same concern for one another. If one part suffers, all
the parts suffer with it; if one
part is honored, all the parts
share its joy.
Now you are Christ’s body,
and individually parts of it.
Some people God has designated in the Church to be, first,
apostles; second, prophets;
third, teachers; then, mighty
deeds; then gifts of healing,
assistance, administration,
and varieties of tongues. Are
all apostles? Are all prophets?
Are all teachers? Do all work
mighty deeds? Do all have
gifts of healing? Do all speak
in tongues? Do all interpret?
Gospel Acclamation - Lk 4:18
Alleluia! Alleluia!
The Lord sent me to bring
glad tidings to the poor,
and to proclaim liberty to
captives.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Gospel - Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21
Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative
of the events that have been
fulfilled among us, just as those
who were eyewitnesses from
the beginning and ministers
of the word have handed them
down to us, I, too, have decided,
after investigating everything
accurately anew, to write it
down in an orderly sequence
for you, most excellent
Theophilus, so that you may
realize the certainty of the
teachings you have received.
Jesus returned to Galilee
in the power of the Spirit, and
news of him spread throughout the whole region. He
taught in their synagogues and
was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth,
where he had grown up, and
went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read
and was handed a scroll of the
prophet Isaiah. He unrolled
the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me, because he has
anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent
me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to
the blind, to let the oppressed
go free, and to proclaim a year
acceptable to the Lord.”
Rolling up the scroll, he
handed it back to the attendant
and sat down, and the eyes of
all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage
is fulfilled in your hearing.”
