June 25, 2023 - 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

 

First Reading - Jer 20:10-13

    Jeremiah said: “I hear the whisperings of many: ‘Terror on every side! Denounce! Let us denounce him!’ All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. ‘Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him.’ But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion.

    O Lord of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart, let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause.

    Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!”

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 69

R – Lord, in your great love, answer me!

* For your sake I bear insult, and shame covers my face. I have become an outcast to my brothers, a stranger to my mother’ s children, because zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me. R.

* I pray to you, O Lord, for the time of your favor, O God! In your great kindness answer me with your constant help. Answer me, O Lord, for bounteous is your kindness; in your great mercy turn toward me. R.

* “See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, may your hearts revive! For the Lord hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not. Let the heavens and the earth praise him, the seas and whatever moves in them!” R.

Second Reading - Rom 5:12-15

    Brothers and sisters: Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned – for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law. But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one who was to come.

    But the gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia! Alleluia!
The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord; and you also will testify.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel - Mt 10:26-33

    Jesus said to the Twelve: “Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the house-tops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather , be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.

    Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’ s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

    Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father .”

June 18, 2023 - 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

 

First Reading - Ex 19: 2-6

    In those days, the Israelites came to the desert of Sinai and pitched camp.

    While Israel was encamped here in front of the mountain, Moses went up the mountain to God. Then the Lord called to him and said, “Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob; tell the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagle wings, and brought you here to 
myself. Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine. You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.”

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 100

R –We are his people: the sheep of his flock!

*Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful song. R.

* Know that the Lord is God; he made us, his we are; his people, the flock he tends. R.

* The Lord is good: his kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness, to all generations. R

Second Reading - Rom 5:6-11

    Brothers and sisters: Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

    How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life. Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Gospel Acclamation - Mk 1:15

Alleluia! Alleluia!
The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel - Mt 9:36-10:8

    At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

    Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon from Cana, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

    Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

June 11, 2023 - Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Year A)

 

First Reading - Dt 8:2-3,14-16

    Moses said to the people: “Remember how for forty years now, the Lord, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments. He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.

    Do not forget the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery; who guided you through the vast and terrible desert with its saraph serpents and scorpions, its parched and waterless ground; who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock and fed you in the desert with manna, a food unknown to your fathers.”

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 147

R– Praise the Lord, Jerusalem!

* Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; he has blessed your children within you. R.

* He has granted peace in your borders; with the best of wheat he fills you. He sends forth his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word! R.

* He has proclaimed his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel. He has not done thus for any other nation; his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia! R.

Second Reading - 1 Cor 10:16-17

    Brothers and sisters:

    The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.

Sequence

Lo! the angel’s food is given To the pilgrim who has striven; 

See the children’s bread from heaven,

Which on dogs may not be spent.

Truth the ancient types fulfilling,

Isaac bound, a victim willing, Paschal lamb, its lifeblood spilling,

Manna to the fathers sent.

Very bread, good shepherd, tend us,

Jesus, of your love befriend us, You refresh us, you defend us, 

Your eternal goodness send us In the land of life to see.

You who all things can and know, Who on earth such food bestow,

Grant us with your saints, though lowest,

Where the heav’nly feast you show,

Fellow heirs and guests to be. Amen! Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation - Jn 6:51

Alleluia! Alleluia!
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven,” says the Lord;

“whoever eats this bread will live forever.” 
Alleluia! Alleluia! 

Gospel - Jn 6:51-58

    Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

    The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.

    Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.

    Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

June 4, 2023 - Solemnity of the Blessed Trinity (Year A)

 

First Reading - Ex 34:4-6.8-9

    Early in the morning Moses went up Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded him, taking along the two stone tablets.

    Having come down in a cloud, the Lord stood with him there and proclaimed his name, “Lord.” Thus the Lord passed before Moses and cried out, “The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in 
kindness and fidelity.”

    Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship. Then he said, “If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as your own.”

Responsorial Psalm - Dn 3

R – Glory and praise for ever!

 * Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages. R.

* Blessed are you in the tem- ple of your holy glory, praise- worthy and glorious above all forever. R.

* Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. R.

* Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. R.

Second Reading - 2 Cor 13:11-13

    Brothers and sisters, rejoice. Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the holy ones greet you.
    The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

Gospel Acclamation -Rv 1:8

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: to God who is, who was, and who is to come. 
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel - Jn 3:16-18

Jesus said to Nicodemus: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

May 28, 2023 - Solemnity of Pentecost (Year A)

 First Reading - Acts 2:1-11

    When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, the disciples were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as offire, which parted and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

    Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.

    At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language? We are Parthians, Medes and Elamites, inhabit- ants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 104

R – Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth!

*    Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord, my God, you are great indeed! How manifold are your works, O Lord! 
The earth is full of your creatures.  R.

* May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord be glad in his works! Pleasing to him be my theme; I will be glad in the Lord. R.

* If you take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. R.

Second Reading - 1 Cor 12:3- 7.12-13 

    Brothers and sisters:

    No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.

    As a body is one, 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.

Sequence

Come, Holy Spirit, come! And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!
Come, Father of the poor! Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine!
You, of comforters the best; You, the soul’s most welcome
guest;
Sweet refreshment here be- low;
In our labor, rest most sweet; Grateful coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe.
O most blessed Light divine, Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill!
Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought, Nothing free from taint of ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness, pour your dew; Wash the stains of guilt away.
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.
On the faithful, who adore

And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend.
Give them virtue’s sure reward; Give them your salvation, Lord; Give them joys that never end.

Amen! Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia! Alleluia!
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel - Jn 20:19-23

    On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

    Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

May 21, 2023 - Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Year A)

 

First Reading - Acts 1:1-11

    In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

    He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

    When they had gathered together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time go- ing to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

    When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way asyou have seen him going into heaven.”

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 47

R– God mounts his throne to shouts of joy; a blare of trumpets for the Lord!

*    All you peoples, clap your hands, shout to God with cries of gladness. For the Lord, the Most High, the awesome, is the great king over all the earth. R.

* God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy; the Lord, amid trumpet blasts. Sing praise to God, sing praise; sing praise to our king, sing praise. R.

*    For king of all the earth is God; sing hymns of praise. God reigns over the nations, God sits upon his holy throne. R.

Second Reading - Eph 1:17-23

    Brothers and sisters:

    May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia! Alleluia!
“Go and teach all nations,” says the Lord; “I am with you always, until the end of the world.” 
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel - Mt 28:16-20

    The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

May 14, 2023 - 6th Sunday of Easter (Year A)

 

First Reading - Acts 8:5-8.14-17

    Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them.

    With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing. For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed or crippled people were cured. There was great joy in that city.

    Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

    Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 66

R –Let all the earth cry out to God with joy!

* Shout joyfully to God, all the earth, sing praise to the glory of his name; proclaim his glorious praise. Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!” R.

* “Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you, sing praise to your name!” Come and see the works of God, his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam. R.

* He has changed the sea into dry land; through the river they passed on foot; there- fore let us rejoice in him. He rules by his might forever. R.

* Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare what he has done for me. Blessed be God who refused me not my prayer or his kindness! R.

Second Reading - 1 Pt 3:15-18

    Beloved: Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for do- ing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.

    For Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit.

Gospel Acclamation - Jn 14:23

Alleluia! Alleluia! 
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,” says the Lord, “and my Father will love him and we will come to him.”
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel - Jn 14:15-21

    Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you.

    I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.

    Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

May 7, 2023 - 5th Sunday of Easter (Year A)

 

First Reading - Acts 6:1-7

    As the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.

    So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Juda- ism. They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them.

    The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly; even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 33

R - Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you!

* Exult, you just, in the Lord; praise from the upright is fitting. Give thanks to the Lord on the harp; with the ten- stringed lyre chant his praises. R.

* Upright is the word of the Lord, and all his works are trustworthy. He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full. R.

* See, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, to deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine. R.

Second Reading - 1 Pt 2:4-9 

    Beloved:

    Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human be- ings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it says in Scripture:

    “Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a cornerstone, chosen and precious, and who- ever believes in it shall not be put to shame.”

    Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without faith:

    “The stone that the builders rejected has become the corner- stone,” and “A stone that will make people stumble, and a rock that will make them fall.”

    They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their des- tiny. You are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who called you out of dark- ness into his wonderful light.

Gospel Acclamation - Jn 14:6

Alleluia! Alleluia!
I am the way, the truth, and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father, except through me. 
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel - Jn 14:1-12

    Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going, you know the way.”

    Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

    Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.”