June 16, 2024 - 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

 

First Reading - Ez 17:22-24

    Thus says the Lord God:

    I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar, from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot, and plant it on a high and lofty mountain; on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it. It shall put forth branches and bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind shall dwell be- neath it, every winged thing in the shade of its boughs. And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, bring low the high tree, lift high the lowly tree, wither up the green tree, and make the withered tree bloom. As I, the Lord, have spoken, so will I do. 

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 92

R –Lord, it is good to give thanks to you!

* It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, Most High, to proclaim your kindness at dawn and your faithfulness throughout the night. R.

* The just one shall flourish like the palm tree, like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow. They that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. R.

* They shall bear fruit even in old age; vigorous and sturdy shall they be, declaring how just is the Lord, my rock, in whom there is no wrong. R.

Second Reading - 2 Cor 5:6-10

    Brothers and sisters: We are always courageous, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil. 

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia! Alleluia!
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower. All who come to him will live for ever.
Alleluia! Alleluia! 

Gospel - Mk 4:26-34 

    Jesus said to the crowds:

    “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”

    He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.

    Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private. 

June 9, 2024 -Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

 

First Reading - Gn 3:9-15

    After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree, the Lord God called to the man and asked him: “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, be- cause I was naked, so I hid myself.” Then God asked: “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat?” The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me – she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.” The Lord God then asked the woman, “Why did you do such a thing?” The woman answered, “The snake tricked me into it, so I ate it.”

    Then the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals, and from all wild creatures; on your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life.

    I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” 

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 130 

R –With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption! 

* Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice! 
Let your ears be attentive to my voice of my pleading. R. 

* If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand? 
But with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered. R.

* I trust in the Lord; my soul trusts in his word. More than sentinels wait for the dawn, 
let Israel wait for the Lord. R.

* For with the Lord is kindness and with him is plenteous redemption, 
and he will redeem Israel from all their iniquities. R. 

Second Reading - 2 Cor 4:13-5:1 

    Brothers and sisters: Since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we too believe and therefore speak, knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence. Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace be- stowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.

    Therefore, we are not discouraged. Rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal. We know that, if our earthly dwelling, [which is like] a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in heaven not made by [human] hands. 

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia! Alleluia!
“Now the ruler of this world will be driven out,” says the Lord; 
“and when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel - Mk 3:20-35 

    Jesus came home with his disciples. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat.

    When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”

    Summoning them, Jesus began to speak to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. No one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.

    Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, for he is guilty of an everlasting sin.” [He said this] because they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

    Jesus’ mother and his brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent word to him and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you.”

    But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” 

June 2, 2024 - Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ Year B

 

First Reading - Ex 24:3-8

    When Moses came to the people and related all the words and ordinances of the Lord, they all answered with one voice, “We will do everything that the Lord has told us.”

    Moses then wrote down all the words of the Lord and, rising early the next day, he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. Then, having sent certain young men of the Israelites to offer holocausts and sacrifice young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord, Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls; the other half he splashed on the altar. Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people, who answered, “All that the Lord has said, we will heed and do.” Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words of his.”

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 116

R - I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord!

* How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me? The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. R.

* Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones. I am your servant, the son of your handmaid; you have loosed my bonds. R.

* To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all his people. R.

Second Reading - Heb 9:11-15 

    Brothers and sisters:

    When Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belong- ing to this creation, he entered once for all into the sanctuary,  not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.

    For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God!

    For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant: since a death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. 

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 - Mk 14:12-16.22-26 

    On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” ’ Then he will show you a large upper room 
furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.”

    The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

    While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”

    Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 

May 26, 2024 - Solemnity of the Blessed Trinity (Year B)

 

First Reading - Dt 4:32-34.39-40

    Moses said to the people: “Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth. Ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of? Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live? Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, with strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors, all of which the Lord, your God, did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

    This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the Lord is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other. You must keep his statutes and commandments that I enjoin on you today, that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may have long life on the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you forever.” 

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 33

R –-Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own!

* 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.

* By the word of the Lord the heavens were made; by the breath of His mouth all their host. For He spoke, and it was made; He commanded, and it stood forth. 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 times of famine. R.

* Our soul waits for the Lord, who is our help and our shield. May Your kindness, O Lord, be upon us who have put our hope in You. R.

Second Reading - Rom 8:14-17 

     Brothers and sisters:

    Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 

    For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a Spirit of adoption, through whom we cry, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself bears wit- ness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. 

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 - Mt 28:16-20 

    The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they all 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 time.” 

May 19, 2024 - Solemnity of Pentecost (Year B)

 

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 of fire, 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, inhabitants 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 below;
And our inmost being fill!

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,

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 12, 2024 - Solemnity of the Ascension (Year B)

 

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 going 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 as you 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 4:1-13 

    Brothers and sisters:

    I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

    But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore, it says: He ascended on high and took prisoners captive; he gave gifts to men. What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended into the lower regions of the earth? The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.

    And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ. 

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 - Mk 16:15-20 

    Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Whoever does not believe will be condemned.

    These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

    So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God.

    But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs. 

May 5, 2024 - Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year B)

 

First Reading - Acts 10:25-26. 34-35.44-48

    When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, paid him homage. Peter, however, raised him up, saying, “Get up. I myself am also a human being.”

    Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every
nation, whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.”

    While Peter was still speaking these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word. The 
circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles also, for they could hear them speaking in tongues and glorifying God.

    Then Peter responded, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit even as we have?” He ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. 

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 98 

R –The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power! 

* Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds. 
His right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. R.

* The Lord has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. 
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. R.

* All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. 
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; break into song, sing praise. R.

Second Reading - 1 Jn 4:7-10 

    Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God. Everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.

    In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.

    In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. 

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 15:9-17 

    Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.

    If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

    I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete.

    This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

    I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.

    It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give you.

    This I command you: love one another.”