Reading I Am 2:6-10, 13-16 Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke my word; Because they sell the just man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals. They trample the heads of the weak into the dust of the earth, and force the lowly out of the way. Son and father go to the same prostitute, profaning my holy name. Upon garments taken in pledge they recline beside any altar; And the wine of those who have been fined they drink in the house of their god. Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them, who were as tall as the cedars, and as strong as the oak trees. I destroyed their fruit above, and their roots beneath. It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, and who led you through the desert for forty years, to occupy the land of the Amorites. Beware, I will crush you into the ground as a wagon crushes when laden with sheaves. Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong man shall not retain his strength; The warrior shall not save his life, nor the bowman stand his ground; The swift of foot shall not escape, nor the horseman save his life. And the most stouthearted of warriors shall flee naked on that day, says the LORD.   Responsorial Psalm 50:16bc-17, 18-19, 20-21, 22-23 R. (22a) Remember this, you who never think of God. “Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth, Though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?” R. Remember this, you who never think of God. “When you see a thief, you keep pace with him, and with adulterers you throw in your lot. To your mouth you give free rein for evil, you harness your tongue to deceit.” R. Remember this, you who never think of God. “You sit speaking against your brother; against your mother’s son you spread rumors. When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it? Or do you think that I am like yourself? I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.” R. Remember this, you who never think of God. “Consider this, you who forget God, lest I rend you and there be no one to rescue you. He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me; and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.” R. Remember this, you who never think of God. Alleluia Ps 95:8 R. Alleluia, alleluia. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 8:18-22 When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other shore. A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man

Reading I 1 Kgs 19:16b, 19-21 The LORD said to Elijah: “You shall anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah, as prophet to succeed you.” Elijah set out and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he was following the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him. Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you.” Elijah answered, “Go back! Have I done anything to you?” Elisha left him, and taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them; he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and gave it to his people to eat. Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his attendant. Responsorial Psalm Ps 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11 R (cf. 5a) You are my inheritance, O Lord. Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;             I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you. O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,             you it is who hold fast my lot.” R You are my inheritance, O Lord. I bless the LORD who counsels me;             even in the night my heart exhorts me. I set the LORD ever before me;             with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. R You are my inheritance, O Lord. Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,             my body, too, abides in confidence because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,             nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption. R You are my inheritance, O Lord. You will show me the path to life,             fullness of joys in your presence,             the delights at your right hand forever. R You are my inheritance, O Lord. Reading II Gal 5:1, 13-18 Brothers and sisters: For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another. I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Alleluia 1 Sm 3:9; Jn 6:68c R. Alleluia, alleluia. Speak, Lord, your servant is listening; you have the words of everlasting life. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 9:51-62 When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely

Readings for the The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, MemorialReading I Lam 2:2, 10-14, 18-19 The Lord has consumed without pity all the dwellings of Jacob; He has torn down in his anger the fortresses of daughter Judah; He has brought to the ground in dishonor her king and her princes. On the ground in silence sit the old men of daughter Zion; They strew dust on their heads and gird themselves with sackcloth; The maidens of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground. Worn out from weeping are my eyes, within me all is in ferment; My gall is poured out on the ground because of the downfall of the daughter of my people, As child and infant faint away in the open spaces of the town. In vain they ask their mothers, “Where is the grain?” As they faint away like the wounded in the streets of the city, And breathe their last in their mothers’ arms. To what can I liken or compare you, O daughter Jerusalem? What example can I show you for your comfort, virgin daughter Zion? For great as the sea is your downfall; who can heal you? Your prophets had for you false and specious visions; They did not lay bare your guilt, to avert your fate; They beheld for you in vision false and misleading portents. Cry out to the Lord; moan, O daughter Zion! Let your tears flow like a torrent day and night; Let there be no respite for you, no repose for your eyes. Rise up, shrill in the night, at the beginning of every watch; Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your little ones Who faint from hunger at the corner of every street.   Responsorial Psalm 74:1b-2, 3-5, 6-7, 20-21 R. (19b) Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones. Why, O God, have you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? Remember your flock which you built up of old, the tribe you redeemed as your inheritance, Mount Zion, where you took up your abode. R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones. Turn your steps toward the utter ruins; toward all the damage the enemy has done in the sanctuary. Your foes roar triumphantly in your shrine; they have set up their tokens of victory. They are like men coming up with axes to a clump of trees. R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones. With chisel and hammer they hack at all the paneling of the sanctuary. They set your sanctuary on fire; the place where your name abides they have razed and profaned. R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones. Look to your covenant, for the hiding places in the land and the plains are full of violence. May the humble not retire in confusion; may the afflicted

Reading I Ez 34:11-16 Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the foreign lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel in the land's ravines and all its inhabited places. In good pastures will I pasture them, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing ground. There they shall lie down on good grazing ground, and in rich pastures shall they be pastured on the mountains of Israel. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy, shepherding them rightly.   Responsorial Psalm Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6. R (1)    The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.             In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me;             he refreshes my soul. R The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. He guides me in right paths             for his name's sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley             I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff             that give me courage. R The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. You spread the table before me             in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil;             my cup overflows. R The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Only goodness and kindness follow me             all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD             for years to come. R The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Reading II Rom 5:5b-11 Brothers and sisters: The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For Christ, while we were still helpless, 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

Readings for the VigilReadings for the Mass during the DayVigil Mass Mass during the Day - - -Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Readings for the Mass during the DayReadings for the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the BaptistReading I Jer 1:4-10 In the days of King Josiah, the word of the LORD came to me, saying:             Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,                         before you were born I dedicated you,                         a prophet to the nations I appointed you.             “Ah, Lord GOD!” I said,                         “I know not how to speak; I am too young.”             But the LORD answered me,             Say not, “I am too young.”                         To whomever I send you, you shall go;                         whatever I command you, you shall speak.             Have no fear before them,                         because I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD. Then the LORD extended his hand and touched my mouth, saying,             See, I place my words in your mouth!                         This day I set you                         over nations and over kingdoms,             to root up and to tear down,                         to destroy and to demolish,                         to build and to plant. Responsorial Psalm 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 15ab and 17 R.        (6)  Since my mother’s womb, you have been my strength. In you, O LORD, I take refuge;             let me never be put to shame. In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;             incline your ear to me, and save me. R.        Since my mother’s womb, you have been my strength. Be my rock of refuge,             a stronghold to give me safety,             for you are my rock and my fortress. O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked. R.        Since my mother’s womb, you have been my strength. For you are my hope, O Lord;             my trust, O LORD, from my youth. On you I depend from birth;             from my mother’s womb you are my strength. R.        Since my mother’s womb, you have been my strength. My mouth shall declare your justice,             day by day your salvation. O God, you have taught me from my youth,             and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds. R.        Since my mother’s womb, you have been my strength. Reading II 1 Pt 1:8-12 Beloved: Although you have not seen Jesus Christ you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and investigated it, investigating the time and circumstances that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when he testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the glories to follow them. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you with regard to the things that have now been announced to you by those who preached the Good News to you through the Holy Spirit

Readings for the VigilReadings for the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the BaptistReading I Is 49:1-6 Hear me, O coastlands,             listen, O distant peoples. The LORD called me from birth,             from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp-edged sword             and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow,             in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me,             Israel, through whom I show my glory. Though I thought I had toiled in vain,             and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, yet my reward is with the LORD,             my recompense is with my God. For now the LORD has spoken             who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought back to him             and Israel gathered to him; and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,             and my God is now my strength! It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,             to raise up the tribes of Jacob,             and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations,             that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.   Responsorial Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15 R.        (14)  I praise you, for I am wonderfully made. O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:             you know when I sit and when I stand;             you understand my thoughts from afar. My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,             with all my ways you are familiar. R.        I praise you for I am wonderfully made. Truly you have formed my inmost being;             you knit me in my mother’s womb. I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;             wonderful are your works. R.        I praise you, for I am wonderfully made. My soul also you knew full well;             nor was my frame unknown to you When I was made in secret,             when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth. R.        I praise you, for I am wonderfully made. Reading II Acts 13:22-26 In those days, Paul said: “God raised up David as king; of him God testified,I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish. From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus. John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel; and as John was completing his course, he would say, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.’ “My brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those others among you who are God-fearing, to us this word of salvation has been sent.” Alleluia See Lk 1:76 R.

Reading I 2 Kgs 22:8-13; 23:1-3 The high priest Hilkiah informed the scribe Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law in the temple of the LORD.” Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it. Then the scribe Shaphan went to the king and reported, “Your servants have smelted down the metals available in the temple and have consigned them to the master workmen in the temple of the LORD.” The scribe Shaphan also informed the king that the priest Hilkiah had given him a book, and then read it aloud to the king. When the king heard the contents of the book of the law, he tore his garments and issued this command to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, son of Shaphan, Achbor, son of Micaiah, the scribe Shaphan, and the king’s servant Asaiah: “Go, consult the LORD for me, for the people, for all Judah, about the stipulations of this book that has been found, for the anger of the LORD has been set furiously ablaze against us, because our fathers did not obey the stipulations of this book, nor fulfill our written obligations.” The king then had all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem summoned together before him. The king went up to the temple of the LORD with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: priests, prophets, and all the people, small and great. He had the entire contents of the book of the covenant that had been found in the temple of the LORD, read out to them. Standing by the column, the king made a covenant before the LORD that they would follow him and observe his ordinances, statutes and decrees with their whole hearts and souls, thus reviving the terms of the covenant which were written in this book. And all the people stood as participants in the covenant. Responsorial Psalm 119:33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40 R. (33a) Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord. Instruct me, O LORD, in the way of your statutes, that I may exactly observe them. R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord. Give me discernment, that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart. R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord. Lead me in the path of your commands, for in it I delight. R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord. Incline my heart to your decrees and not to gain. R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord. Turn away my eyes from seeing what is vain: by your way give me life. R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord. Behold, I long for your precepts; in your justice give me life. R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.   Alleluia Jn 15:4a, 5b R. Alleluia, alleluia. Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord; whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.

Readings for the Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, religiousReading I 2 Kgs 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36 Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent envoys to Hezekiah with this message: “Thus shall you say to Hezekiah, king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all other countries: they doomed them! Will you, then, be saved?’” Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; then he went up to the temple of the LORD, and spreading it out before him, he prayed in the LORD’s presence: “O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned upon the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens and the earth. Incline your ear, O LORD, and listen! Open your eyes, O LORD, and see! Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God. Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and cast their gods into the fire; they destroyed them because they were not gods, but the work of human hands, wood and stone. Therefore, O LORD, our God, save us from the power of this man, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God.” Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent this message to Hezekiah: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, in answer to your prayer for help against Sennacherib, king of Assyria: I have listened! This is the word the LORD has spoken concerning him: “‘She despises you, laughs you to scorn, the virgin daughter Zion! Behind you she wags her head, daughter Jerusalem. “‘For out of Jerusalem shall come a remnant, and from Mount Zion, survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.’ “Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not reach this city, nor shoot an arrow at it, nor come before it with a shield, nor cast up siege-works against it. He shall return by the same way he came, without entering the city, says the LORD. I will shield and save this city for my own sake, and for the sake of my servant David.’” That night the angel of the LORD went forth and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, broke camp, and went back home to Nineveh. Responsorial Psalm 48:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 10-11 R. (see 9d) God upholds his city for ever. Great is the LORD and wholly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, fairest of heights, is the joy of all the earth. R. God upholds his city for ever. Mount Zion, “the recesses of the North,” is the city of the great King. God is with her castles;

Reading I 2 Kgs 17:5-8, 13-15a, 18 Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, occupied the whole land and attacked Samaria, which he besieged for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel the king of Assyria took Samaria, and deported the children of Israel to Assyria, setting them in Halah, at the Habor, a river of Gozan, and the cities of the Medes. This came about because the children of Israel sinned against the LORD, their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the domination of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and because they venerated other gods. They followed the rites of the nations whom the Lord had cleared out of the way of the children of Israel and the kings of Israel whom they set up. And though the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and seer, “Give up your evil ways and keep my commandments and statutes, in accordance with the entire law which I enjoined on your fathers and which I sent you by my servants the prophets,” they did not listen, but were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who had not believed in the LORD, their God. They rejected his statutes, the covenant which he had made with their fathers, and the warnings which he had given them, till, in his great anger against Israel, the LORD put them away out of his sight. Only the tribe of Judah was left. Responsorial Psalm 60:3, 4-5, 12-13 R. (7b) Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us. O God, you have rejected us and broken our defenses; you have been angry; rally us! R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us. You have rocked the country and split it open; repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering. You have made your people feel hardships; you have given us stupefying wine. R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us. Have not you, O God, rejected us, so that you go not forth, O God, with our armies? Give us aid against the foe, for worthless is the help of men. R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us. Alleluia Heb 4:12 R. Alleluia, alleluia. The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 7:1-5 Jesus said to his disciples: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove