Daily Readings for Wednesday November 16, 2011

Reading 1, 2 Mc 7:1, 20-31

1 It also happened that seven brothers were arrested with their mother. The king tried to force them to taste some pork, which the Law forbids, by torturing them with whips and scourges.

20 But the mother was especially admirable and worthy of honourable remembrance, for she watched the death of seven sons in the course of a single day, and bravely endured it because of her hopes in the Lord.

21 Indeed she encouraged each of them in their ancestral tongue; filled with noble conviction, she reinforced her womanly argument with manly courage, saying to them,

22 'I do not know how you appeared in my womb; it was not I who endowed you with breath and life, I had not the shaping of your every part.

23 And hence, the Creator of the world, who made everyone and ordained the origin of all things, will in his mercy give you back breath and life, since for the sake of his laws you have no concern for yourselves.'

24 Antiochus thought he was being ridiculed, suspecting insult in the tone of her voice; and as the youngest was still alive he appealed to him not with mere words but with promises on oath to make him both rich and happy if he would abandon the traditions of his ancestors; he would make him his Friend and entrust him with public office.

25 The young man took no notice at all, and so the king then appealed to the mother, urging her to advise the youth to save his life.

26 After a great deal of urging on his part she agreed to try persuasion on her son.

27 Bending over him, she fooled the cruel tyrant with these words, uttered in their ancestral tongue, 'My son, have pity on me; I carried you nine months in my womb and suckled you three years, fed you and reared you to the age you are now, and provided for you.

28 I implore you, my child, look at the earth and sky and everything in them, and consider how God made them out of what did not exist, and that human beings come into being in the same way.

29 Do not fear this executioner, but prove yourself worthy of your brothers and accept death, so that I may receive you back with them in the day of mercy.'

30 She had hardly finished, when the young man said, 'What are you all waiting for? I will not comply with the king's ordinance; I obey the ordinance of the Law given to our ancestors through Moses.

31 As for you, who have contrived every kind of evil against the Hebrews, you will certainly not escape the hands of God.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15

1 [Prayer Of David] Listen, Yahweh, to an upright cause, pay attention to my cry, lend an ear to my prayer, my lips free from deceit.

5 my steps never stray from the paths you lay down, from your tracks; so my feet never stumble.

6 I call upon you, God, for you answer me; turn your ear to me, hear what I say.

8 Guard me as the pupil of an eye, shelter me in the shadow of your wings

15 But I in my uprightness will see your face, and when I awake I shall be filled with the vision of you.

Gospel, Lk 19:11-28

11 While the people were listening to this he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to show itself then and there.

12 Accordingly he said, 'A man of noble birth went to a distant country to be appointed king and then return.

13 He summoned ten of his servants and gave them ten pounds, telling them, "Trade with these, until I get back."

14 But his compatriots detested him and sent a delegation to follow him with this message, "We do not want this man to be our king."

15 'Now it happened that on his return, having received his appointment as king, he sent for those servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what profit each had made by trading.

16 The first came in, "Sir," he said, "your one pound has brought in ten."

17 He replied, "Well done, my good servant! Since you have proved yourself trustworthy in a very small thing, you shall have the government of ten cities."

18 Then came the second, "Sir," he said, "your one pound has made five."

19 To this one also he said, "And you shall be in charge of five cities."

20 Next came the other, "Sir," he said, "here is your pound. I put it away safely wrapped up in a cloth

21 because I was afraid of you; for you are an exacting man: you gather in what you have not laid out and reap what you have not sown."

22 He said to him, "You wicked servant! Out of your own mouth I condemn you. So you knew that I was an exacting man, gathering in what I have not laid out and reaping what I have not sown?

23 Then why did you not put my money in the bank? On my return I could have drawn it out with interest."

24 And he said to those standing by, "Take the pound from him and give it to the man who has ten pounds."

25 And they said to him, "But, sir, he has ten pounds . . ."

26 "I tell you, to everyone who has will be given more; but anyone who has not will be deprived even of what he has.

27 "As for my enemies who did not want me for their king, bring them here and execute them in my presence." '

28 When he had said this he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

Daily Bible Readings for Wednesday September 21, 2011

Reading 1, Eph 4:1-7, 11-13

1 I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you therefore to lead a life worthy of the vocation to which you were called.

2 With all humility and gentleness, and with patience, support each other in love.

3 Take every care to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together.

4 There is one Body, one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God.

5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 and one God and Father of all, over all, through all and within all.

7 On each one of us God's favour has been bestowed in whatever way Christ allotted it.

11 And to some, his 'gift' was that they should be apostles; to some prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers;

12 to knit God's holy people together for the work of service to build up the Body of Christ,

13 until we all reach unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God and form the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 19:2-3, 4-5

2 day discourses of it to day, night to night hands on the knowledge.

3 No utterance at all, no speech, not a sound to be heard,

4 but from the entire earth the design stands out, this message reaches the whole world. High above, he pitched a tent for the sun,

5 who comes forth from his pavilion like a bridegroom, delights like a champion in the course to be run.

Gospel, Mt 9:9-13

9 As Jesus was walking on from there he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, 'Follow me.' And he got up and followed him.

10 Now while he was at table in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples.

11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, 'Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?'

12 When he heard this he replied, 'It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick.

13 Go and learn the meaning of the words: Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice. And indeed I came to call not the upright, but sinners.'

Daily Bible Readings for Thursday August 11, 2011

Reading 1, Jos 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17

7 Yahweh said to Joshua, 'This very day, I shall begin to make you great in the eyes of all Israel so that they will know that, as I was with Moses, so I shall be with you.

8 Now, give this order to the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, "When you have reached the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you must halt in the Jordan itself." '

9 To the Israelites, Joshua then said, 'Come closer and hear the words of Yahweh your God.'

10 Joshua said, 'By this, you are to know that the living God is with you and without a doubt will expel the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites before you.

11 Look, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth is about to move into the Jordan at your head.

13 As soon as the priests carrying the ark of Yahweh, Lord of the whole earth, have set the soles of their feet in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off; the upper waters flowing down will stop as a single mass.'

14 Accordingly, when the people left their tents to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of the people.

15 As soon as the bearers of the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the waters -- the Jordan is in spate throughout the harvest season-

16 the upper waters stood still and formed a single mass over a great distance, at Adam, the town near Zarethan, while those flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely separated. The people crossed opposite Jericho.

17 The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh stood firm on dry ground in mid-Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until the whole nation had completed its crossing of the Jordan.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

1 Alleluia! When Israel came out of Egypt, the House of Jacob from a people of foreign speech,

2 Judah became his sanctuary, and Israel his domain.

3 The sea fled at the sight, the Jordan turned back,

4 the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like sheep.

5 Sea, what makes you flee? Jordan, why turn back?

6 Why skip like rams, you mountains? Why like sheep, you hills?

Gospel, Mt 18:21-19:1

21 Then Peter went up to him and said, 'Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?'

22 Jesus answered, 'Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.

23 'And so the kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants.

24 When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents;

25 he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt.

26 At this, the servant threw himself down at his master's feet, with the words, "Be patient with me and I will pay the whole sum."

27 And the servant's master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt.

28 Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow-servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him, saying, "Pay what you owe me."

29 His fellow-servant fell at his feet and appealed to him, saying, "Be patient with me and I will pay you."

30 But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt.

31 His fellow-servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him.

32 Then the master sent for the man and said to him, "You wicked servant, I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me.

33 Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you?"

34 And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt.

35 And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.'

1 Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and he left Galilee and came into the territory of Judaea on the far side of the Jordan.

Daily Bible Readings for Sunday July 17, 2011

Reading 1, Wis 12:13, 16-19

13 For there is no god, other than you, who cares for every one, to whom you have to prove that your sentences have been just.

16 Thus he makes sure that it will not fall down -- being well aware that it cannot help itself, since it is only an image, and needs to be helped.

17 And yet, if he wishes to pray for his goods, for his marriage, for his children, he does not blush to harangue this lifeless thing -- for health, he invokes what is weak,

18 for life, he pleads with what is dead, for help, he goes begging to total inexperience, for a journey, what cannot even use its feet,

19 for profit, an undertaking, and success in pursuing his craft, he asks skill from something whose hands have no skill whatever.

13 For there is no god, other than you, who cares for every one, to whom you have to prove that your sentences have been just.

16 Thus he makes sure that it will not fall down -- being well aware that it cannot help itself, since it is only an image, and needs to be helped.

17 And yet, if he wishes to pray for his goods, for his marriage, for his children, he does not blush to harangue this lifeless thing -- for health, he invokes what is weak,

18 for life, he pleads with what is dead, for help, he goes begging to total inexperience, for a journey, what cannot even use its feet,

19 for profit, an undertaking, and success in pursuing his craft, he asks skill from something whose hands have no skill whatever.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16

5 Lord, you are kind and forgiving, rich in faithful love for all who call upon you.

6 Yahweh, hear my prayer, listen to the sound of my pleading.

9 All nations will come and adore you, Lord, and give glory to your name.

10 For you are great and do marvellous deeds, you, God, and none other.

15 But you, Lord, God of tenderness and mercy, slow to anger, rich in faithful love and loyalty,

16 turn to me and pity me. Give to your servant your strength, to the child of your servant your saving help,

Gospel, Mt 13:24-43

24 He put another parable before them, 'The kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

25 While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off.

26 When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, then the darnel appeared as well.

27 The owner's labourers went to him and said, "Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?"

28 He said to them, "Some enemy has done this." And the labourers said, "Do you want us to go and weed it out?"

29 But he said, "No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it.

30 Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn." '

31 He put another parable before them, 'The kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field.

32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the biggest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air can come and shelter in its branches.'

33 He told them another parable, 'The kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.'

34 In all this Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables; indeed, he would never speak to them except in parables.

35 This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet: I will speak to you in parables, unfold what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.

36 Then, leaving the crowds, he went to the house; and his disciples came to him and said, 'Explain to us the parable about the darnel in the field.'

37 He said in reply, 'The sower of the good seed is the Son of man.

38 The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the Evil One;

39 the enemy who sowed it, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels.

40 Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the end of time.

41 The Son of man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of falling and all who do evil,

42 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

43 Then the upright will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Anyone who has ears should listen!

Reading 2, Rom 8:26-27

26 And as well as this, the Spirit too comes to help us in our weakness, for, when we do not know how to pray properly, then the Spirit personally makes our petitions for us in groans that cannot be put into words;

27 and he who can see into all hearts knows what the Spirit means because the prayers that the Spirit makes for God's holy people are always in accordance with the mind of God.

Daily Bible Readings for Friday July 08, 2011

Reading 1, Gn 46:1-7, 28-30

1 So Israel set out with all his possessions. Arriving at Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

2 God spoke to Israel in a vision at night, 'Jacob, Jacob,' he said. 'Here I am,' he replied.

3 'I am El, God of your father,' he said. 'Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

4 I shall go down to Egypt with you and I myself shall bring you back again, and Joseph's hand will close your eyes.'

5 So Jacob left Beersheba. Israel's sons conveyed their father Jacob, their little children and their wives in the waggons Pharaoh had sent to fetch him.

6 Taking their livestock and all that they had acquired in Canaan, they arrived in Egypt -- Jacob and all his offspring.

7 With him to Egypt, he brought his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters -- all his offspring.

28 Israel sent Judah ahead to Joseph, so that Judah might present himself to Joseph in Goshen. When they arrived in Goshen,

29 Joseph had his chariot made ready and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as he appeared he threw his arms round his neck and for a long time wept on his shoulder.

30 Israel said to Joseph, 'Now I can die, now that I have seen you in person and seen you still alive.'

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40

3 Put your trust in Yahweh and do right, make your home in the land and live secure.

4 Make Yahweh your joy and he will give you your heart's desires.

18 The lives of the just are in Yahweh's care, their birthright will endure for ever;

19 they will not be put to shame when bad times come, in time of famine they will have plenty.

27 Turn your back on evil and do good, you will have a home for ever,

28 for Yahweh loves justice and will not forsake his faithful. Evil-doers will perish eternally, the descendants of the wicked be annihilated,

39 The upright have Yahweh for their Saviour, their refuge in times of trouble;

40 Yahweh helps them and rescues them, he will rescue them from the wicked, and save them because they take refuge in him.

Gospel, Mt 10:16-23

16 Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as snakes and yet innocent as doves.

17 'Be prepared for people to hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues.

18 You will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as evidence to them and to the gentiles.

19 But when you are handed over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes,

20 because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.

21 'Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will come forward against their parents and have them put to death.

22 You will be universally hated on account of my name; but anyone who stands firm to the end will be saved.

23 If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another. In truth I tell you, you will not have gone the round of the towns of Israel before the Son of man comes. 

Daily Bible Readings for Thursday July 07, 2011

Reading 1, Gn 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5

18 At this, Judah went up to him and said, 'May it please my lord, let your servant have a word privately with my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself.

19 My lord questioned his servants, "Have you father or brother?"

20 And we said to my lord, "We have an old father, and a younger brother born of his old age. His brother is dead, so he is the only one by that mother now left, and his father loves him."

21 Then you said to your servants, "Bring him down to me, so that I can set eyes on him."

23 But you said to your servants, "If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not be admitted to my presence again."

24 When we went back to your servant my father, we repeated to him what my lord had said.

25 So when our father said, "Go back and get us a little food,"

26 we said, "We cannot go down. We shall go only if our youngest brother is with us for, unless our youngest brother is with us, we shall not be admitted to the man's presence."

27 So your servant our father said to us, "You know that my wife bore me two children.

28 When one of them left me, I supposed that he must have been torn to pieces, and I have never seen him since.

29 If you take this one from me too and any harm comes to him, you will send my white head down to Sheol with grief."

1 Then Joseph could not control his feelings in front of all his retainers, and he exclaimed, 'Let everyone leave me.' No one therefore was present with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers,

2 but he wept so loudly that all the Egyptians heard, and the news reached Pharaoh's palace.

3 Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am Joseph. Is my father really still alive?' His brothers could not answer him, they were so dumbfounded at seeing him.

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, 'Come closer to me.' When they had come closer to him he said, 'I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt.

5 But now, do not grieve, do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here, since God sent me before you to preserve your lives.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21

16 He called down famine on the land, he took away their food supply;

17 he sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, sold as a slave.

18 So his feet were weighed down with shackles, his neck was put in irons.

19 In due time his prophecy was fulfilled, the word of Yahweh proved him true.

20 The king sent orders to release him, the ruler of nations set him free;

21 he put him in charge of his household, the ruler of all he possessed,

Gospel, Mt 10:7-15

7 And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.

8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those suffering from virulent skin-diseases, drive out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.

9 Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with coppers for your purses,

10 with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the labourer deserves his keep.

11 'Whatever town or village you go into, seek out someone worthy and stay with him until you leave.

12 As you enter his house, salute it,

13 and if the house deserves it, may your peace come upon it; if it does not, may your peace come back to you.

14 And if anyone does not welcome you or listen to what you have to say, as you walk out of the house or town shake the dust from your feet.

15 In truth I tell you, on the Day of Judgement it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. 

Daily Bible Readings for Wednesday July 06, 2011

Reading 1, Gn 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a

55 But when all Egypt too began to feel the famine and the people appealed to Pharaoh for food, Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, 'Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.'

56 There was famine all over the world. Then Joseph opened all the granaries and rationed out grain to the Egyptians, as the famine grew even worse in Egypt.

57 People came to Egypt from all over the world to get supplies from Joseph, for the famine had grown severe throughout the world.

5 Thus the sons of Israel were among the other people who came to get supplies, there being famine in Canaan.

6 It was Joseph, as the man in authority over the country, who allocated the rations to the entire population. So Joseph's brothers went and bowed down before him, their faces touching the ground.

7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers he recognised them. But he did not make himself known to them, and he spoke harshly to them. 'Where have you come from?' he asked. 'From Canaan to get food,' they replied.

17 Whereupon, he put them all into custody for three days.

18 On the third day Joseph said to them, 'Do this and you will live, for I am a man who fears God.

19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be detained where you are imprisoned; the rest of you, go and take supplies home for your starving families.

20 But you must bring your youngest brother back to me; in this way, what you have said will be verified, and you will not have to die!' And this is what they did.

21 And they said to one another, 'Clearly, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep misery when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen, and now this misery has come home to us.'

22 Reuben retorted to them, 'Did I not tell you not to wrong the boy? But you would not listen. Now comes the accounting.'

23 They did not know that Joseph understood, because there was an interpreter between them.

24 He turned away from them and wept. When he was able to speak to them again, he chose Simeon out of their number and had him bound while they looked on.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 33:2-3, 10-11, 18-19

2 Give thanks to Yahweh on the lyre, play for him on the ten-stringed lyre.

3 Sing to him a new song, make sweet music for your cry of victory.

10 Yahweh thwarts the plans of nations, frustrates the counsels of peoples;

11 but Yahweh's own plan stands firm for ever, his heart's counsel from age to age.

18 But see how Yahweh watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his faithful love,

19 to rescue them from death and keep them alive in famine.

Gospel, Mt 10:1-7

1 He summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to drive them out and to cure all kinds of disease and all kinds of illness.

2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who was also his betrayer.

5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: 'Do not make your way to gentile territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town;

6 go instead to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.

7 And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand. 

Daily Bible Readings for Monday July 04, 2011

Reading 1, Gn 28:10-22a

10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.

11 When he had reached a certain place, he stopped there for the night, since the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he made it his pillow and lay down where he was.

12 He had a dream: there was a ladder, planted on the ground with its top reaching to heaven; and God's angels were going up and down on it.

13 And there was Yahweh, standing beside him and saying, 'I, Yahweh, am the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The ground on which you are lying I shall give to you and your descendants.

14 Your descendants will be as plentiful as the dust on the ground; you will spread out to west and east, to north and south, and all clans on earth will bless themselves by you and your descendants.

15 Be sure, I am with you; I shall keep you safe wherever you go, and bring you back to this country, for I shall never desert you until I have done what I have promised you.'

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 'Truly, Yahweh is in this place and I did not know!'

17 He was afraid and said, 'How awe-inspiring this place is! This is nothing less than the abode of God, and this is the gate of heaven!'

18 Early next morning, Jacob took the stone he had used for his pillow, and set it up as a pillar, pouring oil over the top of it.

19 He named the place Bethel, but before that the town had been called Luz.

20 Jacob then made this vow, 'If God remains with me and keeps me safe on this journey I am making, if he gives me food to eat and clothes to wear,

21 and if I come home safe to my father's home, then Yahweh shall be my God.

22 This stone I have set up as a pillar is to be a house of God, and I shall faithfully pay you a tenth part of everything you give me.'

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 91:1-2, 3-4, 14-15

1 You who live in the secret place of Elyon, spend your nights in the shelter of Shaddai,

2 saying to Yahweh, 'My refuge, my fortress, my God in whom I trust!'

3 He rescues you from the snare of the fowler set on destruction;

4 he covers you with his pinions, you find shelter under his wings. His constancy is shield and protection.

14 'Since he clings to me I rescue him, I raise him high, since he acknowledges my name.

15 He calls to me and I answer him: in distress I am at his side, I rescue him and bring him honour.

Gospel, Mt 9:18-26

18 While he was speaking to them, suddenly one of the officials came up, who bowed low in front of him and said, 'My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and her life will be saved.'

19 Jesus rose and, with his disciples, followed him.

20 Then suddenly from behind him came a woman, who had been suffering from a haemorrhage for twelve years, and she touched the fringe of his cloak,

21 for she was thinking, 'If only I can touch his cloak I shall be saved.'

22 Jesus turned round and saw her; and he said to her, 'Courage, my daughter, your faith has saved you.' And from that moment the woman was saved.

23 When Jesus reached the official's house and saw the flute-players, with the crowd making a commotion, he said,

24 'Get out of here; the little girl is not dead; she is asleep.' And they ridiculed him.

25 But when the people had been turned out he went inside and took her by the hand; and she stood up.

26 And the news of this spread all round the countryside. 

Daily Bible Readings for Monday June 06, 2011

Reading 1, Acts 19:1-8

1 It happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul made his way overland as far as Ephesus, where he found a number of disciples.

2 When he asked, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?' they answered, 'No, we were never even told there was such a thing as a Holy Spirit.'

3 He asked, 'Then how were you baptised?' They replied, 'With John's baptism.'

4 Paul said, 'John's baptism was a baptism of repentance; but he insisted that the people should believe in the one who was to come after him -- namely Jesus.'

5 When they heard this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus,

6 and the moment Paul had laid hands on them the Holy Spirit came down on them, and they began to speak with tongues and to prophesy.

7 There were about twelve of these men in all.

8 He began by going to the synagogue, where he spoke out fearlessly and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. He did this for three months,

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 68:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

2 You disperse them like smoke; as wax melts in the presence of a fire, so the wicked melt at the presence of God.

3 The upright rejoice in the presence of God, delighted and crying out for joy.

4 Sing to God, play music to his name, build a road for the Rider of the Clouds, rejoice in Yahweh, dance before him.

5 Father of orphans, defender of widows, such is God in his holy dwelling.

6 God gives the lonely a home to live in, leads prisoners out into prosperity, but rebels must live in the bare wastelands.

7 God, when you set out at the head of your people, when you strode over the desert,

Gospel, Jn 16:29-33

29 His disciples said, 'Now you are speaking plainly and not using veiled language.

30 Now we see that you know everything and need not wait for questions to be put into words; because of this we believe that you came from God.'

31 Jesus answered them: Do you believe at last?

32 Listen; the time will come -- indeed it has come already -- when you are going to be scattered, each going his own way and leaving me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

33 I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have hardship, but be courageous: I have conquered the world.

Daily Bible Readings for Wednesday June 01, 2011

Reading 1, Acts 17:15, 22-18:1

15 Paul's escort took him as far as Athens, and went back with instructions for Silas and Timothy to rejoin Paul as soon as they could.

22 So Paul stood before the whole council of the Areopagus and made this speech: 'Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters,

23 because, as I strolled round looking at your sacred monuments, I noticed among other things an altar inscribed: To An Unknown God. In fact, the unknown God you revere is the one I proclaim to you.

24 'Since the God who made the world and everything in it is himself Lord of heaven and earth, he does not make his home in shrines made by human hands.

25 Nor is he in need of anything, that he should be served by human hands; on the contrary, it is he who gives everything -- including life and breath -- to everyone.

26 From one single principle he not only created the whole human race so that they could occupy the entire earth, but he decreed the times and limits of their habitation.

27 And he did this so that they might seek the deity and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him; and indeed he is not far from any of us,

28 since it is in him that we live, and move, and exist, as indeed some of your own writers have said: We are all his children.

29 'Since we are the children of God, we have no excuse for thinking that the deity looks like anything in gold, silver or stone that has been carved and designed by a man.

30 'But now, overlooking the times of ignorance, God is telling everyone everywhere that they must repent,

31 because he has fixed a day when the whole world will be judged in uprightness by a man he has appointed. And God has publicly proved this by raising him from the dead.'

32 At this mention of rising from the dead, some of them burst out laughing; others said, 'We would like to hear you talk about this another time.'

33 After that Paul left them,

34 but there were some who attached themselves to him and became believers, among them Dionysius the Aeropagite and a woman called Damaris, and others besides.

1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth,

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 148:1-2, 11-12, 13, 14

1 Alleluia! Praise Yahweh from the heavens, praise him in the heights.

2 Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host!

11 kings of the earth and all nations, princes and all judges on earth,

12 young men and girls, old people and children together.

13 Let them praise the name of Yahweh, for his name alone is sublime, his splendour transcends earth and heaven.

14 For he heightens the strength of his people, to the praise of all his faithful, the children of Israel, the people close to him.

Gospel, Jn 16:12-15

12 I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you to bear now.

13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking of his own accord, but will say only what he has been told; and he will reveal to you the things to come.

14 He will glorify me, since all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine.

15 Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine. 

Daily Bible Readings for Tuesday May 31, 2011

Reading 1, Zep 3:14-18a

14 Shout for joy, daughter of Zion, Israel, shout aloud! Rejoice, exult with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem!

15 Yahweh has repealed your sentence; he has turned your enemy away. Yahweh is king among you, Israel, you have nothing more to fear.

16 When that Day comes, the message for Jerusalem will be: Zion, have no fear, do not let your hands fall limp.

17 Yahweh your God is there with you, the warrior-Saviour. He will rejoice over you with happy song, he will renew you by his love, he will dance with shouts of joy for you,

18 as on a day of festival. I have taken away your misfortune, no longer need you bear the disgrace of it.

Responsorial Psalm, Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6

2 Look, he is the God of my salvation: I shall have faith and not be afraid, for Yahweh is my strength and my song, he has been my salvation.'

3 Joyfully you will draw water from the springs of salvation

4 and, that day, you will say, 'Praise Yahweh, invoke his name. Proclaim his deeds to the people, declare his name sublime.

5 Sing of Yahweh, for his works are majestic, make them known throughout the world.

6 Cry and shout for joy, you who live in Zion, For the Holy One of Israel is among you in his greatness.'

Gospel, Lk 1:39-56

39 Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into the hill country to a town in Judah.

40 She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth.

41 Now it happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

42 She gave a loud cry and said, 'Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

43 Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?

44 Look, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy.

45 Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.'

46 And Mary said: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour;

48 because he has looked upon the humiliation of his servant. Yes, from now onwards all generations will call me blessed,

49 for the Almighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name,

50 and his faithful love extends age after age to those who fear him.

51 He has used the power of his arm, he has routed the arrogant of heart.

52 He has pulled down princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly.

53 He has filled the starving with good things, sent the rich away empty.

54 He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his faithful love

55 -according to the promise he made to our ancestors -- of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.

56 Mary stayed with her some three months and then went home.