Daily Bible Readings for Thursday August 02, 2012

Reading 1, Jeremiah 18:1-6

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh as follows,

2 'Get up and make your way down to the potter's house, and there I shall tell you what I have to say.'

3 So I went down to the potter's house; and there he was, working at the wheel.

4 But the vessel he was making came out wrong, as may happen with clay when a potter is at work. So he began again and shaped it into another vessel, as he thought fit.

5 Then the word of Yahweh came to me as follows,

6 'House of Israel, can I not do to you what this potter does? Yahweh demands. Yes, like clay in the potter's hand, so you are in mine, House of Israel.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 146:1-2, 2-4, 5-6

1 Alleluia! Praise Yahweh, my soul!

2 I will praise Yahweh all my life, I will make music to my God as long as I live.

3 Do not put your trust in princes, in any child of Adam, who has no power to save.

4 When his spirit goes forth he returns to the earth, on that very day all his plans come to nothing.

5 How blessed is he who has Jacob's God to help him, his hope is in Yahweh his God,

6 who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them. He keeps faith for ever,

Gospel, Matthew 13:47-53

47 'Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet that is cast in the sea and brings in a haul of all kinds of fish.

48 When it is full, the fishermen bring it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones in baskets and throw away those that are no use.

49 This is how it will be at the end of time: the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the upright,

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

51 'Have you understood all these?' They said, 'Yes.'

52 And he said to them, 'Well then, every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom new things as well as old.'

53 When Jesus had finished these parables he left the district;

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Daily Bible Readings for Tuesday July 17, 2012

Reading 1, Isaiah 7:1-9

1 In the reign of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah king of Judah, Razon king of Aram advanced on Jerusalem with Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, to attack it; but he was unable to attack it.

2 The House of David was informed: 'Aram has halted in Ephraimite territory.' At this, his heart and his people's hearts shook like forest trees shaking in the wind.

3 Yahweh then said to Isaiah, 'Go out with your son Shear-Jashub, and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the road to the Fuller's Field,

4 and say to him, "Pay attention and keep calm. Do not be frightened or demoralised by these two smouldering sticks of firewood, by the fierce anger of Razon, Aram and the son of Remaliah,

5 or because Aram, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah have been plotting against you and saying:

6 Let us mount an attack on Judah, destroy it, force it onto our side and install the son of Tabeel there as king.

7 "Lord Yahweh says this: This will not happen, it will never occur,

8 for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Razon; another sixty-five years, and Ephraim will cease to be a people.

9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not take your stand on me you will not stand firm." '

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 48:2-3, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

2 towering in beauty, the joy of the whole world: Mount Zion in the heart of the north, the settlement of the great king;

3 God himself among its palaces has proved himself its bulwark.

4 For look, kings made alliance, together they advanced;

5 without a second glance, when they saw, they panicked and fled away.

6 Trembling seized them on the spot, pains like those of a woman in labour;

7 it was the east wind, that wrecker of ships from Tarshish.

8 What we had heard we saw for ourselves in the city of our God, in the city of Yahweh Sabaoth, which God has established for ever.Pause

Gospel, Matthew 11:20-24

20 Then he began to reproach the towns in which most of his miracles had been worked, because they refused to repent.

21 'Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

22 Still, I tell you that it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on Judgement Day than for you.

23 And as for you, Capernaum, did you want to be raised as high as heaven? You shall be flung down to hell. For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have been standing yet.

24 Still, I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on Judgement Day than for you.'

Daily Bible Readings for Sunday June 24, 2012

Reading 1, Isaiah 49:1-6

1 Coasts and islands, listen to me, pay attention, distant peoples. Yahweh called me when I was in the womb, before my birth he had pronounced my name.

2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword, he hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me into a sharpened arrow and concealed me in his quiver.

3 He said to me, 'Israel, you are my servant, through whom I shall manifest my glory.'

4 But I said, 'My toil has been futile, I have exhausted myself for nothing, to no purpose.' Yet all the while my cause was with Yahweh and my reward with my God.

5 And now Yahweh has spoken, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him and to re-unite Israel to him;-I shall be honoured in Yahweh's eyes, and my God has been my strength.-

6 He said, 'It is not enough for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel; I shall make you a light to the nations so that my salvation may reach the remotest parts of earth.'

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 139:1-3, 13-14, 14-15

1 [For the choirmaster Of David Psalm] Yahweh, you examine me and know me,

2 you know when I sit, when I rise, you understand my thoughts from afar.

3 You watch when I walk or lie down, you know every detail of my conduct.

13 You created my inmost self, knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 For so many marvels I thank you; a wonder am I, and all your works are wonders. You knew me through and through,

15 my being held no secrets from you, when I was being formed in secret, textured in the depths of the earth.

Gospel, Luke 1:57-66, 80

57 The time came for Elizabeth to have her child, and she gave birth to a son;

58 and when her neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had lavished on her his faithful love, they shared her joy.

59 Now it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,

60 but his mother spoke up. 'No,' she said, 'he is to be called John.'

61 They said to her, 'But no one in your family has that name,'

62 and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called.

63 The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, 'His name is John.' And they were all astonished.

64 At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God.

65 All their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea.

66 All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. 'What will this child turn out to be?' they wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.

80 Meanwhile the child grew up and his spirit grew strong. And he lived in the desert until the day he appeared openly to Israel.

Reading 2, Acts 13:22-26

22 he deposed him and raised up David to be king, whom he attested in these words, "I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will perform my entire will."

23 To keep his promise, God has raised up for Israel one of David's descendants, Jesus, as Saviour,

24 whose coming was heralded by John when he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the whole people of Israel.

25 Before John ended his course he said, "I am not the one you imagine me to be; there is someone coming after me whose sandal I am not fit to undo."

26 'My brothers, sons of Abraham's race, and all you godfearers, this message of salvation is meant for you.

Daily Bible Readings for Tuesday June 19, 2012

Reading 1, First Kings 21:17-29

17 Then the word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite,

18 'Up! Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, in Samaria. You will find him in Naboth's vineyard; he has gone down to take possession of it.

19 You are to say this to him, "Yahweh says this: You have committed murder and now you usurp as well. For this -- and Yahweh says this -- in the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs will lick your blood too." '

20 Ahab said to Elijah, 'So you have caught me, O my enemy!' Elijah answered, 'I have caught you! For your double dealing, and since you have done what is displeasing to Yahweh,

21 I shall now bring disaster down on you; I shall sweep away your descendants and wipe out every manjack of the House of Ahab, fettered or free in Israel.

22 I shall treat your House as I treated the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and of Baasha son of Ahijah, for provoking my anger and leading Israel into sin.

23 (Against Jezebel too Yahweh spoke these words, "The dogs will eat Jezebel in the Field of Jezreel.")

24 Those of Ahab's family who die in the city, the dogs will eat; and those who die in the open country, the birds of the air will eat.'

25 And indeed there never was anyone like Ahab for double dealing and for doing what is displeasing to Yahweh, urged on by Jezebel his wife.

26 He behaved in the most abominable way, adhering to idols, just as the Amorites had, whom Yahweh had dispossessed for the Israelites.

27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments and put sackcloth next to his skin and fasted; he slept in the sackcloth; he walked with slow steps.

28 Then the word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite,

29 'Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Since he has humbled himself before me, I shall not bring the disaster in his days; I shall bring the disaster down on his House in his son's days.'

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 51:3-4, 5-6, 11, 16

3 For I am well aware of my offences, my sin is constantly in mind.

4 Against you, you alone, I have sinned, I have done what you see to be wrong, that you may show your saving justice when you pass sentence, and your victory may appear when you give judgement,

5 remember, I was born guilty, a sinner from the moment of conception.

6 But you delight in sincerity of heart, and in secret you teach me wisdom.

11 do not thrust me away from your presence, do not take away from me your spirit of holiness.

16 Sacrifice gives you no pleasure, burnt offering you do not desire.

Gospel, Matthew 5:43-48

43 'You have heard how it was said, You will love your neighbour and hate your enemy.

44 But I say this to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you;

45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike.

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax collectors do as much?

47 And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional?

48 Do not even the gentiles do as much? You must therefore be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.' 

Daily Bible Readings for Monday May 28, 2012

Reading 1, First Peter 1:3-9

3 Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

4 and into a heritage that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away. It is reserved in heaven for you

5 who are being kept safe by God's power through faith until the salvation which has been prepared is revealed at the final point of time.

6 This is a great joy to you, even though for a short time yet you must bear all sorts of trials;

7 so that the worth of your faith, more valuable than gold, which is perishable even if it has been tested by fire, may be proved -- to your praise and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.

8 You have not seen him, yet you love him; and still without seeing him you believe in him and so are already filled with a joy so glorious that it cannot be described;

9 and you are sure of the goal of your faith, that is, the salvation of your souls.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 111:1-2, 5-6, 9, 10

1 Alleluia! I give thanks to Yahweh with all my heart, in the meeting-place of honest people, in the assembly.

2 Great are the deeds of Yahweh, to be pondered by all who delight in them.

5 He gives food to those who fear him, he keeps his covenant ever in mind.

6 His works show his people his power in giving them the birthright of the nations.

9 Deliverance he sends to his people, his covenant he imposes for ever; holy and awesome his name.

10 The root of wisdom is fear of Yahweh; those who attain it are wise. His praise will continue for ever.

Gospel, Mark 10:17-27

17 He was setting out on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him, 'Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'

18 Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.

19 You know the commandments: You shall not kill; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.'

20 And he said to him, 'Master, I have kept all these since my earliest days.'

21 Jesus looked steadily at him and he was filled with love for him, and he said, 'You need to do one thing more. Go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.'

22 But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.

23 Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, 'How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!'

24 The disciples were astounded by these words, but Jesus insisted, 'My children,' he said to them, 'how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

25 It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God.'

26 They were more astonished than ever, saying to one another, 'In that case, who can be saved?'

27 Jesus gazed at them and said, 'By human resources it is impossible, but not for God: because for God everything is possible.' 

Daily Readings for Thursday May 17, 2012

Reading 1, Acts 1:1-11

1 In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning

2 until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven.

3 He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God.

4 While at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. 'It is', he had said, 'what you have heard me speak about:

5 John baptised with water but, not many days from now, you are going to be baptised with the Holy Spirit.'

6 Now having met together, they asked him, 'Lord, has the time come for you to restore the kingdom to Israel?'

7 He replied, 'It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority,

8 but you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit which will come on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to earth's remotest end.'

9 As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight.

10 They were still staring into the sky as he went, when suddenly two men in white were standing beside them,

11 and they said, 'Why are you Galileans standing here looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way as you have seen him go to heaven.'

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9

2 For Yahweh, the Most High, is glorious, the great king over all the earth.

3 He brings peoples under our yoke and nations under our feet.

6 Let the music sound for our God, let it sound, let the music sound for our king, let it sound.

7 For he is king of the whole world; learn the music, let it sound for God!

8 God reigns over the nations, seated on his holy throne.

9 The leaders of the nations rally to the people of the God of Abraham. The shields of the earth belong to God, who is exalted on high.

Gospel, Mark 16:15-20

15 And he said to them, 'Go out to the whole world; proclaim the gospel to all creation.

16 Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.

17 These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues;

18 they will pick up snakes in their hands and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.'

19 And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven; there at the right hand of God he took his place,

20 while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.

Reading 2, Ephesians 1:17-23

17 May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him.

18 May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, how rich is the glory of the heritage he offers among his holy people,

19 and how extraordinarily great is the power that he has exercised for us believers; this accords with the strength of his power

20 at work in Christ, the power which he exercised in raising him from the dead and enthroning him at his right hand, in heaven,

21 far above every principality, ruling force, power or sovereignty, or any other name that can be named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.

22 He has put all things under his feet, and made him, as he is above all things, the head of the Church;

23 which is his Body, the fullness of him who is filled, all in all.

Daily Readings for Friday May 11, 2012

Reading 1, Acts 15:22-31

22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose delegates from among themselves to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas, known as Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men in the brotherhood,

23 and gave them this letter to take with them: 'The apostles and elders, your brothers, send greetings to the brothers of gentile birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia.

24 We hear that some people coming from here, but acting without any authority from ourselves, have disturbed you with their demands and have unsettled your minds;

25 and so we have decided unanimously to elect delegates and to send them to you with our well-beloved Barnabas and Paul,

26 who have committed their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

27 Accordingly we are sending you Judas and Silas, who will confirm by word of mouth what we have written.

28 It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to impose on you any burden beyond these essentials:

29 you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from illicit marriages. Avoid these, and you will do what is right. Farewell.'

30 The party left and went down to Antioch, where they summoned the whole community and delivered the letter.

31 The community read it and were delighted with the encouragement it gave them.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 57:8-9, 10-12

8 Awake, my glory, awake, lyre and harp, that I may awake the Dawn.

9 I will praise you among the peoples, Lord, I will make music for you among nations,

10 for your faithful love towers to heaven, your constancy to the clouds.

11 Be exalted above the heavens, God! Your glory over all the earth!

Gospel, John 15:12-17

12 This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.

13 No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.

14 You are my friends, if you do what I command you.

15 I shall no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know the master's business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.

16 You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name.

17 My command to you is to love one another.