Readings

Proper readings

First Reading
Rv 7:2-4, 9-14

I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people and tongue.

A reading from the Book of Revelation

I, John, saw another angel come up from the East,
   holding the seal of the living God.
He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels
   who were given power to damage the land and the sea,
   “Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees
   until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,
   one hundred and forty-four thousand marked
   from every tribe of the children of Israel.

After this I had a vision of a great multitude,
   which no one could count,
   from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
   wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice:

   “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne,
   and from the Lamb.”

All the angels stood around the throne
   and around the elders and the four living creatures.
They prostrated themselves before the throne,
   worshiped God, and exclaimed:

   “Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,
      honor, power, and might
      be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me,
   “Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”
I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.”
He said to me,
   “These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
   they have washed their robes
   and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.”

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

R. :

℟. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

The Lord’s are the earth and its fullness;
   the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
   and established it upon the rivers.

℟. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord?
   or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
   who desires not what is vain.

℟. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

He shall receive a blessing from the Lord,
   a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks him,
   that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.

℟. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Second Reading
1 Jn 3:1–3

We shall see God as he is.

A reading from the first Letter of Saint John

Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
   that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
   is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now;
   what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
   for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
   as he is pure.

The word of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel
Mt 11:28

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Come to me, all you that labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Mt 5:1–12a

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
   and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:

   “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
      for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
   Blessed are they who mourn,
      for they will be comforted.
   Blessed are the meek,
      for they will inherit the land.
   Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
      for they will be satisfied.
   Blessed are the merciful,
      for they will be shown mercy.
   Blessed are the clean of heart,
      for they will see God.
   Blessed are the peacemakers,
      for they will be called children of God.
   Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
      for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
   Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
      and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
   Rejoice and be glad,
      for your reward will be great in heaven.”

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Then he kisses the book, saying quietly:

Through the words of the Gospel
may our sins be wiped away.

The Creed is said.

Weekday readings

First Reading
Rom 11:1-2a, 11-12, 25-29

If their transgression is enrichment for the world, how much more their full number.

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the romans

Brothers and sisters:
I ask, then, has God rejected his people?
Of course not!
For I too am a child of Israel, a descendant of Abraham,
   of the tribe of Benjamin.
God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah,
   how he pleads with God against Israel?

Hence I ask, did they stumble so as to fall?
Of course not!
But through their transgression
   salvation has come to the Gentiles,
   so as to make them jealous.
Now if their transgression is enrichment for the world,
   and if their diminished number is enrichment for the Gentiles,
   how much more their full number.

I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers and sisters,
   so that you will not become wise in your own estimation:
   a hardening has come upon Israel in part,
   until the full number of the Gentiles comes in,
   and thus all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

      The deliverer will come out of Zion,
         he will turn away godlessness from Jacob;
      and this is my covenant with them
         when I take away their sins.

In respect to the Gospel, they are enemies on your account;
   but in respect to election,
   they are beloved because of the patriarch.
For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 94:12-13a, 14-15, 17-18

R. :

℟. (14a) The Lord will not abandon his people.

Blessed the man whom you instruct, O LORD,
   whom by your law you teach,
Giving him rest from evil days.

℟. The Lord will not abandon his people.

For the LORD will not cast off his people,
   nor abandon his inheritance;
But judgment shall again be with justice,
   and all the upright of heart shall follow it.

℟. The Lord will not abandon his people.

Were not the LORD my help,
   my soul would soon dwell in the silent grave.
When I say, “My foot is slipping,”
   your mercy, O LORD, sustains me.

℟. The Lord will not abandon his people.

Acclamation before the Gospel
Mt 11:29ab

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart.

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Lk 14:1, 7-11

Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will ne exalted.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
   at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,
   and the people there were observing him carefully.

He told a parable to those who had been invited,
   noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet,
   do not recline at table in the place of honor.
A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him,
   and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say,
   ‘Give your place to this man,’
   and then you would proceed with embarrassment
   to take the lowest place.
Rather, when you are invited,
   go and take the lowest place
   so that when the host comes to you he may say,
   ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’
Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
   but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Then he kisses the book, saying quietly:

Through the words of the Gospel
may our sins be wiped away.