Readings

Proper readings

First Reading
Rom 8:1-4

The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans

Brothers and sisters:
Now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus
   has freed you from the law of sin and death.
For what the law, weakened by the flesh, was powerless to do,
   this God has done:
   by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh
   and for the sake of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
   so that the righteous decree of the law might be fulfilled in us,
   who live not according to the flesh but according to the spirit.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 119:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

R. :

℟. (12) Lord, teach me your statutes.

How shall a young man be faultless in his way?
   By keeping to your words.

℟. Lord, teach me your statutes.

With all my heart I seek you;
   let me not stray from your commands.

℟. Lord, teach me your statutes.

Within my heart I treasure your promise,
   that I may not sin against you.

℟. Lord, teach me your statutes.

Blessed are you, O LORD;
   teach me your statutes.

℟. Lord, teach me your statutes.

With my lips I declare
   all the ordinances of your mouth.

℟. Lord, teach me your statutes.

In the way of your decrees I rejoice,
   as much as in all riches.

℟. Lord, teach me your statutes.

Acclamation before the Gospel
Mt 5:16

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Mt 5:13-19

You are the light of the world.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
   but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
   it is set on a lampstand,
   where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
   that they may see your good deeds
   and glorify your heavenly Father.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
   not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
   will pass from the law,
   until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
   and teaches others to do so
   will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
   will be called greatest in the Kingdom of 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.

Weekday readings

First Reading
Jer 26:11-16, 24

For in truth it was the Lord who sent me to you to speak all these things for you to hear.

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah

The priests and prophets said to the princes and to all the people,
   “This man deserves death;
   he has prophesied against this city,
   as you have heard with your own ears.”
Jeremiah gave this answer to the princes and all the people:
   “It was the LORD who sent me to prophesy against this house and city
   all that you have heard.
Now, therefore, reform your ways and your deeds;
   listen to the voice of the LORD your God,
   so that the LORD will repent of the evil with which he threatens you.
As for me, I am in your hands;
   do with me what you think good and right.
But mark well: if you put me to death,
   it is innocent blood you bring on yourselves,
   on this city and its citizens.
For in truth it was the LORD who sent me to you,
   to speak all these things for you to hear.”

Thereupon the princes and all the people
   said to the priests and the prophets,
   “This man does not deserve death;
   it is in the name of the LORD, our God, that he speaks to us.”

So Ahikam, son of Shaphan, protected Jeremiah,
   so that he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 69:15-16, 30-31, 33-34

R. :

℟. (14c) Lord, in your great love, answer me.

Rescue me out of the mire; may I not sink!
   may I be rescued from my foes,
   and from the watery depths.
Let not the flood-waters overwhelm me,
   nor the abyss swallow me up,
   nor the pit close its mouth over me.

℟. Lord, in your great love, answer me.

But I am afflicted and in pain;
   let your saving help, O God, protect me.
I will praise the name of God in song,
   and I will glorify him with thanksgiving.

℟. Lord, in your great love, answer me.

“See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
   you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
   and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.”

℟. Lord, in your great love, answer me.

Acclamation before the Gospel
Mt 5:10

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Mt 14:1-12

Herod had John beheaded. John’s disciples came and told Jesus.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus
   and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist.
He has been raised from the dead;
   that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”

Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison
   on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip,
   for John had said to him,
   “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people,
   for they regarded him as a prophet.
But at a birthday celebration for Herod,
   the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests
   and delighted Herod so much
   that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for.
Prompted by her mother, she said,
   “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was distressed,
   but because of his oaths and the guests who were present,
   he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison.
His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl,
   who took it to her mother.
His disciples came and took away the corpse
   and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

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.