Readings

Proper readings

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

For the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ.

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians

Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
   urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
   with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
   bearing with one another through love,
   striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
   through the bond of peace:
   one Body and one Spirit,
   as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
   one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
   one God and Father of all,
   who is over all and through all and in all.

But grace was given to each of us
   according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,
   others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
   to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
   for building up the Body of Christ,
   until we all attain to the unity of faith
   and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
   to the extent of the full stature of Christ.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6

R. :

℟. (40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
  or:
℟. (2a) Blessed are they who delight in the law of the Lord.
  or:
℟. (92:13-14) The just will flourish like the palm tree in the garden of the Lord.

Blessed the man who follows not
  the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
   nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
   and meditates on his law day and night.

℟. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
  or:
℟. Blessed are they who delight in the law of the Lord.
  or:
℟. The just will flourish like the palm tree in the garden of the Lord.

He is like a tree
   planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
   and whose leaves never fade.
   Whatever he does, prospers.

℟. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
  or:
℟. Blessed are they who delight in the law of the Lord.
  or:
℟. The just will flourish like the palm tree in the garden of the Lord.

Not so, the wicked, not so;
   they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
   but the way of the wicked vanishes.

℟. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
  or:
℟. Blessed are they who delight in the law of the Lord.
  or:
℟. The just will flourish like the palm tree in the garden of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel
Jn 15:9b, 5b

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Remain in my love, says the Lord;
whoever lives in me and I in him will bear much fruit.

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Jn 17:20-26

I wish that where I am they also may be with me.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:
“Holy Father,
   I pray not only for these,
   but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
   so that they may all be one,
   as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
   that they also may be in us,
   that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
   so that they may be one, as we are one,
   I in them and you in me,
   that they may be brought to perfection as one,
   that the world may know that you sent me,
   and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
   that they may see my glory that you gave me,
   because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
   but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
   that the love with which you loved me
   may be in them and I in them.”

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
Phlm 7-20

Have him back, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother, beloved especially to me.

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to Philemon

Beloved:
I have experienced much joy and encouragement from your love,
   because the hearts of the holy ones
   have been refreshed by you, brother.
Therefore, although I have the full right in Christ
   to order you to do what is proper,
   I rather urge you out of love,
   being as I am, Paul, an old man,
   and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus.
I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus,
   whose father I have become in my imprisonment,
   who was once useless to you but is now useful to both you and me.
I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.
I should have liked to retain him for myself,
   so that he might serve me on your behalf
   in my imprisonment for the Gospel,
   but I did not want to do anything without your consent,
   so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.
Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while,
   that you might have him back forever,
   no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother,
   beloved especially to me, but even more so to you,
   as a man and in the Lord.
So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.
And if he has done you any injustice
   or owes you anything, charge it to me.
I, Paul, write this in my own hand: I will pay.
May I not tell you that you owe me your very self.
Yes, brother, may I profit from you in the Lord.
Refresh my heart in Christ.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 146:7, 8-9a, 9bc-10

R. :

℟. (5a) Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
  or:
℟. Alleluia.

The LORD secures justice for the oppressed,
   gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.

℟. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
  or:
℟. Alleluia.

The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
   the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.

℟. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
  or:
℟. Alleluia.

The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
   but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
   your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.

℟. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
  or:
℟. Alleluia.

Acclamation before the Gospel
Jn 15:5

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the vine, you are the branches, says the Lord;
whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Lk 17:20-25

The Kingdom of God is among you.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come,
Jesus said in reply,
“The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,
   and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’
For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”

Then he said to his disciples,
   “The days will come when you will long to see
   one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
There will be those who will say to you,
   ‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’
Do not go off, do not run in pursuit.
For just as lightning flashes
   and lights up the sky from one side to the other,
   so will the Son of Man be in his day.
But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.”

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.