1st Reading: Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 1:1-10 All wisdom comes from God and returns to him All wisdom is from the Lord, and with him it remains forever. The sand of the sea, the drops of rain, and the days of eternity–who can count them? The height of heaven, the breadth of the earth, the abyss, and…
1st Reading: Job 31:16-20; 24-25; 31-32 Job’s helping the needy echoed in Brigid’s works of charity I have never withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, or have eaten my morsel alone, and the orphan has not eaten from it. for from my youth I reared…
Saint John Bosco, priest 1st Reading: Hebrews 12:1-4 Around us a cloud of witnesses, and above all Jesus, to encourage us Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race…
Saint Aidan, bishop; Blessed Margaret Ball and Blessed Francis Taylor, martyrs 1st Reading: Hebrews 11:32-40 And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets – who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,…
Theme: The beatitudes are the basic Christian ideals for living, not a set of rules to avoid God’s punishment. They aim to raise our vision above the limits of self-interest and gain. 1st Reading: Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13 I will leave among you a people humble and lowly Seek the Lord, all you humble of the…
Saint Thomas Aquinas, doctor of the Church 1st Reading: Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 Divine blessing on Abraham and his descendants Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place…
Saint Angela de Merici, virgin 1st Reading, Hebrews 10:32-39 Do not abandon hope, but trust in God’s promises But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had…
Catholics gather this Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of the Saviour and to remember his beautiful teachings. In the Beatitudes, which are read at Mass today, Jesus describes the kinds of people who are blessed in God’s eyes. We hope to join the company of all these saints in the heavenly liturgy.
1st Reading: 2 Timothy 1:1-9 Use the gifts God has given us, for the service of the church Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ…
1st Reading: Acts 22:3-16 Paul’s account of his conversion, to his fellow-Jews, on the steps of the Temple “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are…
Saint Francis de Sales, bishop and doctor of the Church 1st Reading: Hebrews 10:1-10 The temple rituals foreshadowed the new covenant, brought by Jesus for all Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that…
1st Reading: Hebrews 9:15, 24-28 Jesus as mediator of a new covenant So Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary…
This Sunday falls within the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, when the Church prays that all Christians may grow closer together. As we join with Christians all over the world today to honour the death and resurrection of Jesus, we pray that the journey to full unity may soon be complete.
Saint Vincent, deacon and martyr 1st Reading: Isaiah 9:1-3 Isaiah foretells a Saviour for the people who walked in darkness In the former time God brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the…
Saint Agnes, virgin and martyr 1st Reading: Hebrews 9:2-3, 11-14 Jesus enters the Holy of Holies, to enable us to serve the living God For a tent was constructed, the first one, in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of the Presence; this is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain…
Saints Fabian and Sebastian, martyrs 1st Reading: Hebrews 8:6-13 Mediator of a new covenant But Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted through better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no…
1st Reading: Hebrews 7:25-8:6 Jesus our high priest serves in the true tabernacle of heaven Jesus he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated…
1st Reading: Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17 The priesthood of Jesus is mysterious, eternal, like Melchisedek’s This “King Melchizedek of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him;” and to him Abraham apportioned “one-tenth of everything.” His name, in the first place, means “king of…
Saint Anthony, abbot 1st Reading: Hebrews 6:10-20 Abraham’s long-delayed son. Learning patience For God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do. And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to…
Saint Fursa [Fursey], abbot and missionary (c. 597-650) 1st Reading: Hebrews 5:1-10 Jesus is our Priest, and the source of eternal salvation for all Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal…
