1st Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:7-15. The grace of God is like a treasure in a clay jar. The apostle is willing to die, that the others may have life We have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from…
1st Reading: Genesis 18:20-32 Abraham intercedes and haggles with God to spare the city of Sodom Then the Lord said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me;…
1st Reading: Galatians 2:19-20. It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives…
Mary of Magdala is named in the Gospels more often than any of the twelve apostles except Peter. She is today honoured for her fidelity to Jesus and as first witness to the resurrection. 1st Reading: 2 Cor 5:14-17 (alternative: Song 3:1-4) A life built on and sustained by the love of God The love…
Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, optional memorial 1st Reading: Jeremiah 2:1-2; 7-8; 12-13. They dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water The word of the Lord came to me, saying: Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord: I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a…
Saint Apollinaris, optional memorial 1st Reading: Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10 The prophet’s vocation to speak God’s word The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. The word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,and before…
1st Reading: Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 Israel’s God is always faithful and forgiving Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock that belongs to you, which lives alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. As in the days when…
1st Reading: Micah 6:1-4, 6-8 Micah’s famous summary of religion, as walking humbly with God Hear what the Lord says: ‘Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.’ Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for the Lord has a controversy…
The Lord wants us not to be too caught up in mundane things, like Martha. Like Mary we try to set aside our everyday worries and anxieties and sit quietly with Our Lord, to listen to him. 1st Reading: Genesis 18:1-10 In welcoming the strangers, Abraham was really in the presence of God The Lord…
1st Reading: Micah 2:1-5 When rich people covet and steal the lands of others, their own land will fall to their captors Alas for those who devise wickedness and evil deeds on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in their power. They covet fields, and seize them; houses, and…
Saint Bonaventure, optional memorial 1st Reading: Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, King Hezekiah is cured of a serious sickness; as a sign of full health God turns the sun’s rays backward In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him, and said to him,…
Saint Camillus de Lellis, optional memorial 1st Reading: Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19 A prayer of quiet confidence, awaiting the dawn of God’s justice The way of the righteous is level; O Just One, you make smooth the path of the righteous. In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you; your name…
Saint Henry, optional memorial 1st Reading: Isaiah 10:5-7, 13-16 Assyria was used to punish Israel but later was discarded for interfering with God’s plans for his people The Lord says, “Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger, the club in their hands is my fury! Against a godless nation I send him, and against the…
1st Reading: Isaiah 7:1-9 During a national crisis people are called to a deeper faith in God In the days of Ahaz son of Jotham son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel went up to attack Jerusalem, but could not mount an attack against…
1st Reading: Proverbs 2:1-10. The value of wisdom, devotion and fear of the Lord, so exemplified in Saint Benedict My child, if you accept my wordsand treasure up my commandments within you,making your ear attentive to wisdomand inclining your heart to understanding;if you indeed cry out for insight,and raise your voice for understanding;if you seek…
Theme: The parable of the Good Samaritan answers the question “Who is my neighbour?” It should inspire us to go and do the same ourselves. 1st Reading: Deuteronomy 30:10-14 The commandments are a privilege to God’s chosen people Moses said to the people: “When you obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and…
Saints Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions, optional memorial 1st Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8 While praying in the temple, Isaiah is called to be a prophet In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance…
Saint Killian, missionary and martyr, optional memorial 1st Reading: Hosea 14:2-9 The faithful God will restore unfaithful Israel to grace and love Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take words with you and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all guilt; accept…
Saint Maelruain, optional memorial 1st Reading: Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9 Tenderly as a mother, God cares for his beloved Israel When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and offering…
St Maria Goretti, optional memorial 1st Reading: Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12 Infidelity has produced a hopeless situation, through endemic social injustice Israel is a luxuriant vine that produces his fruit. According to the abundance of his fruit he has multiplied his altars. As their land has prospered, they have adorned their sacred pillars. Their heart…
