Daily mass reading

Daily Reading for Sunday, September 29th, 2019

Details: Category: Daily mass reading; Published: Sunday, 29 September 2019 00:00; Written by Archdiocese of Blantyre – Communications Desk; Hits: 672

Reading 1, Amos 6:1, 4-7

1 Disaster for those so comfortable in Zion and for those so confident on the hill of Samaria, the notables of this first of nations, those to whom the House of Israel has recourse!

4 Lying on ivory beds and sprawling on their divans, they dine on lambs from the flock, and stall-fattened veal;

5 they bawl to the sound of the lyre and, like David, they invent musical instruments;

6 they drink wine by the bowlful, and lard themselves with the finest oils, but for the ruin of Joseph they care nothing.

7 That is why they will now go into captivity, heading the column of captives. The sprawlers' revelry is over.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 146:7, 8-9, 9-10

7 gives justice to the oppressed, gives food to the hungry; Yahweh sets prisoners free.

8 Yahweh gives sight to the blind, lifts up those who are bowed down.

9 Yahweh protects the stranger, he sustains the orphan and the widow. Yahweh loves the upright,but he frustrates the wicked.

10 Yahweh reigns for ever, your God, Zion, from age to age.

Reading 2, First Timothy 6:11-16

11 But, as someone dedicated to God, avoid all that. You must aim to be upright and religious, filled with faith and love, perseverance and gentleness.

12 Fight the good fight of faith and win the eternal life to which you were called and for which you made your noble profession of faith before many witnesses.

13 Now, before God, the source of all life, and before Jesus Christ, who witnessed to his noble profession of faith before Pontius Pilate, I charge you

14 to do all that you have been told, with no faults or failures, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15 who at the due time will be revealed by God, the blessed and only Ruler of all, the King of kings and the Lord of lords,

16 who alone is immortal, whose home is in inaccessible light, whom no human being has seen or is able to see: to him be honour and everlasting power. Amen.

Gospel, Luke 16:19-31

19 'There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day.

20 And at his gate there used to lie a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores,

21 who longed to fill himself with what fell from the rich man's table. Even dogs came and licked his sores.

22 Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels into Abraham's embrace. The rich man also died and was buried.

23 'In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his embrace.

24 So he cried out, "Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames."

25 Abraham said, "My son, remember that during your life you had your fill of good things, just as Lazarus his fill of bad. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony.

26 But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to prevent those who want to cross from our side to yours or from your side to ours."

27 'So he said, "Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father's house,

28 since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too."

29 Abraham said, "They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them."

30 The rich man replied, "Ah no, father Abraham, but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent."

³¹ Then Abraham said to him, "If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead."

Daily Reading for Sunday, September 15th, 2019

Details: Category: Daily mass reading; Published: Sunday, 15 September 2019 00:00; Written by Archdiocese of Blantyre – Communications Desk; Hits: 692

Reading 1, Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14

7 Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Go down at once, for your people whom you brought here from Egypt have become corrupt.

8 They have quickly left the way which I ordered them to follow. They have cast themselves a metal calf, worshipped it and offered sacrifice to it, shouting, "Israel, here is your God who brought you here from Egypt!" '

9 Yahweh then said to Moses, 'I know these people; I know how obstinate they are!

10 So leave me now, so that my anger can blaze at them and I can put an end to them! I shall make a great nation out of you instead.'

11 Moses tried to pacify Yahweh his God. 'Yahweh,' he said, 'why should your anger blaze at your people, whom you have brought out of Egypt by your great power and mighty hand?

13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to whom you swore by your very self and made this promise: "I shall make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and this whole country of which I have spoken, I shall give to your descendants, and it will be their heritage for ever."

14 Yahweh then relented over the disaster which he had intended to inflict on his people.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19

3 For I am well aware of my offences, my sin is constantly in mind.

4 Against you, you alone, I have sinned, I have done what you see to be wrong, that you may show your saving justicewhen you pass sentence, and your victory may appear when you give judgement,

12 Give me back the joy of your salvation, sustain in me a generous spirit.

13 I shall teach the wicked your paths, and sinners will return to you.

17 Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, a broken, contrite heart you never scorn.

Reading 2, First Timothy 1:12-17

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength. By calling me into his service he has judged me trustworthy,

13 even though I used to be a blasphemer and a persecutor and contemptuous. Mercy, however, was shown me, because while I lacked faith I acted in ignorance;

14 but the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus.

15 Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of them;

16 and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the leading example of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who were later to trust in him for eternal life.

¹⁷ To the eternal King, the undying, invisible and only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel, Luke 15:1-32

1 The tax collectors and sinners, however, were all crowding round to listen to him,

2 and the Pharisees and scribes complained saying, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.'

3 So he told them this parable:

4 'Which one of you with a hundred sheep, if he lost one, would fail to leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the missing one till he found it?

5 And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders

6 and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, I have found my sheep that was lost."

7 In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner repenting than over ninety-nine upright people who have no need of repentance.

8 'Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would not, if she lost one, light a lamp and sweep out the house and search thoroughly till she found it?

9 And then, when she had found it, call together her friends and neighbours, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, I have found the drachma I lost."

10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.'

11 Then he said, 'There was a man who had two sons.

12 The younger one said to his father, "Father, let me have the share of the estate that will come to me." So the father divided the property between them.

13 A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.

14 'When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch;

15 so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs.

16 And he would willingly have filled himself with the husks the pigs were eating but no one would let him have them.

17 Then he came to his senses and said, "How many of my father's hired men have all the food they want and more, and here am I dying of hunger!

18 I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;

19 I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired men."

20 So he left the place and went back to his father. 'While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him.

21 Then his son said, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son."

22 But the father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

23 Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we will celebrate by having a feast,

24 because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found." And they began to celebrate.

25 'Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing.

26 Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about.

27 The servant told him, "Your brother has come, and your father has killed the calf we had been fattening because he has got him back safe and sound."

28 He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out and began to urge him to come in;

29 but he retorted to his father, "All these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed any orders of yours, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends.

30 But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property -- he and his loose women -- you kill the calf we had been fattening."

31 'The father said, "My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours.

32 But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found." '

19 Then you will delight in upright sacrifices,-burnt offerings and whole oblations -- and young bulls will be offered on your altar.

Daily Reading for Tuesday, May 28th, 2019

Details: Category: Daily mass reading; Published: Tuesday, 28 May 2019 00:00; Written by Archdiocese of Blantyre – Communications Desk; Hits: 784

Reading 1, Acts 16:22-34
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 138:1-2, 2-3, 7-8
Gospel, John 16:5-11

Reading 1, Acts 16:22-34

22 The crowd joined in and showed its hostility to them, so the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them to be flogged.

23 They were given many lashes and then thrown into prison, and the gaoler was told to keep a close watch on them.

24 So, following such instructions, he threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25 In the middle of the night Paul and Silas were praying and singing God's praises, while the other prisoners listened.

26 Suddenly there was an earthquake that shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and the chains fell from all the prisoners.

27 When the gaoler woke and saw the doors wide open he drew his sword and was about to commit suicide, presuming that the prisoners had escaped.

28 But Paul shouted at the top of his voice, 'Do yourself no harm; we are all here.'

29 He called for lights, then rushed in, threw himself trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas,

30 and escorted them out, saying, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'

31 They told him, 'Become a believer in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, and your household too.'

32 Then they preached the word of the Lord to him and to all his household.

33 Late as it was, he took them to wash their wounds, and was baptised then and there with all his household.

34 Afterwards he took them into his house and gave them a meal, and the whole household celebrated their conversion to belief in God.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 138:1-2, 2-3, 7-8

1 [Of David] I thank you, Yahweh, with all my heart, for you have listened to the cry I uttered. In the presence of angels I sing to you,

2 I bow down before your holy Temple. I praise your name for your faithful love and your constancy; your promises surpass even your fame.

3 You heard me on the day when I called, and you gave new strength to my heart.

7 Though I live surrounded by trouble you give me life -- to my enemies' fury! You stretch out your right hand and save me,

8 Yahweh will do all things for me. Yahweh, your faithful love endures for ever, do not abandon what you have made.

Gospel, John 16:5-11

5 but now I am going to the one who sent me. Not one of you asks, 'Where are you going?'

6 Yet you are sad at heart because I have told you this.

7 Still, I am telling you the truth: it is for your own good that I am going, because unless I go, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

8 And when he comes, he will show the world how wrong it was, about sin, and about who was in the right, and about judgement:

9 about sin: in that they refuse to believe in me;

10 about who was in the right: in that I am going to the Father and you will see me no more;

¹¹ about judgement: in that the prince of this world is already condemned.

Daily Reading for Sunday, September 8th, 2019

Details: Category: Daily mass reading; Published: Sunday, 08 September 2019 00:00; Written by Archdiocese of Blantyre – Communications Desk; Hits: 723

Reading 1, Wisdom 9:13-18

13 'What human being indeed can know the intentions of God? And who can comprehend the will of the Lord?

14 For the reasoning of mortals is inadequate, our attitudes of mind unstable;

15 for a perishable body presses down the soul, and this tent of clay weighs down the mind with its many cares.

16 It is hard enough for us to work out what is on earth, laborious to know what lies within our reach; who, then, can discover what is in the heavens?

17 And who could ever have known your will, had you not given Wisdom and sent your holy Spirit from above?

18 Thus have the paths of those on earth been straightened and people have been taught what pleases you, and have been saved, by Wisdom.'

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14-17

3 You bring human beings to the dust, by saying, 'Return, children of Adam.'

4 A thousand years are to you like a yesterday which has passed, like a watch of the night.

5 You flood them with sleep -- in the morning they will be like growing grass:

6 in the morning it is blossoming and growing, by evening it is withered and dry.

12 Teach us to count up the days that are ours, and we shall come to the heart of wisdom.

13 Come back, Yahweh! How long must we wait? Take pity on your servants.

14 Each morning fill us with your faithful love, we shall sing and be happy all our days;

15 let our joy be as long as the time that you afflicted us, the years when we experienced disaster.

16 Show your servants the deeds you do, let their children enjoy your splendour!

Reading 2, Philemon 1:9-10, 12-17

9 I am rather appealing to your love, being what I am, Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus.

10 I am appealing to you for a child of mine, whose father I became while wearing these chains: I mean Onesimus.

12 I am sending him back to you -- that is to say, sending you my own heart.

13 I should have liked to keep him with me; he could have been a substitute for you, to help me while I am in the chains that the gospel has brought me.

14 However, I did not want to do anything without your consent; it would have been forcing your act of kindness, which should be spontaneous.

15 I suppose you have been deprived of Onesimus for a time, merely so that you could have him back for ever,

16 no longer as a slave, but something much better than a slave, a dear brother; especially dear to me, but how much more to you, both on the natural plane and in the Lord.

17 So if you grant me any fellowship with yourself, welcome him as you would me;

Gospel, Luke 14:25-33

25 Great crowds accompanied him on his way and he turned and spoke to them.

26 'Anyone who comes to me without hating father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, cannot be my disciple.

27 No one who does not carry his cross and come after me can be my disciple.

28 'And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it?

29 Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, anyone who saw it would start making fun of him and saying,

30 "Here is someone who started to build and was unable to finish."

31 Or again, what king marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who was advancing against him with twenty thousand?

32 If not, then while the other king was still a long way off, he would send envoys to sue for peace.

33 So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple without giving up all that he owns.

17 May the sweetness of the Lord be upon us, to confirm the work we have done!

Daily Reading for Monday, May 27th, 2019

Details: Category: Daily mass reading; Published: Monday, 27 May 2019 00:00; Written by Archdiocese of Blantyre – Communications Desk; Hits: 844

Reading 1, Acts 16:11-15
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 149:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 9
Gospel, John 15:26--16:4

Reading 1, Acts 16:11-15

11 Sailing from Troas we made a straight run for Samothrace; the next day for Neapolis,

12 and from there for Philippi, a Roman colony and the principal city of that district of Macedonia.

13 After a few days in this city we went outside the gates beside a river as it was the Sabbath and this was a customary place for prayer. We sat down and preached to the women who had come to the meeting.

14 One of these women was called Lydia, a woman from the town of Thyatira who was in the purple-dye trade, and who revered God. She listened to us, and the Lord opened her heart to accept what Paul was saying.

15 After she and her household had been baptised she kept urging us, 'If you judge me a true believer in the Lord,' she said, 'come and stay with us.' And she would take no refusal.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 149:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 9

1 Alleluia! Sing a new song to Yahweh: his praise in the assembly of the faithful!

2 Israel shall rejoice in its Maker, the children of Zion delight in their king;

3 they shall dance in praise of his name, play to him on tambourines and harp!

4 For Yahweh loves his people, he will crown the humble with salvation.

5 The faithful exult in glory, shout for joy as they worship him,

6 praising God to the heights with their voices, a two-edged sword in their hands,

9 to execute on them the judgement passed -- to the honour of all his faithful.

Gospel, John 15:26--16:4

26 When the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness.

27 And you too will be witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning.

1 I have told you all this so that you may not fall away.

2 They will expel you from the synagogues, and indeed the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is doing a holy service to God.

3 They will do these things because they have never known either the Father or me.

4 But I have told you all this, so that when the time for it comes you may remember that I told you. I did not tell you this from the beginning, because I was with you;

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