Reading 1 Mi 7:14-15, 18-20 Shepherd your people with your staff,the flock of your inheritance,That dwells apart in a woodland,in the midst of Carmel.Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,as in the days of old;As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt,show us wonderful signs.Who is there like you, the God who removes guiltand pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;Who does not persist in anger forever,but delights rather in clemency,And will again have compassion on us,treading underfoot our guilt?You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins;You will show faithfulness to Jacob,and grace to Abraham,As you have sworn to our fathersfrom days of old. Responsorial Psalm Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12 R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.Bless the LORD, O my soul;and all my being, bless his holy name.Bless the LORD, O my soul,and forget not all his benefits.R. The Lord is kind and merciful.He pardons all your iniquities,he heals all your ills.He redeems your life from destruction,he crowns you with kindness and compassion.R. The Lord is kind and merciful.He will not always chide,nor does he keep his wrath forever.Not according to our sins does he deal with us,nor does he requite us according to our crimes.R. The Lord is kind and merciful.For as the heavens are high above the earth,so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.As far as the east is from the west,so far has he put our transgressions from us.R. The Lord is kind and merciful. Verse Before the Gospel Lk 15:18 I will get up and go to my father and shall say to him,Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. Gospel Lk 15:1-3, 11-32 Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."So to them Jesus addressed this parable."A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father,'Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.'So the father divided the property between them.After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongingsand set off to a distant countrywhere he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.When he had freely spent everything,a severe famine struck that country,and he found himself in dire need.So he hired himself out to one of the local citizenswho sent him to his farm to tend the swine.And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed,but nobody gave him any.Coming to his senses he thought,'How many of my father's hired workershave more than enough food to eat,but here am I, dying from hunger.I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,"Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.I no longer deserve to be called your son;treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers."'So he got up and went back to his father.While he was still a long way off,his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.His son said to him,'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;I no longer deserve to be called your son.'But his father ordered his servants,'Quickly, bring the finest robe and put it on him;put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.Then let us celebrate with a feast,because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;he was lost, and has been found.'Then the celebration began.Now the older son had been out in the fieldand, on his way back, as he neared the house,he heard the sound of music and dancing.He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.The servant said to him,'Your brother has returnedand your father has slaughtered the fattened calfbecause he has him back safe and sound.'He became angry,and when he refused to enter the house,his father came out and pleaded with him.He said to his father in reply,'Look, all these years I served youand not once did I disobey your orders;yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.But when your son returnswho swallowed up your property with prostitutes,for him you slaughter the fattened calf.'He said to him,'My son, you are here with me always;everything I have is yours.But now we must celebrate and rejoice,because your brother was dead and has come to life again;he was lost and has been found.'" - - -Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Reading 1 Gn 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons,for he was the child of his old age;and he had made him a long tunic.When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons,they hated him so much that they would not even greet him.One day, when his brothers had goneto pasture their father's flocks at Shechem,Israel said to Joseph, "Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem.Get ready; I will send you to them."So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan.They noticed him from a distance,and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him.They said to one another: "Here comes that master dreamer!Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here;we could say that a wild beast devoured him.We shall then see what comes of his dreams."When Reuben heard this,he tried to save him from their hands, saying,"We must not take his life.Instead of shedding blood," he continued,"just throw him into that cistern there in the desert;but do not kill him outright."His purpose was to rescue him from their handsand return him to his father. So when Joseph came up to them,they stripped him of the long tunic he had on;then they took him and threw him into the cistern,which was empty and dry.They then sat down to their meal.Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead,their camels laden with gum, balm and resinto be taken down to Egypt.Judah said to his brothers:"What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood? Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites,instead of doing away with him ourselves.After all, he is our brother, our own flesh."His brothers agreed.They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Responsorial Psalm Ps 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21 R. (5a) Remember the marvels the Lord has done.When the LORD called down a famine on the landand ruined the crop that sustained them,He sent a man before them,Joseph, sold as a slave.R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.They had weighed him down with fetters,and he was bound with chains,Till his prediction came to passand the word of the LORD proved him true.R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.The king sent and released him,the ruler of the peoples set him free.He made him lord of his houseand ruler of all his possessions.R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done. Verse Before the Gospel Jn 3:16 God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son;so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life. Gospel Mt 21:33-43, 45-46 Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: "Hear another parable.There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,put a hedge around it,dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.When vintage time drew near,he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,another they killed, and a third they stoned.Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,but they treated them in the same way.Finally, he sent his son to them,thinking, 'They will respect my son.'But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,'This is the heir.Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.'They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?"They answered him,"He will put those wretched men to a wretched deathand lease his vineyard to other tenantswho will give him the produce at the proper times."Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures:The stone that the builders rejectedhas become the cornerstone;by the Lord has this been done,and it is wonderful in our eyes?Therefore, I say to you,the Kingdom of God will be taken away from youand given to a people that will produce its fruit."When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,they knew that he was speaking about them.And although they were attempting to arrest him,they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet. - - -Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Reading 1 Jer 17:5-10 Thus says the LORD:Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,who seeks his strength in flesh,whose heart turns away from the LORD.He is like a barren bush in the desertthat enjoys no change of season,But stands in a lava waste,a salt and empty earth.Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,whose hope is the LORD.He is like a tree planted beside the watersthat stretches out its roots to the stream:It fears not the heat when it comes,its leaves stay green;In the year of drought it shows no distress,but still bears fruit.More tortuous than all else is the human heart,beyond remedy; who can understand it?I, the LORD, alone probe the mindand test the heart,To reward everyone according to his ways,according to the merit of his deeds. Responsorial Psalm Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6 R. (40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.Blessed the man who follows notthe counsel of the wickedNor walks in the way of sinners,nor sits in the company of the insolent,But delights in the law of the LORDand meditates on his law day and night.R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.He is like a treeplanted near running water,That yields its fruit in due season,and whose leaves never fade.Whatever he does, prospers.R. Blessed are they who hope in 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.R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. Verse Before the Gospel See Lk 8:15 Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heartand yield a harvest through perseverance. Gospel Lk 16:19-31 Jesus said to the Pharisees:"There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linenand dined sumptuously each day.And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scrapsthat fell from the rich man's table.Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.When the poor man died,he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.The rich man also died and was buried,and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far offand Lazarus at his side.And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me.Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,for I am suffering torment in these flames.'Abraham replied, 'My child,remember that you received what was good during your lifetimewhile Lazarus likewise received what was bad;but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is establishedto prevent anyone from crossingwho might wish to go from our side to yoursor from your side to ours.'He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send himto my father's house,for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,lest they too come to this place of torment.'But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets.Let them listen to them.'He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham,but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'Then Abraham said,'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,neither will they be persuadedif someone should rise from the dead.'" - - -Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Reading 1 Jer 18:18-20 The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem said,"Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah.It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests,nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets.And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue;let us carefully note his every word."Heed me, O LORD,and listen to what my adversaries say.Must good be repaid with evilthat they should dig a pit to take my life?Remember that I stood before youto speak in their behalf,to turn away your wrath from them. Responsorial Psalm Ps 31:5-6, 14, 15-16 R. (17b) Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.You will free me from the snare they set for me,for you are my refuge.Into your hands I commend my spirit;you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.I hear the whispers of the crowd, that frighten me from every side,as they consult together against me, plotting to take my life.R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.But my trust is in you, O LORD;I say, "You are my God."In your hands is my destiny; rescue mefrom the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness. Verse Before the Gospel Jn 8:12 I am the light of the world, says the Lord;whoever follows me will have the light of life. Gospel Mt 20:17-28 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves,and said to them on the way,"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priestsand the scribes,and they will condemn him to death,and hand him over to the Gentilesto be mocked and scourged and crucified,and he will be raised on the third day."Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sonsand did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.He said to her, "What do you wish?"She answered him,"Command that these two sons of mine sit,one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom."Jesus said in reply,"You do not know what you are asking.Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?"They said to him, "We can."He replied,"My chalice you will indeed drink,but to sit at my right and at my left,this is not mine to givebut is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."When the ten heard this,they became indignant at the two brothers.But Jesus summoned them and said,"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,and the great ones make their authority over them felt.But it shall not be so among you.Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serveand to give his life as a ransom for many." - - -Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.