February 18, 2025

Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading I Genesis 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10 When the LORD saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but evil, he regretted that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was grieved. So the LORD said: “I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created, and not only the men, but also the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air, for I am sorry that I made them.” But Noah found favor with the LORD. Then the LORD said to Noah: “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for you alone in this age have I found to be truly just. Of every clean animal, take with you seven pairs, a male and its mate; and of the unclean animals, one pair, a male and its mate; likewise, of every clean bird of the air, seven pairs, a male and a female, and of all the unclean birds, one pair, a male and a female. Thus you will keep their issue alive over all the earth. Seven days from now I will bring rain down on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and so I will wipe out from the surface of the earth every moving creature that I have made.” Noah did just as the LORD had commanded him. As soon as the seven days were over, the waters of the flood came upon the earth. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 29:1a, 2, 3ac-4, 3b & 9c-10 R.    (11b)  The Lord will bless his people with peace. Give to the LORD, you sons of God,     give to the LORD glory and praise, Give to the LORD the glory due his name;     adore the LORD in holy attire.  R.    The Lord will bless his people with peace. The voice of the LORD is over the waters,     the LORD, over vast waters. The voice of the LORD is mighty;     the voice of the LORD is majestic.  R.    The Lord will bless his people with peace. The God of glory thunders,     and in his temple all say, “Glory!” The LORD is enthroned above the flood;     the LORD is enthroned as king forever.  R.    The Lord will bless his people with peace. Alleluia John 14:23 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord; and my Father will love him and we will come to him. R. Alleluia, alleluia.   Gospel Mark 8:14-21 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”  They concluded among themselves that it was because they had no bread. When he became aware of this he said to them, “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?” They answered him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They answered him, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” - - - 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.
February 17, 2025

Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Genesis 4:1-15, 25 The man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the LORD.” Next she bore his brother Abel. Abel became a keeper of flocks, and Cain a tiller of the soil. In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the soil, while Abel, for his part, brought one of the best firstlings of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not. Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen. So the LORD said to Cain: “Why are you so resentful and crestfallen. If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master.” Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out in the field.” When they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He answered, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” The LORD then said:  “What have you done! Listen: your brother’s blood cries out to me from the soil! Therefore you shall be banned from the soil that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. If you till the soil, it shall no longer give you its produce. You shall become a restless wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the LORD:  “My punishment is too great to bear. Since you have now banished me from the soil, and I must avoid your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, anyone may kill me at sight.” “Not so!” the LORD said to him. “If anyone kills Cain, Cain shall be avenged sevenfold.” So the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest anyone should kill him at sight. Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son whom she called Seth. “God has granted me more offspring in place of Abel,” she said, “because Cain slew him.” Responsorial Psalm Psalm 50:1,8, 16bc-17, 20-21 R. (14a)  Offer to God a sacrifice of praise. God the LORD has spoken and summoned the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting. “Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you, for your burnt offerings are before me always.” R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise. “Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth Though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?” R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise. “You sit speaking against your brother; against your mother’s son you spread rumors. When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it? Or do you think that I am like yourself? I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.” R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise. Alleluia John 14:6 R. Alleluia, alleluia. I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mark 8:11-13 The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore. Readings for the Optional Memorial of the Seven Founders of the Order of Servites, religious - - - 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.
February 16, 2025

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading I Jeremiah 17:5-8 Thus says the LORD:             Cursed is the one 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 desert                         that enjoys no change of season,             but stands in a lava waste,                         a salt and empty earth.             Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,                         whose hope is the LORD.             He is like a tree planted beside the waters                         that 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. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 & 6 R (40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in 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. R Blessed are they who hope in 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. 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. Reading II 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20 Brothers and sisters: If Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Alleluia Luke 6:23ab R. Alleluia, alleluia. Rejoice and be glad; your reward will be great in heaven. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Luke 6:17, 20-26 Jesus came down with the Twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground with a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:             “Blessed are you who are poor,                         for the kingdom of God is yours.             Blessed are you who are now hungry,                         for you will be satisfied.             Blessed are you who are now weeping,                         for you will laugh.             Blessed are you when people hate you,                         and when they exclude and insult you,                         and denounce your name as evil                         on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.             But woe to you who are rich,                         for you have received your consolation.             Woe to you who are filled now,                         for you will be hungry.             Woe to you who laugh now,                         for you will grieve and weep.             Woe to you when all speak well of you,                         for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”   - - - 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.
February 15, 2025

Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Genesis 3:9-24 The LORD God called to Adam and asked him, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself." Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!" The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me— she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it." The LORD God then asked the woman, "Why did you do such a thing?" The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it." Then the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; On your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel." To the woman he said: "I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing; in pain shall you bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall be your master." To the man he said: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, "Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return." The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living. For the man and his wife the LORD God made leather garments, with which he clothed them. Then the LORD God said: "See! The man has become like one of us, knowing what is good and what is evil! Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life also, and thus eat of it and live forever." The LORD God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he had been taken. When he expelled the man, he settled him east of the garden of Eden; and he stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword, to guard the way to the tree of life. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 90:2, 3-4abc, 5-6, 12-13 R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge. Before the mountains were begotten and the earth and the world were brought forth, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge. You turn man back to dust, saying, "Return, O children of men." For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, now that it is past, or as a watch of the night. R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge. You make an end of them in their sleep; the next morning they are like the changing grass, Which at dawn springs up anew, but by evening wilts and fades. R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge. Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge. Alleluia Matthew 4:4b R. Alleluia, alleluia. One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mark 8:1-10 In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat, Jesus summoned the disciples and said, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance." His disciples answered him, "Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?" Still he asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They replied, "Seven." He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. They also had a few fish. He said the blessing over them and ordered them distributed also. They ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets. There were about four thousand people. He dismissed the crowd and got into the boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha. - - - 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.