Reading I Isaiah 65:17-21 Thus says the LORD: Lo, I am about to create new heavens     and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered     or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness     in what I create; For I create Jerusalem to be a joy     and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem     and exult in my people. No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,     or the sound of crying; No longer shall there be in it     an infant who lives but a few days,     or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime; He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,     and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed. They shall live in the houses they build,     and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b R.    (2a)  I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me. I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear     and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;     you preserved me from among those going down into the pit. R.    I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me. Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,     and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger lasts but a moment;     a lifetime, his good will. At nightfall, weeping enters in,     but with the dawn, rejoicing. R.    I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me. “Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;     O LORD, be my helper.” You changed my mourning into dancing;     O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks. R.    I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me. Verse before the Gospel Amos 5:14 Seek good and not evil so that you may live, and the LORD will be with you. Gospel John 4:43-54 At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place. When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast. Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. While the man was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe. Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea. - - - 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.

Readings for the Year C ReadingsReadings for the Scrutiny Year A Readings Year C Readings Scrutiny Year A Readings - - - 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 I Hosea 6:1-6 “Come, let us return to the LORD,     it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;     he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds. He will revive us after two days;     on the third day he will raise us up,     to live in his presence. Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;     as certain as the dawn is his coming,     and his judgment shines forth like the light of day! He will come to us like the rain,     like spring rain that waters the earth.” What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your piety is like a morning cloud,     like the dew that early passes away. For this reason I smote them through the prophets,     I slew them by the words of my mouth; For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,     and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab R.    (see Hosea 6:6)  It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice. Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;     in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt     and of my sin cleanse me. R.    It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice. For you are not pleased with sacrifices;     should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;     a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. R.    It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice. Be bountiful, O LORD, to Zion in your kindness     by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem; Then shall you be pleased with due sacrifices,     burnt offerings and holocausts. R.    It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice. Verse before the Gospel Psalm 95:8 If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Gospel Luke 18:9-14 Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —  greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” - - - 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 Hosea 14:2-10 Thus says the LORD: Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. Take with you words, and return to the LORD; Say to him, "Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls. Assyria will not save us, nor shall we have horses to mount; We shall say no more, 'Our god,' to the work of our hands; for in you the orphan finds compassion." I will heal their defection, says the LORD, I will love them freely; for my wrath is turned away from them. I will be like the dew for Israel: he shall blossom like the lily; He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar, and put forth his shoots. His splendor shall be like the olive tree and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar. Again they shall dwell in his shade and raise grain; They shall blossom like the vine, and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols? I have humbled him, but I will prosper him. "I am like a verdant cypress tree"– Because of me you bear fruit! Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the LORD, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17 R. (see 11 and 9a)  I am the Lord your God: hear my voice. An unfamiliar speech I hear: "I relieved his shoulder of the burden; his hands were freed from the basket. In distress you called, and I rescued you." R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice. "Unseen, I answered you in thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Hear, my people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, will you not hear me?" R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice. "There shall be no strange god among you  nor shall you worship any alien god. I, the LORD, am your God who led you forth from the land of Egypt." R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice. "If only my people would hear me, and Israel walk in my ways, I would feed them with the best of wheat, and with honey from the rock I would fill them." R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice. Verse Before the Gospel Matthew 4:17 Repent, says the Lord; the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Gospel Mark 12:28-34 One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions. - - - 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.