Readings for the Memorial of Saint Peter Claver, priestReading 1 Col 1:21-23 Brothers and sisters: You once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds; God has now reconciled you in the fleshly Body of Christ through his death, to present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before him, provided that you persevere in the faith, firmly grounded, stable, and not shifting from the hope of the Gospel that you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, am a minister. Responsorial Psalm Ps 54:3-4, 6 and 8 R. (6) God himself is my help.O God, by your name save me,and by your might defend my cause.O God, hear my prayer;hearken to the words of my mouth.R. God himself is my help.Behold, God is my helper;the Lord sustains my life.Freely will I offer you sacrifice;I will praise your name, O LORD, for its goodness.R. God himself is my help. Alleluia Jn 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 Lk 6:1-5 While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath,his disciples were picking the heads of grain,rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.Some Pharisees said,"Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?"Jesus said to them in reply,"Have you not read what David didwhen he and those who were with him were hungry?How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,which only the priests could lawfully eat,ate of it, and shared it with his companions?"Then he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath." - - -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 Mi 5:1-4a The LORD says:You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah,too small to be among the clans of Judah,From you shall come forth for meone who is to be ruler in Israel;Whose origin is from of old,from ancient times.(Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the timewhen she who is to give birth has borne,And the rest of his brethren shall returnto the children of Israel.)He shall stand firm and shepherd his flockby the strength of the LORD,in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;And they shall remain, for now his greatnessshall reach to the ends of the earth;he shall be peace. or Rom 8:28-30 Brothers and sisters:We know that all things work for good for those who love God,who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestinedto be conformed to the image of his Son,so that he might be the firstbornamong many brothers.And those he predestined he also called;and those he called he also justified;and those he justified he also glorified. Responsorial Psalm Ps 13:6ab, 6c R. (Isaiah 61:10) With delight I rejoice in the Lord.Though I trusted in your mercy,let my heart rejoice in your salvation.R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord.Let me sing of the LORD, "He has been good to me."R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord. Alleluia R. Alleluia, alleluia.Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise;from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God.R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 1:1-16, 18-23 The Book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,the son of David, the son of Abraham.Abraham became the father of Isaac,Isaac the father of Jacob,Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,whose mother was Tamar.Perez became the father of Hezron,Hezron the father of Ram,Ram the father of Amminadab.Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,Nahshon the father of Salmon,Salmon the father of Boaz,whose mother was Rahab.Boaz became the father of Obed,whose mother was Ruth.Obed became the father of Jesse,Jesse the father of David the king.David became the father of Solomon,whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,Rehoboam the father of Abijah,Abijah the father of Asaph.Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,Joram the father of Uzziah.Uzziah became the father of Jotham,Jotham the father of Ahaz,Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,Manasseh the father of Amos,Amos the father of Josiah.Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothersat the time of the Babylonian exile.After the Babylonian exile,Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.Abiud became the father of Eliakim,Eliakim the father of Azor,Azor the father of Zadok.Zadok became the father of Achim,Achim the father of Eliud,Eliud the father of Eleazar.Eleazar became the father of Matthan,Matthan the father of Jacob,Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,but before they lived together,she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,yet unwilling to expose her to shame,decided to divorce her quietly.Such was his intention when, behold,the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,"Joseph, son of David,do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.For it is through the Holy Spiritthat this child has been conceived in her.She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,because he will save his people from their sins."All this took place to fulfillwhat the Lord had said through the prophet:Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,and they shall name him Emmanuel,which means "God is with us." or Mt 1:18-23 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,but before they lived together,she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,yet unwilling to expose her to shame,decided to divorce her quietly.Such was his intention when, behold,the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,"Joseph, son of David,do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.For it is through the Holy Spiritthat this child has been conceived in her.She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,because he will save his people from their sins."All this took place to fulfillwhat the Lord had said through the prophet:Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,and they shall name him Emmanuel,which means "God is with us." - - -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 Col 1:9-14 Brothers and sisters:From the day we heard about you, we do not cease praying for youand asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's willthrough all spiritual wisdom and understandingto walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruitand growing in the knowledge of God,strengthened with every power, in accord with his glorious might,for all endurance and patience,with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to sharein the inheritance of the holy ones in light.He delivered us from the power of darknessand transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved Son,in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Responsorial Psalm Ps 98:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6 R. (2) The Lord has made known his salvation.The LORD has made his salvation known:in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulnesstoward the house of Israel.R. The Lord has made known his salvation.All the ends of the earth have seenthe salvation by our God.Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;break into song; sing praise.R. The Lord has made known his salvation.Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,with the harp and melodious song.With trumpets and the sound of the hornsing joyfully before the King, the LORD.R. The Lord has made known his salvation. Alleluia Mt 4:19 R. Alleluia, alleluia.Come after me, says the Lord,and I will make you fishers of men.R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 5:1-11 While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God,he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.He saw two boats there alongside the lake;the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,"Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch."Simon said in reply,"Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,but at your command I will lower the nets."When they had done this, they caught a great number of fishand their nets were tearing.They signaled to their partners in the other boatto come to help them. They came and filled both boatsso that the boats were in danger of sinking.When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,"Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized himand all those with him,and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,who were partners of Simon.Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid;from now on you will be catching men."When they brought their boats to the shore,they left everything and followed him. - - -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 Col1:1-8 Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,and Timothy our brother, to the holy ones and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:grace to you and peace from God our Father.We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,when we pray for you,for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesusand the love that you have for all the holy onesbecause of the hope reserved for you in heaven.Of this you have already heard through the word of truth, the Gospel, that has come to you.Just as in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing,so also among you, from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth,as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow slave,who is a trustworthy minister of Christ on your behalfand who also told us of your love in the Spirit. Responsorial Psalm Ps 52:10, 11 R. (10) I trust in the mercy of God for ever.I, like a green olive treein the house of God,Trust in the mercy of Godforever and ever.R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever.I will thank you always for what you have done,and proclaim the goodness of your namebefore your faithful ones.R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever. Alleluia Lk 4:18 R. Alleluia, alleluia.The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poorand to proclaim liberty to captives.R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 4:38-44 After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon.Simon's mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever,and they interceded with him about her.He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her.She got up immediately and waited on them.At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him.He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.And demons also came out from many, shouting, "You are the Son of God."But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speakbecause they knew that he was the Christ.At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him,they tried to prevent him from leaving them.But he said to them, "To the other towns alsoI must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God,because for this purpose I have been sent."And he was preaching in the synagogues of 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.