Daily Readings for December 13, 2014

1ST READING Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11

1 In those days, like a fire there appeared the prophet whose words were as a flaming furnace. 2 Their staff of bread he shattered, in his zeal he reduced them to straits; 3 by the Lord’s word he shut up the heavens and three times brought down fire. 4 How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Whose glory is equal to yours? 9 You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with fiery horses. 10 You are destined, it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the Lord, to turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob. 11 Blessed is he who shall have seen you and who falls asleep in your friendship.

P S A L M Psalm 80:2, 3, 15-16, 18-19

R: Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

2 O shepherd of Israel, hearken, from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth. 3 Rouse your power. 15 Once again, O Lord of hosts, look down from heaven, and see; take care of this vine, 16 and protect what your right hand has planted, the son of man whom you yourself made strong. (R) 18 May your help be with the man of your right hand, with the son of man whom you yourself made strong. 19 Then we will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your name. (R)

GOSPEL Matthew 17:9, 10-13

9 As they were coming down from the mountain, 10 the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; 12 but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Credits to: www.kerygmafamily.com

Daily Readings for December 12, 2014

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

1ST READING Zechariah 2:14-17 (or Revelations 11:29, 12:1-6, 10)

14 Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the Lord. 15 Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they shall be his people, and he will dwell among you, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 16 The Lord will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land, and he will again choose Jerusalem. 17 Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the Lord! For he stirs forth from his holy dwelling.

P S A L M Judith 13:18-19

R: You are the highest honor of our race.

18 “Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, the creator of heaven and earth. (R) 19 Your deed of hope will never be forgotten by those who tell of the might of God.” (R)

GOSPEL Luke 1:26-38 (or Luke 1:39-47)

26 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, 33 and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” 35 And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. 36 And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; 37 for nothing will be impossible for God.” 38 Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Credits to: www.kerygmafamily.com

Daily Readings for December 11, 2014

1ST READING Isaiah 41:13-20

13 I am the Lord, your God, who grasp your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I will help you.” 14 Fear not, O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel; I will help you, says the Lord; your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. 15 I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and double-edged, to thresh the mountains and crush them, to make the hills like chaff. 16 When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off and the storm shall scatter them. But you shall rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the Holy One of Israel. 17 The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain, their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 18 I will open up rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the broad valleys; I will turn the desert into a marshland, and the dry ground into springs of water. 19 I will plant in the desert the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive; I will set in the wasteland the cypress, together with the plane tree and the pine, 20 that all may see and know, observe and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.

P S A L M Psalm 145:1, 9, 10-11, 12-13

R: The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.

1 I will extol you, O my God and King, and I will bless your name forever and ever. 9 The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all his works. (R) 10 Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord, and let your faithful ones bless you. 11 Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom and speak of your might. (R) 12 Let them make known to men your might and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom. 13 Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages, and your dominion endures through all generations. (R)

GOSPEL Matthew 11:11-15

11 Jesus said to the crowds: “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least

in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force. 13 All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. 15 Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Credits to: www.kerygmafamily.com

Daily Readings for December 10, 2014

1ST READING Isaiah 40:25-31

27 [25] To whom can you liken me as an equal? says the Holy One. 28 [26] Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these things: He leads out their army and numbers them, calling them all by name. By his great might and the strength of his power not one of them is missing! 29 [27] Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? 30 [28] Do you not know or have you not heard? The Lord is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny. 31 [29] He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound. 32 [30] Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall, 33 [31] they that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles’ wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.

P S A L M Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10

R: O bless the Lord, my soul!

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.(R) 3 He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills. 4 He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness  nd compassion. (R) 8 Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. 10 Not according to our sins does he deal with us, nor does he requite us according to our crimes. (R)

GOSPEL Matthew 11:28-30

28 Jesus said to the crowds: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Credits to: www.kerygmafamily.com

Daily Readings for December 9, 2014

1ST READING Isaiah 40:1-11

1 Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins. 3 A voice cries out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! 4 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. 5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. 6 A voice says, “Cry out!” I answer, “What shall I cry out?” “All flesh is grass, and all their glory like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it. So then, the people is the grass. 8 Though the grass withers and the flower wilts, the word of our God stands forever.” 9 Go up onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! 10 Here comes with power the Lord God, who rules by his strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. 11 Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.

P S A L M Psalm 96:1-2, 3, 10, 11-12, 13

R: The Lord our God comes with power.

1 Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all you lands. 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; announce his salvation, day after day. (R) 3 Tell his glory among the nations; among all peoples, his wondrous deeds. 10 Say among the nations: the Lord is king; he governs the peoples with equity. (R) 11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and what fills it resound; 12 let the plains be joyful and all that is in them! (R) They shall exult 13 before the Lord, for he comes; for he comes to rule the earth. He shall rule the world with justice and the peoples with his constancy. (R)

GOSPEL Matthew 18:12-14

12 Jesus said to his disciples: “What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? 13 And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. 14 In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”

Credits to: www.kerygmafamily.com