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February 7, 2016 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Is 6:1-2a, 3-8 In the year King Uzziah died,I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne,with the train of his garment filling the temple.Seraphim were stationed above. They cried one to the other,"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!All the earth is filled with his glory!"At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shookand the house was filled with smoke. Then I said, "Woe is me, I am doomed!For I am a man of unclean lips,living among a people of unclean lips;yet...

February 6, 2016 Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs Reading 1 1 Kgs 3:4-13 Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice there,because that was the most renowned high place.Upon its altar Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings.In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night.God said, "Ask something of me and I will give it to you."Solomon answered:"You have shown great favor to your servant, my father David,because he behaved faithfully toward you,with justice and an upright heart;and you have continued this great favor toward him, even today,seating a son of his on his throne.O...

February 5, 2016 Memorial of Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr Reading 1 Sir 47:2-11 Like the choice fat of the sacred offerings,so was David in Israel.He made sport of lions as though they were kids,and of bears, like lambs of the flock.As a youth he slew the giantand wiped out the people's disgrace,When his hand let fly the slingstonethat crushed the pride of Goliath.Since he called upon the Most High God, who gave strength to his right armTo defeat the skilled warriorand raise up the might of his people,Therefore the women sang his praises,and ascribed to him tens of...

February 4, 2016 Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Kgs 2:1-4, 10-12 When the time of David's death drew near,he gave these instructions to his son Solomon:"I am going the way of all flesh.Take courage and be a man.Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his waysand observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decreesas they are written in the law of Moses,that you may succeed in whatever you do,wherever you turn, and the LORD may fulfillthe promise he made on my behalf when he said,'If your sons so conduct themselvesthat they remain...

February 3, 2016 Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 2 Sm 24:2, 9-17 King David said to Joab and the leaders of the army who were with him,"Tour all the tribes in Israel from Dan to Beer-shebaand register the people, that I may know their number."Joab then reported to the king the number of people registered:in Israel, eight hundred thousand men fit for military service; in Judah, five hundred thousand. Afterward, however, David regretted having numbered the people,and said to the LORD:"I have sinned grievously in what I have done.But now, LORD, forgive the guilt...

February 2, 2016 Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Reading 1 Mal 3:1-4 Thus says the Lord GOD:Lo, I am sending my messengerto prepare the way before me;And suddenly there will come to the templethe LORD whom you seek,And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.But who will endure the day of his coming?And who can stand when he appears?For he is like the refiner's fire,or like the fuller's lye.He will sit refining and purifying silver,and he will purify the sons of Levi,Refining them like gold or like silverthat...

February 1, 2016 Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 2 Sm 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13 An informant came to David with the report,"The children of Israel have transferred their loyalty to Absalom."At this, David said to all his servantswho were with him in Jerusalem:"Up! Let us take flight, or none of us will escape from Absalom.Leave quickly, lest he hurry and overtake us,then visit disaster upon us and put the city to the sword." As David went up the Mount of Olives, he wept without ceasing.His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot.All those who...

January 31, 2016 Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jer 1:4-5, 17-19 The word of the LORD came to me, saying:Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,before you were born I dedicated you,a prophet to the nations I appointed you. But do you gird your loins;stand up and tell themall that I command you.Be not crushed on their account,as though I would leave you crushed before them;for it is I this daywho have made you a fortified city,a pillar of iron, a wall of brass,against the whole land:against Judah's kings and princes,against its priests and people.They...

January 30, 2016 Saturday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 2 Sm 12:1-7a, 10-17 The LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he came to him,Nathan said: "Judge this case for me!In a certain town there were two men, one rich, the other poor.The rich man had flocks and herds in great numbers.But the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb that he had bought.He nourished her, and she grew up with him and his children.She shared the little food he had and drank from his cup and slept in his bosom.She...

January 29, 2016 Friday of the Third Week of Ordinary Time Reading 1 2 Sm 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17 At the turn of the year, when kings go out on campaign,David sent out Joab along with his officersand the army of Israel, and they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah.David, however, remained in Jerusalem.One evening David rose from his siesta and strolled about on the roof of the palace.From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful.David had inquiries made about the woman and was told, "She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, and wife of Joab's armor...

January 28, 2016 Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 2 Sm 7:18-19, 24-29 After Nathan had spoken to King David, the king went in and sat before the LORD and said, "Who am I, Lord GOD, and who are the members of my house, that you have brought me to this point?Yet even this you see as too little, Lord GOD; you have also spoken of the house of your servant for a long time to come: this too you have shown to man, Lord GOD! "You have established for yourself your...

January 27, 2016 Wednesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 2 Sm 7:4-17 That night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:"Go, tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD:Should you build me a house to dwell in?I have not dwelt in a house from the day on which I led the children of Israel out of Egypt to the present, but I have been going about in a tent under cloth.In all my wanderings everywhere among the children of Israel, did I ever utter a word to any one of the judges whom I charged to...

January 26, 2016 Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops Reading 1 2 Tm 1:1-8 Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of Godfor the promise of life in Christ Jesus,to Timothy, my dear child:grace, mercy, and peace from God the Fatherand Christ Jesus our Lord. I am grateful to God,whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears,so that I may be filled with joy, as I recall your sincere faiththat first lived in your grandmother...

January 25, 2016 Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle Reading 1 Acts 22:3-16 Paul addressed the people in these words:"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia,but brought up in this city.At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral lawand was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.I persecuted this Way to death,binding both men and women and delivering them to prison.Even the high priest and the whole council of elderscan testify on my behalf.For from them I even received letters to the brothersand set out for Damascus to...

January 24, 2016 Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly,which consisted of men, women,and those children old enough to understand.Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate,he read out of the book from daybreak till midday,in the presence of the men, the women,and those children old enough to understand;and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law.Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the occasion.He opened the scrollso that all the...

January 23, 2016 Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 2 Sm 1:1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27 David returned from his defeat of the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziklag.On the third day a man came from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.Going to David, he fell to the ground in homage.David asked him, "Where do you come from?"He replied, "I have escaped from the camp of the children of Israel.""Tell me what happened," David bade him.He answered that many of the soldiers had fled the battle and that many of...

January 22, 2016 Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children Reading 1 1 Sm 24:3-21 Saul took three thousand picked men from all Israel and went in search of David and his men in the direction of the wild goat crags.When he came to the sheepfolds along the way, he found a cave, which he entered to relieve himself.David and his men were occupying the inmost recesses of the cave. David's servants said to him, "This is the day of which the LORD said to you, 'I will deliver your enemy into your grasp; do with him...

January 21, 2016 Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr Reading 1 1 Sm 18:6-9; 19:1-7 When David and Saul approached(on David's return after slaying the Philistine), women came out from each of the cities of Israel to meet King Saul,singing and dancing, with tambourines, joyful songs, and sistrums.The women played and sang: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought:"They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me.All that remains for him is the kingship."And from that day on, Saul was jealous of...

January 20, 2016 Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Sm 17:32-33, 37, 40-51 David spoke to Saul:"Let your majesty not lose courage.I am at your service to go and fight this Philistine."But Saul answered David,"You cannot go up against this Philistine and fight with him,for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth." David continued:"The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear,will also keep me safe from the clutches of this Philistine."Saul answered David, "Go! the LORD will be with you." Then,...

January 19, 2016 Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Sm 16:1-13 The LORD said to Samuel:"How long will you grieve for Saul,whom I have rejected as king of Israel?Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,for I have chosen my king from among his sons."But Samuel replied:"How can I go?Saul will hear of it and kill me."To this the LORD answered:"Take a heifer along and say,'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.'Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to...