Liturgical Colour : Green
Romans 8 : 26-27
We are weak, but the Spirit comes to help us. How to ask? And what shall we ask for? We do not know, but the Spirit intercedes for us without words, as if with groans.
And He who sees inner secrets knows the desires of the Spirit, for He asks for the holy ones what is pleasing to God.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 85 : 5-6, 9-10, 15-16a
You are good and forgiving, o Lord, caring for those who call on You. Listen, o Lord, to my prayer, hear the voice of my pleading.
All the nations You have made will come; they will worship before You, o Lord, and bring glory to Your Name. For You are great, and wonderful are Your deeds; You alone are God.
But You, o Lord God, are merciful, slow to anger, loving and faithful. Turn to me, take pity on me.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Isaiah 38 : 10, 11, 12abcd, 16
Once I said : In the noontime of my life I go; I am sent to the land of the dead, for the rest of my years.
I said : Never again shall I see YHVH in the land of the living; never again shall I see the inhabitants of the earth.
Like a shepherd’s tent, my dwelling has been pulled down and thrown away; like a weaver, You rolled up my life and cut it from the loom.
O Lord, give me back my health and give me back my life!
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Marian feasts)
Psalm 93 : 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 14-15
They crush Your people, o Lord, they oppress Your inheritance. They murder the widow and the lonely, they massacre the helpless.
“The Lord does not see,” they say, “the God of Jacob does not care.” Remember this, you stupid people, when will you understand, you fools!
He who made the ear, will He not hear? He who formed the eye, will He not see? He who rebukes nations, will He not punish them?
The Lord will not reject His people nor will He forsake His heritage. Justice will return to the just, and the upright will follow in its wake.
Alternative reading (Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
Luke 1 : 46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God my Saviour!
He has looked upon His servant in her lowliness, and people forever will call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His Name!
From age to age His mercy extends to those who live in His presence. He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.
He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Marian feasts)
Isaiah 10 : 5-7, 13-16
Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger, the staff of My fury! Against a godless nation I send him, against a people who provoke My wrath I dispatch him, to plunder and pillage, to tread them down like mud in the streets. But the mind of his king is far from this, his heart harbours other thoughts; what he wants is to destroy, to make an end of all nations.
For the king says : “By my own strength I have done this and by my own wisdom, for I am clever. I have moved the frontiers of peoples, I have plundered treasures, I have brought inhabitants down to the dust, I have toppled kings from their thrones.”
“As one reaches into a nest, so my hands have reached into nations’ wealth. As one gathers deserted eggs, so have I gathered the riches of the earth. No one flapped a wing or opened its mouth to chirp a protest.”
“Does the axe claim more credit than the man who wields it? Does the saw magnify itself more than the one who uses it? This would be like a rod wielding the man who lifts it up; will those not made of wood, be controlled by the cudgel? Therefore the Lord, YHVH Sabaoth, is ready to send a wasting sickness upon the king’s sturdy warriors. Beneath His plenty, a flame will burn like a consuming fire.
Alternative reading (Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
Zechariah 2 : 14-17
“Sing and rejoice, o daughter of Zion, for I am about to come, I shall dwell among you,” says YHVH. “On that day, many nations will join YHVH and be My people, but My dwelling is among you.”
The people of Judah will be for YHVH as His portion in His holy land. He will choose Jerusalem again. Keep still in YHVH’s presence, for He comes, having risen from His holy dwelling.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 79 : 2ac and 3b, 15-16
Listen, o Shepherd of Israel, You who sit enthroned between the cherubim. Stir up Your might and come to save us.
Turn again, o Lord of hosts, look down from heaven and see; care for this vine, and protect the stock Your hand has planted.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Psalm 104 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7
Sing to Him, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds. Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Look to the Lord and be strong; seek His face always. Remember His wonderful works, His miracles and His judgments.
You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments reach the whole world.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Hosea 2 : 16, 17b-18, 21-22
So I am going to allure her, lead her once more into the desert, where I can speak to her tenderly. There she will answer Me as in her youth, as when she came out of the land of Egypt. On that day, YHVH says, you will call Me ‘my Husband’, and never again : ‘my Baal’.
You will be My spouse forever, betrothed in justice and integrity; we will be united in love and tenderness. I will espouse you in faithfulness and you will come to know YHVH.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 49 : 7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 16bc-17
Hear, o My people, for I am speaking. I will accuse you, o Israel, I am God, your God!
Not for sacrifices do I reprove you, for your burnt offerings are ever before Me. I need no bull from your stalls, nor he-goat from your pens.
For I own all the beasts of the forest and the animals of My thousand hills. All the birds of the air I know; all that move in the fields are Mine.
I need not tell you if I were hungry, for Mine is the world and all that it contains. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
What right have you to mouth My laws, or to talk about My covenant? You hate My commands and cast My words behind you.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 33 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
I will bless the Lord all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the lowly hear and rejoice.
Oh, let us magnify the Lord, together let us glorify His Name! I sought the Lord, and He answered me; from all my fears He delivered me.
They who look to Him are radiant with joy, their faces never clouded with shame. When the poor cry out, the Lord hears and saves them from distress.
The Lord’s angel encamps and patrols to keep safe those who fear Him. Oh, see and taste the goodness of the Lord! Blessed is the one who finds shelter in Him!
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 