Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 6-7
Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless His holy Name! Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.
He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.
The Lord restores justice and secures the rights of the oppressed. He has made known His ways to Moses and His deeds to the people of Israel.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 32 : 2-3, 10-11, 18-19
Give thanks to the Lord on the harp and lyre, making melody and chanting praises. Amid loud shouts of joy, sing to Him a new song and play the ten-stringed harp.
The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations and brings to nothing the peoples’s designs. But His plan stands forever, and His heart’s design through all generations.
But the Lord’s eyes are upon those who fear Him, upon those who trust in His loving kindness to deliver them from death and preserve them from famine.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 122 : 1-2a, 2bcd, 3-4
To You I lift up my eyes, to You whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master.
As the eyes of maids look to the hand of their mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till He shows us His mercy.
Have mercy on us, o Lord, have mercy on us, for we have our fill of contempt. Too long have our souls been filled with the scorn of the arrogant, with the ridicule of the insolent.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Sirach (Ecclesiastes) 36 : 1-2a, 5-6, 11-17
Have mercy on us, Master, God of all, and look on us; make every nation stand in fear of You. Take action against the pagan nations and let them see Your power. Give new signs, do fresh wonders, stretch out Your hand and be glorified in Your strength. Kindle Your fury and rouse Your anger, destroy Your opponents, crush Your enemy.
Have pity, Lord, on the people known by Your Name, on Israel whom You called Your firstborn. Show compassion to the Holy City, to Jerusalem where You rest. Fill Zion with the fame of Your wonders, and Your people with Your glory. Confirm the promises made to Your people long ago and fulfill the promises made in Your Name.
Reward those who wait for You and fulfill the words of Your prophets. Hear the prayer of Your servants, Lord; hear Your priests giving Aaron’s blessing to Your people. So that all on earth may acknowledge that You are Lord and everlasting God.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 29 : 2, 4-6, 11-13
I extol You, o Lord, for You have rescued me; my enemies will not gloat over me.
O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave, You gave me life when I was going to the pit. Sing to the Lord, o you His saints, give thanks and praise to His Holy Name.
For His anger lasts but a little while, and His kindness all through life. Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.
Hear, o Lord, and have mercy on me; o Lord, be my protector. But now, You have turned my mourning into rejoicing; You have taken off my sackcloth and wrapped me in the garments of gladness.
And so my soul, no longer silent, now sings praise without ceasing, o Lord my God, forever will I give You thanks.
Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 4 : 16-21
At that time, when Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, as He usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed Him the book of the prophet Isaiah.
Jesus then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written : “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. He has anointed Me to bring Good News to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed and to announce the Lord’s year of mercy.”
Jesus then rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. Then He said to them, “Today these prophetic words come true, even as you listen.”
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Numbers 21 : 4-9
From Mount Horeb they set out by the Red Sea road to go around the land of Edom. The people were discouraged by the journey and began to complain against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is neither bread nor water here and we are disgusted with this tasteless manna.”
YHVH then sent fiery serpents against them. They bit the people and many of the Israelites died. Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, speaking against YHVH and against you. Plead with YHVH to take the serpents away.”
Moses pleaded for the people and YHVH said to him, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard; whoever has been bitten and then looks at it shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a standard. Whenever a man was bitten, he looked towards the bronze serpent and he lived.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 50 : 3-4, 12-13, 14-15
Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.
Create in me, o God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me out of Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Give me again the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will show wrongdoers Your ways and sinners will return to You.
Alternative reading (Readings from Year A)
Psalm 129 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8
Out of the depths I cry to You, o Lord. O Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears pay attention to the voice of my supplication.
If You should mark our evil, o Lord, who could stand? But with You is forgiveness, and for that You are revered.
I waited for the Lord, my soul waits, and I put my hope in His word. My soul expects the Lord more than watchmen the dawn. O Israel, hope in the Lord.
For with Him is unfailing love and with Him full deliverance. He will deliver Israel from all its sins.
Liturgical Colour : Violet
Gradual
Psalm 142 : 9, 10 and Psalm 17 : 48-49
Eripe me, Domine, de inimicis meis : doce me facere voluntatem Tuam.
Response : Liberator meus, Domine, de gentibus iracundis : ab insurgentibus in me exaltabis me : a viro iniquo eripies me.
English translation
Deliver me from my enemies, o Lord, teach me to do Your will.
Response : My deliverer, o Lord, from the angry nations. You will lift me up above those who rise up against me, from the unjust man You will deliver me.
Tract
Psalm 128 : 1-4
Saepe expugnaverunt me a juventute mea.
Response : Dicat nunc Israel : saepe expugnaverunt me a juventute mea.
Response : Etenim non potuerunt mihi : supra dorsum meum fabricaverunt peccatores.
Response : Prolongaverunt iniquitates suas : Dominus justus concidit cervices peccatorum.
English translation
Often have they fought against me from my youth.
Response : Let Israel now say, “Often have they fought against me from my youth.”
Response : But they could not prevail over me, the wicked have wrought upon my back.
Response : They have lengthened their iniquities, the Lord who is just will cut the neck of sinners.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)
Psalm 144 : 8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18
Compassionate and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in love. The Lord is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.
The Lord is true to His promises and lets His mercy show in all He does. The Lord lifts up those who are falling and raises those who are beaten down.
Righteous is the Lord in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.
