Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 5 : 5-6, 7, 8
You are not a God Who delights in wickedness; evil has no place in You. The arrogant cannot stand before You. You hate all who do evil.
You destroy all who speak falsehood, who thirst for blood and live on lies; all of them the Lord detests.
But I, by Your love and grace, may come into Your house. In reverence I bow down and worship at Your holy Temple.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Amos 3 : 1-8 and Amos 4 : 11-12
Hear this word which YHVH speaks against you, people of Israel, against the whole family which He brought up from the land of Egypt. Only you have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will call you to account for all your wrongdoings.”
Do two walk together unless they have agreed? Does a lion roar in the forest when it has no prey? Does a young lion growl in its den unless it has seized something? Does a bird get caught in a snare if the snare has not been baited? Does a tiger spring up from the ground unless it has caught something?
If a trumpet sounds in a city, will the people not be frightened? If disaster strikes a city, has not YHVH caused it? Yet YHVH does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants, the prophets. If the lion roars, who will not be afraid? If YHVH speaks, who will not prophesy?
“I overthrew you, a divine punishment, as happened to Sodom and Gomorrah; you were like a brand snatched from the blaze, yet you never returned to Me,” says YHVH. “Therefore I will deal with you in My own way, Israel, and since I will do this to you, prepare, Israel, to meet your God!”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Matthew 8 : 18-22
At that time, when Jesus saw the crowd press around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other shore. A teacher of the Law approached Him and said, “Master, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Another disciple said to Him, “Lord, let me go and bury my father first.” But Jesus answered him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Psalm 49 : 16bc-17, 18-19, 20-21, 22-23
What right have you to mouth My laws, or to talk about My covenant? You hate My commands and cast My words behind you.
You join a thief when you meet one; you keep company with adulterers. You have a mouth of evil and a deceitful tongue.
You speak ill of your brother, and slander your own mother’s son. Because I was silent while you did these things, you thought I was like you. But now I rebuke you and make this charge against you.
Give this a thought, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces with no one to help you. Those who give with thanks offerings honour Me, but the one who walks blamelessly, I will show him the salvation of God.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Amos 2 : 6-10, 13-16
YHVH says this, “Because Israel has sinned, not once but three times and even more, I will not relent. They sell the just for money and the needy for a pair of sandals; they tread on the head of the poor and trample them upon the dust of the earth, while they silence the right of the afflicted; a man and his father go to the same woman to profane My Holy Name; they stretch out upon garments taken in pledge, beside every altar; they take the wine of those they swindle and are drunk in the house of their God.”
“It was I Who destroyed the Amorites before them, whose height was like the height of the cedar, a people as sturdy as an oak. I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below. It was I Who brought you up from the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness to take possession of the land of the Amorites.”
“Behold, I will crush you to the ground, as a cart does when it is full of sheaves. The swift shall be unable to flee and the strong man shall lose his strength. The warrior shall not save himself nor the bowman stand his ground. The swift of foot shall not escape nor the horseman save himself. Even the most stout-hearted among the warriors shall flee away naked on that day,” says YHVH.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Luke 9 : 51-62
At that time, as the time drew near when Jesus would be taken up to heaven, He made up His mind to go to Jerusalem. He sent ahead of Him some messengers, who entered a Samaritan village to prepare a lodging for Him. But the people would not receive Him, because He was on His way to Jerusalem.
Seeing this, James and John, His disciples, said, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to reduce them to ashes?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village.
As they went on their way, a man said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” To another Jesus said, “Follow Me!” But he answered, “Let me go back now, for first I want to bury my father.”
And Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their dead; as for you, leave them, and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said to Him, “I will follow You, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.” And Jesus said to him, “Whoever has put his hand to the plow, and looks back, is not fit for the kingdom of God.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 15 : 1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
Keep me safe, o God, for in You I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “O Lord, my inheritance and my cup, my chosen portion – hold secure my lot.”
I bless the Lord Who counsels me; even at night my inmost self instructs me. I keep the Lord always before me; for with Him at my right hand, I will never be shaken.
My heart, therefore, exults, my soul rejoices; my body too will rest assured. For You will not abandon my soul to the grave, nor will You suffer Your Holy One to see decay in the land of the dead.
You will show me the path of life, in Your presence the fullness of joy, at Your right hand happiness forever.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)
Psalm 73 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-7, 20-21
O God, have You rejected us forever? Why vent Your anger on the sheep of Your own fold? Remember the people You have formed of old, the tribe You have redeemed as Your inheritance. Remember Mount Zion where You once lived.
Climb and visit these hopeless ruins, the enemy has ravaged everything in the sanctuary. Your foes have roared triumphantly in the holy place, and set up their banner of victory.
Like lumberman felling trees, they smashed the carved panelling with hatchets, hammers and axes. They defiled Your sanctuary and set aflame the dwelling place of Your Name.
See how they keep Your covenant in the dark caves of the land. Do not let the oppressed be put to shame; may the poor and needy praise Your Name.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 70 : 1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 15ab and 17
In You, o Lord, I seek refuge; let me not be disgraced. In Your justice help me and deliver me, turn Your ear to me and save me!
Be my Rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety, for You are my Rock and my Fortress. Rescue me, o my God from the hand of the wicked.
For You, o Lord, have been my hope, my trust, o God, from my youth. I have relied on You from birth : from my mother’s womb You brought me forth.
My lips will proclaim Your intervention and tell of Your salvation all day. You have taught me from my youth and until now I proclaim Your marvels.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 7 : 21-29
At that time, Jesus spoke to the people and to His disciples, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My heavenly Father. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not speak in Your Name? Did we not cast out devils and perform many miracles in Your Name?’ Then I will tell them openly, ‘I have never known you; away from Me, you evil people!'”
“So then, anyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts accordingly, is like a wise man, who built his house on rock. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house, but it did not collapse because it was built on rock. But anyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act accordingly, is a like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house; it collapsed, and what a terrible fall that was!”
When Jesus had finished this discourse, the crowds were struck by the way He taught, because He taught with authority, unlike their teachers of the Law.
