26TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A) – SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

Saturday, September 27, 2014

26th Sunday of Ordinary Time  – Year A

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass in English

First Reading

Ezekiel 18:25-28

25 'Now, you say, "What the Lord does is unjust." Now listen, House of Israel: is what I do unjust? Is it not what you do that is unjust?

26 When the upright abandons uprightness and does wrong and dies, he dies because of the wrong which he himself has done.

27 Similarly, when the wicked abandons wickedness to become law-abiding and upright, he saves his own life.

28 Having chosen to renounce all his previous crimes, he will most certainly live: he will not die.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

4 DIRECT me in your ways, Yahweh, and teach me your paths.

5 ENCOURAGE me to walk in your truth and teach me since you are the God who saves me. FOR my hope is in you all day long -- such is your generosity, Yahweh.

6 GOODNESS and faithful love have been yours for ever, Yahweh, do not forget them.

7 HOLD not my youthful sins against me, but remember me as your faithful love dictates.

8 INTEGRITY and generosity are marks of Yahweh for he brings sinners back to the path.

9 JUDICIOUSLY he guides the humble, instructing the poor in his way.

SECOND READING

Philippians 2:1-11

1 So if in Christ there is anything that will move you, any incentive in love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any warmth or sympathy -- I appeal to you,

2 make my joy complete by being of a single mind, one in love, one in heart and one in mind.

3 Nothing is to be done out of jealousy or vanity; instead, out of humility of mind everyone should give preference to others,

4 everyone pursuing not selfish interests but those of others.

5 Make your own the mind of Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped.

7 But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being,

8 he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.

9 And for this God raised him high, and gave him the name which is above all other names;

10 so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus

11 and that every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

Matthew 21:28-32

28 'What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He went and said to the first, "My boy, go and work in the vineyard today."

29 He answered, "I will not go," but afterwards thought better of it and went.

30 The man then went and said the same thing to the second who answered, "Certainly, sir," but did not go.

31 Which of the two did the father's will?' They said, 'The first.' Jesus said to them, 'In truth I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you.

32 For John came to you, showing the way of uprightness, but you did not believe him, and yet the tax collectors and prostitutes did. Even after seeing that, you refused to think better of it and believe in him.

“The Gospel of the Lord”

25TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A) – SEPTEMBER 21, 2014

Saturday, September 20, 2014

25th Sunday of Ordinary Time  – Year A

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass in English

First Reading

ISAIAH 55:6-9

6 Seek out Yahweh while he is still to be found, call to him while he is still near.

7 Let the wicked abandon his way and the evil one his thoughts. Let him turn back to Yahweh who will take pity on him, to our God, for he is rich in forgiveness;

8 for my thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not my ways, declares Yahweh.

9 For the heavens are as high above earth as my ways are above your ways, my thoughts above your thoughts.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18

2 Day after day I shall bless you, I shall praise your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is Yahweh and worthy of all praise, his greatness beyond all reckoning.

8 Yahweh is tenderness and pity, slow to anger, full of faithful love.

9 Yahweh is generous to all, his tenderness embraces all his creatures.

17 Upright in all that he does, Yahweh acts only in faithful love.

18 He is close to all who call upon him, all who call on him from the heart.

Second Reading

PHILIPPIANS 1:20-24, 27

20 all in accordance with my most confident hope and trust that I shall never have to admit defeat, but with complete fearlessness I shall go on, so that now, as always, Christ will be glorified in my body, whether by my life or my death.

21 Life to me, of course, is Christ, but then death would be a positive gain.

22 On the other hand again, if to be alive in the body gives me an opportunity for fruitful work, I do not know which I should choose.

23 I am caught in this dilemma: I want to be gone and to be with Christ, and this is by far the stronger desire-

24 and yet for your sake to stay alive in this body is a more urgent need.

27 But you must always behave in a way that is worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come to you and see for myself or whether I only hear all about you from a distance, I shall find that you are standing firm and united in spirit, battling, as a team with a single aim, for the faith of the gospel.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

Matthew 20:1-16

1 'Now the kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard.

2 He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day and sent them to his vineyard.

3 Going out at about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place

4 and said to them, "You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage."

5 So they went. At about the sixth hour and again at about the ninth hour, he went out and did the same.

6 Then at about the eleventh hour he went out and found more men standing around, and he said to them, "Why have you been standing here idle all day?"

7 "Because no one has hired us," they answered. He said to them, "You go into my vineyard too."

8 In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, "Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first."

9 So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each.

10 When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each.

11 They took it, but grumbled at the landowner saying,

12 "The men who came last have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day's work in all the heat."

13 He answered one of them and said, "My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius?

14 Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the lastcomer as much as I pay you.

15 Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why should you be envious because I am generous?"

16 Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.'

24TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A) – SEPTEMBER 14, 2014 FEAST OF THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS

Saturday, September 13, 2014

24th Sunday of Ordinary Time  – Year A

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass in English

First Reading

NUMBERS 21:4-9

4 They left Mount Hor by the road to the Sea of Suph, to skirt round Edom. On the way the people lost patience.

5 They spoke against God and against Moses, 'Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in the desert? For there is neither food nor water here; we are sick of this meagre diet.'

6 At this, God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel.

7 The people came and said to Moses, 'We have sinned by speaking against Yahweh and against you. Intercede for us with Yahweh to save us from these serpents.' Moses interceded for the people,

8 and Yahweh replied, 'Make a fiery serpent and raise it as a standard. Anyone who is bitten and looks at it will survive.'

9 Moses then made a serpent out of bronze and raised it as a standard, and anyone who was bitten by a serpent and looked at the bronze serpent survived.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 78:1-2, 34-38

1 [Psalm Of Asaph] My people, listen to my teaching, pay attention to what I say.

2 I will speak to you in poetry, unfold the mysteries of the past.

34 Whenever he slaughtered them, they began to seek him, they turned back and looked eagerly for him,

35 recalling that God was their rock, God the Most High, their redeemer.

36 They tried to hoodwink him with their mouths, their tongues were deceitful towards him;

37 their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant.

38 But in his compassion he forgave their guilt instead of killing them, time and again repressing his anger instead of rousing his full wrath,

Second Reading

Philippians 2:6-11

6 Who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped.

7 But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being,

8 he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.

9 And for this God raised him high, and gave him the name which is above all other names;

10 so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus

11 and that every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

John 3:13-17

13 No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of man;

14 as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up

15 so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

16 For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

17 For God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.

“The Gospel of the Lord”

23RD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A) – SEPTEMBER 07, 2014

Saturday, September 06, 2014

23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time  – Year A

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass in English

First Reading

Ezekiel 33:7-9

7 'Son of man I have appointed you as watchman for the House of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, warn them from me.

8 If I say to someone wicked, "Evil- doer, you are to die," and you do not speak to warn the wicked person to renounce such ways, the wicked person will die for this guilt, but I shall hold you responsible for the death.

9 If, however, you do warn someone wicked to renounce such ways and repent, and that person does not repent, then the culprit will die for this guilt, but you yourself will have saved your life.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALM 95:1-2, 6-9

1 Come, let us cry out with joy to Yahweh, acclaim the rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving, acclaim him with music.

6 Come, let us bow low and do reverence; kneel before Yahweh who made us!

7 For he is our God, and we the people of his sheepfold, the flock of his hand. If only you would listen to him today!

8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as at the time of Massah in the desert,

9 when your ancestors challenged me, put me to the test, and saw what I could do!

Second Reading

Romans 13:8-10

8 The only thing you should owe to anyone is love for one another, for to love the other person is to fulfil the law.

9 All these: You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet, and all the other commandments that there are, are summed up in this single phrase: You must love your neighbour as yourself.

10 Love can cause no harm to your neighbour, and so love is the fulfilment of the Law.

"The Word of the Lord"

Gospel Reading

Matthew 18:15-20

15 'If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.

16 If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: whatever the misdemeanour, the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain the charge.

17 But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a gentile or a tax collector.

18 'In truth I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

19 'In truth I tell you once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven.

20 For where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them.'

“The Gospel of the Lord”