FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT (YEAR C) – MARCH 06, 2016

Saturday, March 05, 2016

4th Sunday of LENT – Year C

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass in English

First Reading

JOSHUA 5:9-12

9 Yahweh then said to Joshua, 'Today I have taken the shame of Egypt away from you.' Hence, the place has been called Gilgal ever since.

10 The Israelites pitched their camp at Gilgal and kept the Passover there on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the plain of Jericho.

11 On the very next day after the Passover, they ate what the land produced, unleavened bread and roasted ears of corn.

12 The manna stopped the day after they had eaten the produce of the land. The Israelites from that year onwards ate the produce of Canaan and had no more manna.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

2 I will praise Yahweh from my heart; let the humble hear and rejoice.

3 Proclaim with me the greatness of Yahweh, let us acclaim his name together.

4 I seek Yahweh and he answers me, frees me from all my fears.

5 Fix your gaze on Yahweh and your face will grow bright, you will never hang your head in shame.

6 A pauper calls out and Yahweh hears, saves him from all his troubles.

7 The angel of Yahweh encamps around those who fear him, and rescues them.

Second Reading

Second Corinthians 5:17-21

17 So for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old order is gone and a new being is there to see.

18 It is all God's work; he reconciled us to himself through Christ and he gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

19 I mean, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not holding anyone's faults against them, but entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

20 So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were urging you through us, and in the name of Christ we appeal to you to be reconciled to God.

21 For our sake he made the sinless one a victim for sin, so that in him we might become the uprightness of God.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

1 The tax collectors and sinners, however, were all crowding round to listen to him,

2 and the Pharisees and scribes complained saying, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.'

3 So he told them this parable:

11 Then he said, 'There was a man who had two sons.

12 The younger one said to his father, "Father, let me have the share of the estate that will come to me." So the father divided the property between them.

13 A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.

14 'When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch;

15 so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs.

16 And he would willingly have filled himself with the husks the pigs were eating but no one would let him have them.

17 Then he came to his senses and said, "How many of my father's hired men have all the food they want and more, and here am I dying of hunger!

18 I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;

19 I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired men."

20 So he left the place and went back to his father. 'While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him.

21 Then his son said, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son."

22 But the father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

23 Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we will celebrate by having a feast,

24 because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found." And they began to celebrate.

25 'Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing.

26 Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about.

27 The servant told him, "Your brother has come, and your father has killed the calf we had been fattening because he has got him back safe and sound."

28 He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out and began to urge him to come in;

29 but he retorted to his father, "All these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed any orders of yours, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends.

30 But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property -- he and his loose women -- you kill the calf we had been fattening."

31 'The father said, "My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours.

32 But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found." '

“The Gospel of the Lord”

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT (YEAR C) – FEBRUARY 28, 2016

Saturday, February 27, 2016

3rd Sunday of LENT – Year C

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass in English

First Reading

Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15

1 Moses was looking after the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led it to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

2 The angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame blazing from the middle of a bush. Moses looked; there was the bush blazing, but the bush was not being burnt up.

3 Moses said, 'I must go across and see this strange sight, and why the bush is not being burnt up.'

4 When Yahweh saw him going across to look, God called to him from the middle of the bush. 'Moses, Moses!' he said. 'Here I am,' he answered.

5 'Come no nearer,' he said. 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

6 I am the God of your ancestors,' he said, 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.' At this Moses covered his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

7 Yahweh then said, 'I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying for help on account of their taskmasters. Yes, I am well aware of their sufferings.

8 And I have come down to rescue them from the clutches of the Egyptians and bring them up out of that country, to a country rich and broad, to a country flowing with milk and honey, to the home of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.

13 Moses then said to God, 'Look, if I go to the Israelites and say to them, "The God of your ancestors has sent me to you," and they say to me, "What is his name?" what am I to tell them?'

14 God said to Moses, 'I am he who is.' And he said, 'This is what you are to say to the Israelites, "I am has sent me to you." '

15 God further said to Moses, 'You are to tell the Israelites, "Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you." This is my name for all time, and thus I am to be invoked for all generations to come.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11

1 [Of David] Bless Yahweh, my soul, from the depths of my being, his holy name;

2 bless Yahweh, my soul, never forget all his acts of kindness.

3 He forgives all your offences, cures all your diseases,

4 he redeems your life from the abyss, crowns you with faithful love and tenderness;

5 he contents you with good things all your life, renews your youth like an eagle's.

6 Yahweh acts with uprightness, with justice to all who are oppressed;

7 he revealed to Moses his ways, his great deeds to the children of Israel.

8 Yahweh is tenderness and pity, slow to anger and rich in faithful love;

9 his indignation does not last for ever, nor his resentment remain for all time;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve, nor repay us as befits our offences.

11 As the height of heaven above earth, so strong is his faithful love for those who fear him.

Second Reading

First Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12

1 I want you to be quite certain, brothers, that our ancestors all had the cloud over them and all passed through the sea.

2 In the cloud and in the sea they were all baptised into Moses;

3 all ate the same spiritual food

4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, since they drank from the spiritual rock which followed them, and that rock was Christ.

5 In spite of this, God was not pleased with most of them, and their corpses were scattered over the desert.

6 Now these happenings were examples, for our benefit, so that we should never set our hearts, as they did, on evil things;

10 Never complain; some of them complained, and they were killed by the Destroyer.

11 Now all these things happened to them by way of example, and they were described in writing to be a lesson for us, to whom it has fallen to live in the last days of the ages.

12 Everyone, no matter how firmly he thinks he is standing, must be careful he does not fall.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

Luke 13:1-9

1 It was just about this time that some people arrived and told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them,

2 'Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than any others, that this should have happened to them?

3 They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.

4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell, killing them all? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem?

5 They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.'

6 He told this parable, 'A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none.

7 He said to his vinedresser, "For three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?"

8 "Sir," the man replied, "leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it:

9 it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down." '

“The Gospel of the Lord”

SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT (YEAR C) – FEBRUARY 21, 2016

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Second Sunday of Lent – Year C

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass in English

First Reading

Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18

5 Then taking him outside, he said, 'Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can. Just so will your descendants be,' he told him.

6 Abram put his faith in Yahweh and this was reckoned to him as uprightness.

7 He then said to him, 'I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldaeans to give you this country as your possession.'

8 'Lord Yahweh,' Abram replied, 'how can I know that I shall possess it?'

9 He said to him, 'Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.'

10 He brought him all these, split the animals down the middle and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not divide.

11 And whenever birds of prey swooped down on the carcases, Abram drove them off.

12 Now, as the sun was on the point of setting, a trance fell on Abram, and a deep dark dread descended on him.

17 When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passing between the animals' pieces.

18 That day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram in these terms: 'To your descendants I give this country, from the River of Egypt to the Great River, the River Euphrates,

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14

1 [Of David] Yahweh is my light and my salvation, whom should I fear? Yahweh is the fortress of my life, whom should I dread?

7 Yahweh, hear my voice as I cry, pity me, answer me!

8 Of you my heart has said, 'Seek his face!' Your face, Yahweh, I seek;

9 do not turn away from me. Do not thrust aside your servant in anger, without you I am helpless. Never leave me, never forsake me, God, my Saviour.

13 This I believe: I shall see the goodness of Yahweh, in the land of the living.

14 Put your hope in Yahweh, be strong, let your heart be bold, put your hope in Yahweh.

Second Reading

Philippians 3:17, 4:1,

17 Brothers, be united in imitating me. Keep your eyes fixed on those who act according to the example you have from me.

1 So then, my brothers and dear friends whom I miss so much, my joy and my crown, hold firm in the Lord, dear friends.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

Luke 9:28-36

28 Now about eight days after this had been said, he took with him Peter, John and James and went up the mountain to pray.

29 And it happened that, as he was praying, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became sparkling white.

30 And suddenly there were two men talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah

31 appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem.

32 Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they woke up and saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

33 As these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, 'Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.' He did not know what he was saying.

34 As he was saying this, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and when they went into the cloud the disciples were afraid.

35 And a voice came from the cloud saying, 'This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.'

36 And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. The disciples kept silence and, at that time, told no one what they had seen.

“The Gospel of the Lord”

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT (YEAR C) – FEBRUARY 14, 2016

Saturday, February 13, 2016

First Sunday of Lent – Year C

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass in English

First Reading

Deuteronomy 26:4-10

4 'The priest will then take the basket from your hand and lay it before the altar of Yahweh your God.

5 In the presence of Yahweh your God, you will then pronounce these words: "My father was a wandering Aramaean, who went down to Egypt with a small group of men, and stayed there, until he there became a great, powerful and numerous nation.

6 The Egyptians ill-treated us, they oppressed us and inflicted harsh slavery on us.

7 But we called on Yahweh, God of our ancestors. Yahweh heard our voice and saw our misery, our toil and our oppression;

8 and Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with mighty hand and outstretched arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders.

9 He brought us here and has given us this country, a country flowing with milk and honey.

10 Hence, I now bring the first-fruits of the soil that you, Yahweh, have given me." 'You will then lay them before Yahweh your God, and prostrate yourself in the presence of Yahweh your God.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS  91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15

1 You who live in the secret place of Elyon, spend your nights in the shelter of Shaddai,

2 saying to Yahweh, 'My refuge, my fortress, my God in whom I trust!'

10 No disaster can overtake you, no plague come near your tent;

11 he has given his angels orders about you to guard you wherever you go.

12 They will carry you in their arms in case you trip over a stone.

13 You will walk upon wild beast and adder, you will trample young lions and snakes.

14 'Since he clings to me I rescue him, I raise him high, since he acknowledges my name.

15 He calls to me and I answer him: in distress I am at his side, I rescue him and bring him honour.

Second Reading

Romans 10:8-13

8 What does it say, then? The word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith, the faith which we preach,

9 that if you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and if you believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved.

10 It is by believing with the heart that you are justified, and by making the declaration with your lips that you are saved.

11 When scripture says: No one who relies on this will be brought to disgrace,

12 it makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: the same Lord is the Lord of all, and his generosity is offered to all who appeal to him,

13 for all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

Luke 4:1-13

1 Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert,

2 for forty days being put to the test by the devil. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry.

3 Then the devil said to him, 'If you are Son of God, tell this stone to turn into a loaf.'

4 But Jesus replied, 'Scripture says: Human beings live not on bread alone.'

5 Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world

6 and said to him, 'I will give you all this power and their splendour, for it has been handed over to me, for me to give it to anyone I choose.

7 Do homage, then, to me, and it shall all be yours.'

8 But Jesus answered him, 'Scripture says: You must do homage to the Lord your God, him alone you must serve.'

9 Then he led him to Jerusalem and set him on the parapet of the Temple. 'If you are Son of God,' he said to him, 'throw yourself down from here,

10 for scripture says: He has given his angels orders about you, to guard you, and again:

11 They will carry you in their arms in case you trip over a stone.'

12 But Jesus answered him, 'Scripture says: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'

13 Having exhausted every way of putting him to the test, the devil left him, until the opportune moment.

“The Gospel of the Lord”

FIFTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR C) – FEBRUARY 07, 2016

Saturday, February 06, 2016

Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year C

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass in English

First Reading

Isaiah 6:1-2, 3-8

1 In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne; his train filled the sanctuary.

2 Above him stood seraphs, each one with six wings: two to cover its face, two to cover its feet and two for flying;

3 and they were shouting these words to each other: Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh Sabaoth. His glory fills the whole earth.

4 The door-posts shook at the sound of their shouting, and the Temple was full of smoke.

5 Then I said: 'Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh Sabaoth.'

6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding in its hand a live coal which it had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.

7 With this it touched my mouth and said: 'Look, this has touched your lips, your guilt has been removed and your sin forgiven.'

8 I then heard the voice of the Lord saying: 'Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I, send me.'

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8

1 [Of David] I thank you, Yahweh, with all my heart, for you have listened to the cry I uttered. In the presence of angels I sing to you,

2 I bow down before your holy Temple. I praise your name for your faithful love and your constancy; your promises surpass even your fame.

3 You heard me on the day when I called, and you gave new strength to my heart.

4 All the kings of the earth give thanks to you, Yahweh, when they hear the promises you make;

5 they sing of Yahweh's ways, 'Great is the glory of Yahweh!'

7 Though I live surrounded by trouble you give me life -- to my enemies' fury! You stretch out your right hand and save me,

8 Yahweh will do all things for me. Yahweh, your faithful love endures for ever, do not abandon what you have made.

Second Reading

First Corinthians 15:1-11

1 I want to make quite clear to you, brothers, what the message of the gospel that I preached to you is; you accepted it and took your stand on it,

2 and you are saved by it, if you keep to the message I preached to you; otherwise your coming to believe was in vain.

3 The tradition I handed on to you in the first place, a tradition which I had myself received, was that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures,

4 and that he was buried; and that on the third day, he was raised to life, in accordance with the scriptures;

5 and that he appeared to Cephas; and later to the Twelve;

6 and next he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still with us, though some have fallen asleep;

7 then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles.

8 Last of all he appeared to me too, as though I was a child born abnormally.

9 For I am the least of the apostles and am not really fit to be called an apostle, because I had been persecuting the Church of God;

10 but what I am now, I am through the grace of God, and the grace which was given to me has not been wasted. Indeed, I have worked harder than all the others -- not I, but the grace of God which is with me.

11 Anyway, whether it was they or I, this is what we preach and what you believed.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

Luke 5:1-11

1 Now it happened that he was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God,

2 when he caught sight of two boats at the water's edge. The fishermen had got out of them and were washing their nets.

3 He got into one of the boats -- it was Simon's -- and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

4 When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.'

5 Simon replied, 'Master, we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.'

6 And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear,

7 so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled both boats to sinking point.

8 When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, 'Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.'

9 For he and all his companions were completely awestruck at the catch they had made;

10 so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's partners. But Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid; from now on it is people you will be catching.'

11 Then, bringing their boats back to land they left everything and followed him.

“The Gospel of the Lord”