26TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A) – 01ST OCTOBER, 2017

Saturday, 30th September, 2017

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) – 24TH SEPTEMBER, 2017

Saturday, 23rd September, 2017

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.'

“The Gospel of the Lord”

24TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A) – 17TH SEPTEMBER, 2017

Saturday, 16th September, 2017

24th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass in English

First Reading

SIRACH 27:30, 28:1-7

30 Resentment and anger, these are foul things too, and a sinner is a master at them both.

1 Whoever exacts vengeance will experience the vengeance of the Lord, who keeps strict account of sin.

2 Pardon your neighbour any wrongs done to you, and when you pray, your sins will be forgiven.

3 If anyone nurses anger against another, can one then demand compassion from the Lord?

4 Showing no pity for someone like oneself, can one then plead for one's own sins?

5 Mere creature of flesh, yet cherishing resentment!-who will forgive one for sinning?

6 Remember the last things, and stop hating, corruption and death, and be faithful to the commandments.

7 Remember the commandments, and do not bear your fellow ill-will, remember the covenant of the Most High, and ignore the offence.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12

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;

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.

12 As the distance of east from west, so far from us does he put our faults.

Second Reading

ROMANS 14:7-9

7 For none of us lives for himself and none of us dies for himself;

8 while we are alive, we are living for the Lord, and when we die, we die for the Lord: and so, alive or dead, we belong to the Lord.

9 It was for this purpose that Christ both died and came to life again: so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

MATTHEW 18:21-35

21 Then Peter went up to him and said, 'Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?'

22 Jesus answered, 'Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.

23 'And so the kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants.

24 When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents;

25 he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt.

26 At this, the servant threw himself down at his master's feet, with the words, "Be patient with me and I will pay the whole sum."

27 And the servant's master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt.

28 Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow-servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him, saying, "Pay what you owe me."

29 His fellow-servant fell at his feet and appealed to him, saying, "Be patient with me and I will pay you."

30 But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt.

31 His fellow-servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him.

32 Then the master sent for the man and said to him, "You wicked servant, I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me.

33 Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you?"

34 And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt.

35 And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.'

“The Gospel of the Lord”

23RD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A) – 10TH SEPTEMBER, 2017

Saturday, 09th September, 2017

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”

PSALMS 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

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”

22ND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A) – 03RD SEPTEMBER, 2017

Saturday, 02^nd September, 2017

22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A

5:00 pm  Novena to Our Lady

5:30 pm  Sunset Mass in English

First Reading

JEREMIAH 20:7-9

7 You have seduced me, Yahweh, and I have let myself be seduced; you have overpowered me: you were the stronger. I am a laughing-stock all day long, they all make fun of me.

8 For whenever I speak, I have to howl and proclaim, 'Violence and ruin!' For me, Yahweh's word has been the cause of insult and derision all day long.

9 I would say to myself, 'I will not think about him, I will not speak in his name any more,' but then there seemed to be a fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones. The effort to restrain it wearied me, I could not do it.

“The Word of the Lord”

PSALMS 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

2 Thus I have gazed on you in the sanctuary, seeing your power and your glory.

3 Better your faithful love than life itself; my lips will praise you.

4 Thus I will bless you all my life, in your name lift up my hands.

5 All my longings fulfilled as with fat and rich foods, a song of joy on my lips and praise in my mouth.

6 On my bed when I think of you, I muse on you in the watches of the night,

8 my heart clings to you, your right hand supports me.

9 May those who are hounding me to death go down to the depths of the earth,

Second Reading

ROMANS 12:1-2

1 I urge you, then, brothers, remembering the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, dedicated and acceptable to God; that is the kind of worship for you, as sensible people.

2 Do not model your behaviour on the contemporary world, but let the renewing of your minds transform you, so that you may discern for yourselves what is the will of God -- what is good and acceptable and mature.

“The Word of the Lord”

Gospel Reading

MATTHEW 16:21-27

21 From then onwards Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day.

22 Then, taking him aside, Peter started to rebuke him. 'Heaven preserve you, Lord,' he said, 'this must not happen to you.'

23 But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because you are thinking not as God thinks but as human beings do.'

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.

25 Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.

26 What, then, will anyone gain by winning the whole world and forfeiting his life? Or what can anyone offer in exchange for his life?

27 'For the Son of man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his behaviour.

“The Gospel of the Lord”