CHURCH OF ST JOSEPH, PLENTONG 避 兰 圣 若 瑟 天 主 堂 LOT 2139, Jalan Bunga Raya, 81750 Plentong, Johor, Malaysia Tel/Fax: 07-386 3062 Email: stjoseph@ymail.com
Saturday 31 August 2019
Mass Readings - Sunday, 01st September 2019
FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Ecclesiasticus 3:17-20. 28-29
Behave humbly, and then you will find favour with the Lord.
My son, be gentle in carrying out your business,
and you will be better loved than a lavish giver.
The greater you are, the more you should behave humbly,
and then you will find favour with the Lord;
for great though the power of the Lord is,
he accepts the homage of the humble.
There is no cure for the proud man’s malady,
since an evil growth has taken root in him.
The heart of a sensible man will reflect on parables,
an attentive ear is the sage’s dream.
The Word of the Lord
Responsorial Psalm Ps 67
Response: In your goodness, O God, you prepared a home for the poor.
1. The just shall rejoice at the presence of God,
they shall exult and dance for joy.
O sing to the Lord, make music to his name;
rejoice in the Lord, exult at his presence. Response
2. Father of the orphan, defender of the widow,
such is God in his holy place.
God gives the lonely a home to live in;
he leads the prisoners forth into freedom. Response
3. You poured down, O God, a generous rain:
when your people were starved you gave them new life.
It was there that your people found a home,
prepared in your goodness, O God, for the poor. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Hebrews 12:18-19. 22-24
You have to come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God
What you have come to is nothing known to the senses: not a blazing fire, or
a gloom turning to total darkness, or a storm; or trumpeting thunder or the
great voice speaking which made everyone that heard it beg that no more
should be said to them. But what you have come to is Mount Zion and the
city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions of angels
have gathered for the festival, with the whole Church in which everyone is a
‘first-born son’ and a citizen of heaven. You have come to God himself, the
supreme Judge, and been placed with spirits of the saints who have been
made perfect; and to Jesus, the mediator who brings a new covenant.
The Word of the Lord
Gospel Acclamation Jn 14: 23
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
Or Mt 11: 27
Alleluia, alleluia!
Shoulder my yoke and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 14:1. 7-14
Everyone who exalts oneself will be humbled, and the one who humbles
oneself will be exalted.
Now on a sabbath day he had gone for a meal to the house of one of the
leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. He then told the guests a
parable, because he had noticed how they picked the places of honour.
He said this, ‘When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take
your seat in the place of honour. A more distinguished person than you may
have been invited, and the person who invited you both may come and
say, “Give up your place to this man”. And then, to your embarrassment,
you would have to go and take the lowest place. No; when you are a guest,
make your way to the lowest place and sit there, so that, when your host
comes, he may say, “My friend, move up higher”. In that way, everyone with
you at the table will see you honoured. For everyone who exalts himself will
be humbled, and the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’
Then he said to his host, ‘When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not ask your
friends, brothers, relations or rich neighbours, for fear they repay your
courtesy by inviting you in return. No; when you have a party, invite the
poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; that they cannot pay you back
means that you are fortunate, because repayment will be made to you
when the virtuous rise again.’
The Gospel of the Lord
A reading from the Book of Ecclesiasticus 3:17-20. 28-29
Behave humbly, and then you will find favour with the Lord.
My son, be gentle in carrying out your business,
and you will be better loved than a lavish giver.
The greater you are, the more you should behave humbly,
and then you will find favour with the Lord;
for great though the power of the Lord is,
he accepts the homage of the humble.
There is no cure for the proud man’s malady,
since an evil growth has taken root in him.
The heart of a sensible man will reflect on parables,
an attentive ear is the sage’s dream.
The Word of the Lord
Responsorial Psalm Ps 67
Response: In your goodness, O God, you prepared a home for the poor.
1. The just shall rejoice at the presence of God,
they shall exult and dance for joy.
O sing to the Lord, make music to his name;
rejoice in the Lord, exult at his presence. Response
2. Father of the orphan, defender of the widow,
such is God in his holy place.
God gives the lonely a home to live in;
he leads the prisoners forth into freedom. Response
3. You poured down, O God, a generous rain:
when your people were starved you gave them new life.
It was there that your people found a home,
prepared in your goodness, O God, for the poor. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Hebrews 12:18-19. 22-24
You have to come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God
What you have come to is nothing known to the senses: not a blazing fire, or
a gloom turning to total darkness, or a storm; or trumpeting thunder or the
great voice speaking which made everyone that heard it beg that no more
should be said to them. But what you have come to is Mount Zion and the
city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions of angels
have gathered for the festival, with the whole Church in which everyone is a
‘first-born son’ and a citizen of heaven. You have come to God himself, the
supreme Judge, and been placed with spirits of the saints who have been
made perfect; and to Jesus, the mediator who brings a new covenant.
The Word of the Lord
Gospel Acclamation Jn 14: 23
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
Or Mt 11: 27
Alleluia, alleluia!
Shoulder my yoke and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 14:1. 7-14
Everyone who exalts oneself will be humbled, and the one who humbles
oneself will be exalted.
Now on a sabbath day he had gone for a meal to the house of one of the
leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. He then told the guests a
parable, because he had noticed how they picked the places of honour.
He said this, ‘When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take
your seat in the place of honour. A more distinguished person than you may
have been invited, and the person who invited you both may come and
say, “Give up your place to this man”. And then, to your embarrassment,
you would have to go and take the lowest place. No; when you are a guest,
make your way to the lowest place and sit there, so that, when your host
comes, he may say, “My friend, move up higher”. In that way, everyone with
you at the table will see you honoured. For everyone who exalts himself will
be humbled, and the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’
Then he said to his host, ‘When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not ask your
friends, brothers, relations or rich neighbours, for fear they repay your
courtesy by inviting you in return. No; when you have a party, invite the
poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; that they cannot pay you back
means that you are fortunate, because repayment will be made to you
when the virtuous rise again.’
The Gospel of the Lord
Tuesday 27 August 2019
Saturday 24 August 2019
Mass Readings - Sunday, 25th August 2019
FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Isaiah 66:18-21
They will bring all your brothers from all the nations.
The Lord says this: I am coming to gather the nations of every language.
They shall come to witness my glory. I will give them a sign and send some of
their survivors to the nations: to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Moshech, Rosh, Tubal, and
Javan, to the distant islands that have never heard of me or seen my glory.
They will proclaim my glory to the nations. As an offering to the Lord they will
bring all your brothers, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, on
dromedaries, from all the nations to my holy mountain in Jerusalem, says the
Lord, like Israelites bringing oblations in clean vessels to the Temple of the
Lord. And of some of them I will make priests and Levites, says the Lord.
The Word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 116
Response: Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News.
1. O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him all you peoples! Response
2. Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful for ever. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Hebrews 12:5-7
The Lord trains the one that he loves.
Gospel Acclamation Jn 14: 23
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
Or Jn 14: 6
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
no one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 13:22-30
People from east and west will come to take their places at the feast in the
kingdom of God.
The Gospel of the Lord.
A reading from the Book of Isaiah 66:18-21
They will bring all your brothers from all the nations.
The Lord says this: I am coming to gather the nations of every language.
They shall come to witness my glory. I will give them a sign and send some of
their survivors to the nations: to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Moshech, Rosh, Tubal, and
Javan, to the distant islands that have never heard of me or seen my glory.
They will proclaim my glory to the nations. As an offering to the Lord they will
bring all your brothers, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, on
dromedaries, from all the nations to my holy mountain in Jerusalem, says the
Lord, like Israelites bringing oblations in clean vessels to the Temple of the
Lord. And of some of them I will make priests and Levites, says the Lord.
The Word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 116
Response: Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News.
1. O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him all you peoples! Response
2. Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful for ever. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Hebrews 12:5-7
The Lord trains the one that he loves.
Have you forgotten that encouraging text in which you are addressed as
sons? My son, when the Lord corrects you, do not treat it lightly; but do not
get discouraged when he reprimands you. For the Lord trains the ones that
he loves and he punishes all those that he acknowledges as his sons.
Suffering is part of your training; God is treating you as his sons. Has there
ever been any son whose father did not train him? Of course, any
punishment is most painful at the time, and far from pleasant; but later, in
those on whom it has been used, it bears fruit in peace and goodness. So
hold up your limp arms and steady your trembling knees and smooth out the
path you tread; then the injured limb will not be wrenched, it will grow strong
again.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation Jn 14: 23
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
Or Jn 14: 6
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
no one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 13:22-30
People from east and west will come to take their places at the feast in the
kingdom of God.
Through towns and villages he went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone said to him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few saved?’ He said to them,
‘Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try
to enter and will not succeed.
‘Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may
find yourself knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us” but he will
answer, “I do not know where you come from”. Then you will find yourself
saying, “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets”
but he will reply, “I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all
you wicked men !”
‘Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham
and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and
yourselves turned outside. And men from east and west, from north and
south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
‘Yes, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be
last.’
The Gospel of the Lord.
Saturday 17 August 2019
Malacca Johore Diocese - Census Coordination Team
Attention: All Parish Priests
Malacca Johore Diocese
Dear Fathers,
Peace.
On behalf of the Census Coordination Team 2019, I wish to update you on the plans:
1. Printing of Census cards.
We are printing 45,000 cards (English/BM 22,000; Mandarin 15,000; Tamil 8,000). It will be A5-sized (half A4), thickness 140gm, with serial number printed in red for tracking purposes. (See below attached samples of the cards.)
2. Pilot Run of Census
The pilot will be at Church of St Philip, Segamat and Church of St Mary, Ayer Salak, Malacca between 23 August till 8 September 2019. The parish priests will fix the dates. These are small parishes, and easy to access.
3. Local Parish Census Team
We request all parishes to nominate a parish census coordinator and team members (one per language group) who will assist in organising and managing the Census project in your respective parishes/chapels. Please send the names and contact information of the coordinator and team by 30 August 2019 to Albert Ng at MPI and Dominic Ng. They must be able to understand English or Bahasa for the briefing. We will communicate directly with the census coordinator with copy to the parish priest, to ensure all processes run smoothly.
4. Census Briefing and Training
The Diocese Census Coordination Team will brief the Parish Census Team on how to conduct the census during weekend Masses, how to set-up mobile teams, through BEC visits, or house to house. The briefing will be conducted mainly in English and BM at the vicariate level. They will cover tasks, timelines and responsibilities for capturing, keying-in, verifying and storage of the census information. The following dates and parishes are fixed for the briefing from 10:00am to 12:30pm:
▪ 08 Sept 2019 Church of St Joseph, Plentong, for South Johore Vicariate parishes
▪ 21 Sept 2019 Church of St Louis, Kluang, for North Johore Vicariate parishes
▪ 22 Sept 2019 Church of St Teresa, for Malacca Vicariate parishes
5. Execution of Census 2019
As per the CMR decision, the Census 2019 exercise commences on the first weekend of October 2019, for a duration of maximum one month, to give sufficient time for all parishes to collect the cards. During this period, the completed cards will be kept securely in their parish office, and unused cards must be returned. For parishes, who need to go down to BECs to collect additional census data, this can be done during the third and fourth weekends.
6. Processing of Census cards
We propose that the data entry of the census cards be done at the Vicariate level. All parishes will send their cards to the nominated parish, and resources will be drawn from the parishes in that Vicariate to verify and key-in the data. Those who find it difficult to get volunteers can ask help from the Census Support Team – see point 9). We prefer that the keying in be done as much as possible locally.
7. Software
Software for keying-in will be provided from the Census Coordination Team. The various Parish census coordinators, with support from the Census Support Team, will arrange among themselves the logistics, timelines and management of this activity.
(There will be no online census due to security reasons.)
The following parish will be the processing hub for the three vicariates:
▪ Church of St Louis, Kluang for North Johore Vicariate parishes. ▪ Church of St Teresa, Malacca for Malacca Vicariate parishes.
▪ Church of St Joseph, Plentong for South Johore Vicariate parishes.
We target all parishes to complete data entry and verification by 31 January 2020.
8. Analysis and Reporting
Analysis of the census information will be undertaken by the Census Coordination Team, with assistance from our two advisers. They are Mr Richard Chia from the Archdiocese of KL Census 2015 team, and Dr Nadarajah, Chair Professor of Xavier Centre for Humanities and Compassion Studies Sociologist, India. The others in this Coordination Team are Dominic Ng, Peter Yen, Albert Tan and myself.
We target to complete the analysis and produce the first draft report by 01 May 2020.
8. Storage and Disposal of Census Cards
Upon completion of the data entry, all Census cards will be returned from the Vicariate to the respective parishes for safekeeping and storage. The cards must be secured and kept locked at all times, and may be used for pastoral purposes. As soon as the Census information results are completed, a softcopy of the data will be given to the respective parish for their usage. Census cards will be kept for a period of one year or until 31 Jan 2020.
We propose the census cards be shredded and disposed by 31 December 2020.
9. Census Support Team
For the training, groundwork and support to parishes who need assistance, the Support Team is available. They consist of:
▪ Dominic Ng (Head) +6017 611 6891 dominic_ng2002@yahoo.com ▪ Peter Yen (Asst) + 6012 723 8862 peter_yen@hotmail.com ▪ Other names will be added on from the language groups.
They will get in touch with your parish coordinators for the above-mentioned activities.
10. Appendix - Census Cards
The sample cards can be viewed below.
We look forward to your support and a smooth exercise for all. Kindly remember this effort in your prayers for the good of the diocese.
Yours sincerely
Charles Bertille
Mission Pastoral Institute
c.c. Bishop Bernard Paul, MJD Dominic Ng, Census Support Team
Mass Readings - Sunday, 18th August 2019
FIRST READING Jeremiah 38:4-6. 8-10
You have borne me to be a man of dissension for all the land.
The Word of the Lord
Responsorial Psalm Ps 39
Response: Lord, come to my aid!
1. I waited, I waited for the Lord
and he stooped down to me;
he heard my cry. Response
2. He drew me from the deadly pit,
from the miry clay.
He set my feet upon a rock
and made my footsteps firm. Response
3. He put a new song into my mouth,
praise of our God.
Many shall see and fear
and shall trust in the Lord. Response
4. As for me, wretched and poor,
the Lord thinks of me.
You are my rescuer, my help,
O God, do not delay. Response
SECOND READING Hebrews 12: 1-4
You have borne me to be a man of dissension for all the land.
The Word of the Lord
Gospel Acclamation Acts 16: 14
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
Or Jn 10: 27
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 12: 49-53
I am not here to bring peace, but rather division.
The Gospel of the Lord
You have borne me to be a man of dissension for all the land.
The king’s leading men spoke to the king. ‘Let this man be put to death:
he is unquestionably disheartening the remaining soldiers in the city,
and all the people too, by talking like this. The fellow does not have the
welfare of this people at heart so much as its ruin. ‘He is in your hands
as you know,’ King Zedekiah answered ‘for the king is powerless
against you.’ So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the well of
Prince Malchiah in the Court of the Guard, letting him down with ropes.
There was no water in the well, only mud, and into the mud Jeremiah sank.
Ebed-melech came out from the palace and spoke to the king. ‘My lord
king,’ he said ‘these men have done a wicked thing by treating the
prophet Jeremiah like this: they have thrown him into the well where he
will die.’ At this the king gave Ebed-melech the Cushite the following
order: ‘Take three men with you from here and pull the prophet
Jeremiah out of the well before he dies’.
The Word of the Lord
Responsorial Psalm Ps 39
Response: Lord, come to my aid!
1. I waited, I waited for the Lord
and he stooped down to me;
he heard my cry. Response
2. He drew me from the deadly pit,
from the miry clay.
He set my feet upon a rock
and made my footsteps firm. Response
3. He put a new song into my mouth,
praise of our God.
Many shall see and fear
and shall trust in the Lord. Response
4. As for me, wretched and poor,
the Lord thinks of me.
You are my rescuer, my help,
O God, do not delay. Response
SECOND READING Hebrews 12: 1-4
You have borne me to be a man of dissension for all the land.
With so many witnesses in a great cloud on every side of us, we too,
then, should throw off everything that hinders us, especially the sin that
clings so easily, and keep running steadily in the race we have started.
Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to
perfection: for the sake of the joy which was still in the future, he
endured the cross, disregarding the shamefulness of it, and from now
on has taken his place at the right of God’s throne. Think of the way he
stood such opposition from sinners and then you will not give up for
want of courage. In the fight against sin, you have not yet had to keep
fighting to the point of death.
The Word of the Lord
Gospel Acclamation Acts 16: 14
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
Or Jn 10: 27
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 12: 49-53
I am not here to bring peace, but rather division.
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I have come to bring fire to the earth, and
how I wish it were blazing already! There is a baptism I must still
receive, and how great is my distress till it is over! ‘
Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you,
but rather division. For from now on a household of five will be divided:
three against two and two against three; the father divided against the
son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against
mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against
mother-in-law.
The Gospel of the Lord
Friday 16 August 2019
Parish Census
Dear Parish Census Team Coordinator,
We wish to thank you and the team members for assisting your
parish to carry out this Census exercise. Please find below the following tasks
and activities required for the Census 2019. A more detailed letter has been
sent to your parish priest.
The Census Support Team is available to assist you, if
needed. You can contact Dominic Ng +6017 611
6891 dominic_ng2002@yahoo.com
Fraternally
Charles Bertille
Mission Pastoral
Institute
Abbreviations:
PCTC Parish Census
Team Coordinator DCCT Diocesan Census Coordination Team
PCT Parish
Census Team PP Parish Priest
|
Timeline
|
Tasks / Activities
|
Action by
|
|
Aug/Sept
|
Formation of the Parish Census Team, comprising of
hospitality ministers, BEC coordinators, etc.
|
PCTC & PP
|
|
21/09/2019
22/09/2019
08/09/2019
|
Briefing and training for Census project (10:00am – 12:30pm):
·
Church of St Louis,
Kluang for North Johore Vicariate parishes
·
Church of St Teresa for
Malacca Vicariate parishes
·
Church of St Joseph for
South Johore Vicariate parishes
The census cards, software and guidance notes will be
distributed to all parishes at the briefing and training sessions.
|
DCCT & PCT
DCCT
|
|
End Aug
Sept
|
Publicity and Announcement in Church Bulletins
·
Materials and words for publicity and
announcements will be distributed to all parishes
·
Parishes are to begin publicising and
announcing the Census.
|
DCCT
PCTC & PP
|
|
October
|
Execution of Census
·
Census collection begins at all Masses. All
parishes should prepare writing materials and staples.
·
Parishes are given one month to complete this
census collection.
|
PCT
|
|
Nov-Jan
|
Data Entry of Census
·
Data entry will be done at the Vicariate
level:
Church
of St Louis for North Johore
Vicariate parishes.
Church
of St Teresa for Malacca
Vicariate parishes.
Church
of St Joseph for
South Johore Vicariate parishes
·
All parishes should coordinate with the
designated data entry parish census coordinator to help arrange resources and
schedule for the data entry.
|
PCT
PCTC & PCT
|
|
Feb – Dec
|
Secure storage of the Census Cards
All parishes are to ensure the completed census cards are
kept locked and secure in the Church office. The confidentiality of all cards
are very important.
|
PCTC & PP
|
|
31 Dec 2020
|
Shredding and disposal of the Census Cards
All completed census cards should be shredded and disposed
in a proper manner. Please do not dispose without shredding as the
information contained are confidential.
|
PCTC & PP
|
Saturday 10 August 2019
Mass Readings - Sunday, 11th August 2019
FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Wisdom 18:6-9
By the same act with which you took vengeance on our foes you made us glorious by
calling us to you.
That night had been foretold to our ancestors, so that,
once they saw what kind of oaths they had put their trust in,
they would joyfully take courage.
This was the expectation of your people,
the saving of the virtuous and the ruin of their enemies;
for by the same act with which you took vengeance on our foes
you made us glorious by calling us to you.
The devout children of worthy men offered sacrifice in secret
and this divine pact they struck with one accord:
that the saints would share the same blessings and dangers alike; and forthwith they
had begun to chant the hymns of the fathers.
The Word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 32
Response: Happy are the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
1. Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just;
for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.
They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as his own. Response
2. The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
to keep them alive in famine. Response
3. Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
May your love be upon us, O Lord,
as we place all our hope in you. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Hebrews 11: 1-2. 8-12.
Abraham looked forward to a city founded , designed and built by God.
Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the
realities that at present remain unseen. It was for faith that our ancestors were
commended.
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the
inheritance given to him and his descendants, and that he set out without knowing
where he was going. By faith he arrived, as a foreigner, in the Promised Land, and lived
there as if in a strange country, with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the
same promise. They lived there in tents while he looked forward to a city founded,
designed and built by God.
It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to
conceive, because she believed that he who had made the promise would be faithful to
it. Because of this, there came from one man, and one who was already as good as
dead himself, more descendants than could be counted, as many as the stars of
heaven or the grains of sand on the seashore.
All these died in faith, before receiving any of the things that had been promised, but
they saw them in the far distance and welcomed them, recognising that they were only
strangers and nomads on earth. People who use such terms about themselves make it
quite plain that they are in search of their real homeland. They, can hardly have meant
the country they came from, since they had the opportunity to go back to it; but in fact
they were longing for a better homeland, their heavenly homeland. That is why God is
not ashamed to be called their God, since he has founded the city for them.
It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He offered to
sacrifice his only son even though the promises had been made to him and he had
been told: It is through Isaac that your name will be carried on. He was confident that
God had the power even to raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was given
back Isaac from the dead.
The Word of the Lord
_______________________________________________
Shorter form
SECOND READING
A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Hebrews 11: 1-2. 8-12.
Abraham looked forward to a city founded , designed and built by God.
Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the
realities that at present remain unseen. It was for faith that our ancestors were
commended.
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the
inheritance given to him and his descendants, and that he set out without knowing
where he was going. By faith he arrived, as a foreigner, in the Promised Land, and lived
there as if in a strange country, with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the
same promise. They lived there in tents while he looked forward to a city founded,
designed and built by God.
It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to
conceive, because she believed that he who had made the promise would be faithful to
it. Because of this, there came from one man, and one who was already as good as
dead himself, more descendants than could be counted, as many as the stars of
heaven or the grains of sand on the seashore.
The Word of the Lord
_____________________________________
Gospel Acclamation Mt 11: 25
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom to mere children.
Alleluia!
Or Mt 24: 42: 44
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand ready,
because you do not know the.
hour when the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 12: 32-48
You too must stand ready.
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased
your Father to give you the kingdom.
‘Sell your possessions and give alms. Get yourselves purses that do not wear out,
treasure that will not fail you, in heaven where no thief can reach it and no moth destroy
it. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
‘See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for
their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he
comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he
comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on
them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy those servants
if he finds them ready. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known
at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the
wall of his house. You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an
hour you do not expect.’
Peter said, ‘Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?’ The Lord replied,
‘What sort of steward, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over
his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Happy that
servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you truly, he will place
him over everything he owns. But as for the servant who says to himself, “My master is
taking his time coming”, and sets about beating the menservants and the maids, and
eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does not expect
and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same
fate as the unfaithful.
‘The servant who knows what his master wants, but has not even started to carry out
those wishes, will receive very many strokes of the lash. The one who did not know, but
deserves to be beaten for what he has done, will receive fewer strokes. When a man
has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has
had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him.’
The Gospel of the Lord
A reading from the Book of Wisdom 18:6-9
By the same act with which you took vengeance on our foes you made us glorious by
calling us to you.
That night had been foretold to our ancestors, so that,
once they saw what kind of oaths they had put their trust in,
they would joyfully take courage.
This was the expectation of your people,
the saving of the virtuous and the ruin of their enemies;
for by the same act with which you took vengeance on our foes
you made us glorious by calling us to you.
The devout children of worthy men offered sacrifice in secret
and this divine pact they struck with one accord:
that the saints would share the same blessings and dangers alike; and forthwith they
had begun to chant the hymns of the fathers.
The Word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 32
Response: Happy are the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
1. Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just;
for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.
They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as his own. Response
2. The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
to keep them alive in famine. Response
3. Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
May your love be upon us, O Lord,
as we place all our hope in you. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Hebrews 11: 1-2. 8-12.
Abraham looked forward to a city founded , designed and built by God.
Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the
realities that at present remain unseen. It was for faith that our ancestors were
commended.
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the
inheritance given to him and his descendants, and that he set out without knowing
where he was going. By faith he arrived, as a foreigner, in the Promised Land, and lived
there as if in a strange country, with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the
same promise. They lived there in tents while he looked forward to a city founded,
designed and built by God.
It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to
conceive, because she believed that he who had made the promise would be faithful to
it. Because of this, there came from one man, and one who was already as good as
dead himself, more descendants than could be counted, as many as the stars of
heaven or the grains of sand on the seashore.
All these died in faith, before receiving any of the things that had been promised, but
they saw them in the far distance and welcomed them, recognising that they were only
strangers and nomads on earth. People who use such terms about themselves make it
quite plain that they are in search of their real homeland. They, can hardly have meant
the country they came from, since they had the opportunity to go back to it; but in fact
they were longing for a better homeland, their heavenly homeland. That is why God is
not ashamed to be called their God, since he has founded the city for them.
It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He offered to
sacrifice his only son even though the promises had been made to him and he had
been told: It is through Isaac that your name will be carried on. He was confident that
God had the power even to raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was given
back Isaac from the dead.
The Word of the Lord
_______________________________________________
Shorter form
SECOND READING
A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Hebrews 11: 1-2. 8-12.
Abraham looked forward to a city founded , designed and built by God.
Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the
realities that at present remain unseen. It was for faith that our ancestors were
commended.
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the
inheritance given to him and his descendants, and that he set out without knowing
where he was going. By faith he arrived, as a foreigner, in the Promised Land, and lived
there as if in a strange country, with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the
same promise. They lived there in tents while he looked forward to a city founded,
designed and built by God.
It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to
conceive, because she believed that he who had made the promise would be faithful to
it. Because of this, there came from one man, and one who was already as good as
dead himself, more descendants than could be counted, as many as the stars of
heaven or the grains of sand on the seashore.
The Word of the Lord
_____________________________________
Gospel Acclamation Mt 11: 25
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom to mere children.
Alleluia!
Or Mt 24: 42: 44
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand ready,
because you do not know the.
hour when the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 12: 32-48
You too must stand ready.
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased
your Father to give you the kingdom.
‘Sell your possessions and give alms. Get yourselves purses that do not wear out,
treasure that will not fail you, in heaven where no thief can reach it and no moth destroy
it. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
‘See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for
their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he
comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he
comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on
them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy those servants
if he finds them ready. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known
at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the
wall of his house. You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an
hour you do not expect.’
Peter said, ‘Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?’ The Lord replied,
‘What sort of steward, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over
his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Happy that
servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you truly, he will place
him over everything he owns. But as for the servant who says to himself, “My master is
taking his time coming”, and sets about beating the menservants and the maids, and
eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does not expect
and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same
fate as the unfaithful.
‘The servant who knows what his master wants, but has not even started to carry out
those wishes, will receive very many strokes of the lash. The one who did not know, but
deserves to be beaten for what he has done, will receive fewer strokes. When a man
has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has
had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him.’
The Gospel of the Lord
Saturday 3 August 2019
Mass Readings - Sunday, 04th August 2019
FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes 1: 2. 2: 21-23
What does a man gain for all his toil?
Vanity of vanities, the Preacher says. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity!
For so it is that a man who has laboured wisely, skilfully and successfully
must leave what is his own to someone who has not toiled for it at all.
This, too, is vanity and great injustice; for what does he gain for all the toil
and strain that he has undergone under the sun? What of all his laborious
days, his cares of office, his restless nights? This, too, is vanity.
The Word of the Lord
Responsorial. Psalm Ps 89
Response : O Lord, you have been our refuge
from one generation to the next.
1, You turn men back into dust
and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’
To your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night. Response
2. You sweep men away like a dream,
like grass which springs up in the morning.
In the morning it springs up and flowers:
by evening it withers and fades. Response
3. Make us know the shortness of our life
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever?
Show pity to your servants. Response
4 In the morning, fill us with your love;
we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Let the favour of the Lord be upon us:
give success to the work of our hands. Response
Alternative Responsorial Psalm Ps 94:1-2,6-9,Rv 7-8
Response: O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts
1. Come ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the Lord. Response
2. Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand. Response
3. O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work. Response
_____________________________________________________________
SECOND READING
A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Colossians 3:1-5. 9-11
You must look to the things that are in heaven, Where Christ is.
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look
for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right
hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are
on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden
with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you
too will be revealed in all your glory with him.
That is why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly
life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed,
which is the same thing as worshipping a false god; and never tell each
other lies. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self, and
you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge
the more it is renewed in the image of its creator; and in that image there
is no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the
circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian,
slave and free man. There is only Christ. he is everything and he is in
everything.
The Word of the Lord
Gospel Acclamation Jn 17: 17
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord,
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
Or Mt 5: 3
Alleluia, alleluia!
How happy are the poor in spirit;
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 12: 13-21
This hoard of yours, whose will it be?
A man in the crowd said to him, ‘Master, tell my brother to give me a
share of our inheritance.’ ‘My friend,’ he replied-‘who appointed me your
judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?’ Then he said to them, ‘Watch, and
be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made
secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs.’
Then he told them a parable: ‘There was once a rich man who, having
had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, “What am I to do? I
have not enough room to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I
will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my
grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have
plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy,
eat, drink, have a good time.” But God said to him, “Fool! This very night
the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose
will it be then?” So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in
place of making himself rich in the sight of God.’
The Gospel of the Lord
A reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes 1: 2. 2: 21-23
What does a man gain for all his toil?
Vanity of vanities, the Preacher says. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity!
For so it is that a man who has laboured wisely, skilfully and successfully
must leave what is his own to someone who has not toiled for it at all.
This, too, is vanity and great injustice; for what does he gain for all the toil
and strain that he has undergone under the sun? What of all his laborious
days, his cares of office, his restless nights? This, too, is vanity.
The Word of the Lord
Responsorial. Psalm Ps 89
Response : O Lord, you have been our refuge
from one generation to the next.
1, You turn men back into dust
and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’
To your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night. Response
2. You sweep men away like a dream,
like grass which springs up in the morning.
In the morning it springs up and flowers:
by evening it withers and fades. Response
3. Make us know the shortness of our life
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever?
Show pity to your servants. Response
4 In the morning, fill us with your love;
we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Let the favour of the Lord be upon us:
give success to the work of our hands. Response
Alternative Responsorial Psalm Ps 94:1-2,6-9,Rv 7-8
Response: O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts
1. Come ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the Lord. Response
2. Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand. Response
3. O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work. Response
_____________________________________________________________
SECOND READING
A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Colossians 3:1-5. 9-11
You must look to the things that are in heaven, Where Christ is.
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look
for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right
hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are
on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden
with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you
too will be revealed in all your glory with him.
That is why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly
life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed,
which is the same thing as worshipping a false god; and never tell each
other lies. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self, and
you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge
the more it is renewed in the image of its creator; and in that image there
is no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the
circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian,
slave and free man. There is only Christ. he is everything and he is in
everything.
The Word of the Lord
Gospel Acclamation Jn 17: 17
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord,
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
Or Mt 5: 3
Alleluia, alleluia!
How happy are the poor in spirit;
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 12: 13-21
This hoard of yours, whose will it be?
A man in the crowd said to him, ‘Master, tell my brother to give me a
share of our inheritance.’ ‘My friend,’ he replied-‘who appointed me your
judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?’ Then he said to them, ‘Watch, and
be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made
secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs.’
Then he told them a parable: ‘There was once a rich man who, having
had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, “What am I to do? I
have not enough room to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I
will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my
grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have
plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy,
eat, drink, have a good time.” But God said to him, “Fool! This very night
the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose
will it be then?” So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in
place of making himself rich in the sight of God.’
The Gospel of the Lord
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