Mass Readings: Sunday, 21st June 2020

FIRST READING
A reading from the book of the Prophet Jeremiah    20:10-13
He has delivered the soul of the needy from the hands of evil men.

Jeremiah said:
I hear so many disparaging me,
‘”Terror from every side!”
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’
All those who used to be my friends watched for my downfall,
‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error.
Then we will master him
and take our revenge!’
But the Lord is at my side, a mighty hero;
my opponents will stumble, mastered,
confounded by their failure;
everlasting, unforgettable disgrace will be theirs.
But you, Lord of Hosts, you who probe with justice,
who scrutinise the loins and heart,
let me see the vengeance you will take on them,
for I have committed my cause to you.
Sing to the Lord,  praise the Lord,
for he has delivered the soul of the needy
from the hands of evil men.

The Word of the Lord.


Responsorial Psalm   Ps 68

Response:  In your great love, answer me, 0 God.

1. It is for you that I suffer taunts,
that shame covers my face,
that I have become a stranger to my brothers,
an alien to my own mother’s sons.
I burn with zeal for your house
and taunts against you fall on me.

2. This is my prayer to you,
my prayer for your favour.
In your great love, answer me, 0 God,
with your help that never fails:
Lord, answer, for your love is kind;
in your compassion, turn towards me.

3. The poor when they see it will be glad
and God-seeking hearts will revive;
for the Lord listens to the needy
and does not spurn his servants in their chains.
Let the heavens and the earth give him praise,
the sea and all its living creatures.



SECOND READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans    5:12-15
The gift itself considerably outweighed the fall.

Sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death, and
thus death has spread through the whole human race because
everyone has sinned. Sin existed in the world long before the Law
was given. There was no law and so no one could be accused of
the sin of ‘law-breaking’, yet death reigned over all from Adam to
Moses, even though their sin, unlike that of Adam, was not a matter
of breaking a law.
Adam prefigured the One to come, but the gift itself considerably
outweighed the fall. If it is certain that through one man’s fall so
many died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming
through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an
abundant free gift.

The Word of the Lord.


Gospel Acclamation   Jn 1: 14.12

Alleluia, alleluia!
The Word was made flesh and lived among us;
to all who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God.
Alleluia!

or Jn 15: 26.27

Alleluia, alleluia!
The Spirit of truth will be my witnes;
and you too will be my witnesses.
Alleluia!


GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew    10:26-33
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body.

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Do not be afraid of them
therefore. For everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and
everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the
dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from
the housetops.
‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you
not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the
ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head
has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth
more than hundreds of sparrows.
‘So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will
declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But
the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the
presence of my Father in heaven.

The Gospel of the Lord.