First reading
Apocalypse
7:2-4,9-14
I saw a huge number, impossible to count,
of people from every nation, race, tribe and language
I, John, saw another angel rising
where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a
powerful voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, ‘Wait
before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put
the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’ Then I heard how many
were sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of
Israel.
After
that I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation,
race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in
front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands.
They shouted aloud, ‘Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the
Lamb!’ And all the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne,
surrounding the elders and the four animals, prostrated themselves before the
throne, and touched the ground with their foreheads, worshipping God with these
words, ‘Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power
and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.’
One
of the elders then spoke, and asked me, ‘Do you know who these people are,
dressed in white robes, and where they have come from?’ I answered him, ‘You
can tell me, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the people who have been
through the great persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in
the blood of the Lamb.’
The
word of the Lord.
Responsorial
Psalm
Psalm 23(24):1-6
Such
are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
The
Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the
world and all its peoples.
It
is he who set it on the seas;
on
the waters he made it firm.
Such
are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
Who
shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who
shall stand in his holy place?
The
man with clean hands and pure heart,
who
desires not worthless things.
Such
are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
He
shall receive blessings from the Lord
and
reward from the God who saves him.
Such
are the men who seek him,
seek
the face of the God of Jacob.
Such
are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
Second
reading
1 John 3:1-3
We shall be like God because we shall see
him as he really is
Think
of the love that the Father has lavished on us,
by
letting us be called God’s children;
and
that is what we are.
Because
the world refused to acknowledge him,
therefore
it does not acknowledge us.
My
dear people, we are already the children of God
but
what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed;
all
we know is, that when it is revealed
we
shall be like him
because
we shall see him as he really is.
Surely
everyone who entertains this hope
must
purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.
The
word of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
Mt11:28
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Come
to me, all you who labour and are overburdened
and
I will give you rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
___________________
Gospel
Matthew 5:1-12a
How happy are the poor in spirit
Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up
the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to
speak. This is what he taught them:
‘How
happy are the poor in spirit;
theirs
is the kingdom of heaven.
Happy
the gentle:
they
shall have the earth for their heritage.
Happy
those who mourn:
they
shall be comforted.
Happy
those who hunger and thirst for what is right:
they
shall be satisfied.
Happy
the merciful:
they
shall have mercy shown them.
Happy
the pure in heart:
they
shall see God.
Happy
the peacemakers:
they
shall be called sons of God.
Happy
those who are persecuted in the cause of right:
theirs
is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Happy are you when people abuse
you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’
The
Gospel of the Lord.
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