Catholic Church Readings for Monday, March 15, 2021: Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Sorry this is late once again!

Catholic Church Readings for Monday, March 15, 2021: Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Lectionary: 244

Reading I

Is 65:17-21

Thus says the LORD:

Lo, I am about to create new heavens

    and a new earth;

The things of the past shall not be remembered

    or come to mind.

Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness

    in what I create;

For I create Jerusalem to be a joy

    and its people to be a delight;

I will rejoice in Jerusalem

    and exult in my people.

No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,

    or the sound of crying;

No longer shall there be in it

    an infant who lives but a few days,

    or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;

He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,

    and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.

They shall live in the houses they build,

    and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant.

Responsorial Psalm

30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b

R.    (2a)  I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear

    and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.

O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;

    you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.

R.    I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,

    and give thanks to his holy name.

For his anger lasts but a moment;

    a lifetime, his good will.

At nightfall, weeping enters in,

    but with the dawn, rejoicing.

R.    I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

“Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;

    O LORD, be my helper.”

You changed my mourning into dancing;

    O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.

R.    I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Verse before the Gospel

Am 5:14

Seek good and not evil so that you may live,

and the LORD will be with you.

Gospel

Jn 4:43-54

At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee.

For Jesus himself testified

that a prophet has no honor in his native place.

When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him,

since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast;

for they themselves had gone to the feast.

Then he returned to Cana in Galilee,

where he had made the water wine.

Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.

When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,

he went to him and asked him to come down

and heal his son, who was near death.

Jesus said to him,

“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”

The royal official said to him,

“Sir, come down before my child dies.”

Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.”

The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.

While the man was on his way back,

his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.

He asked them when he began to recover.

They told him,

“The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.”

The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,

“Your son will live,”

and he and his whole household came to believe.

Now this was the second sign Jesus did

when he came to Galilee from Judea.

Catholic Church Readings for Sunday, March 14, 2021: Fourth Sunday of Lent

Catholic Church Readings for Sunday, March 14, 2021: Fourth Sunday of Lent

Year B

Lectionary: 32

Reading I

2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23

In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people 

added infidelity to infidelity, 

practicing all the abominations of the nations 

and polluting the LORD’s temple 

which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers, 

send his messengers to them, 

for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.

But they mocked the messengers of God, 

despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, 

until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed 

that there was no remedy.

Their enemies burnt the house of God,

tore down the walls of Jerusalem, 

set all its palaces afire, 

and destroyed all its precious objects.

Those who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon, 

where they became servants of the king of the Chaldeans and his sons

until the kingdom of the Persians came to power.

All this was to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah: 

“Until the land has retrieved its lost sabbaths, 

during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest 

while seventy years are fulfilled.”

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, 

in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, 

the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia 

to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom, 

both by word of mouth and in writing: 

“Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: 

All the kingdoms of the earth

the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me, 

and he has also charged me to build him a house 

in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, 

let him go up, and may his God be with him!”

Responsorial Psalm

137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

R. (6ab)  Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

By the streams of Babylon

    we sat and wept

    when we remembered Zion.

On the aspens of that land

    we hung up our harps.

R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

For there our captors asked of us

    the lyrics of our songs,

And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:

    “Sing for us the songs of Zion!”

R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

How could we sing a song of the LORD

    in a foreign land?

If I forget you, Jerusalem,

    may my right hand be forgotten!

R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

May my tongue cleave to my palate

    if I remember you not,

If I place not Jerusalem

    ahead of my joy.

R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

Reading II

Eph 2:4-10

Brothers and sisters:

God, who is rich in mercy, 

because of the great love he had for us, 

even when we were dead in our transgressions, 

brought us to life with Christ — by grace you have been saved —, 

raised us up with him, 

and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, 

that in the ages to come 

He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace 

in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, 

and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; 

it is not from works, so no one may boast.

For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works 

that God has prepared in advance,

that we should live in them

Verse Before the Gospel

Jn 3:16

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,

so everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.

Gospel

Jn 3:14-21

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, 

so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 

so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, 

so that everyone who believes in him might not perish 

but might have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, 

but that the world might be saved through him.

Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, 

but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, 

because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

And this is the verdict,

that the light came into the world, 

but people preferred darkness to light,

because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light

and does not come toward the light, 

so that his works might not be exposed.

But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, 

so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

Catholic Church Readings for Saturday, March 13, 2021: Saturday of the Third Week of Lent

Catholic Church Readings for Saturday, March 13, 2021: Saturday of the Third Week of Lent

Lectionary: 242

Reading I

Hos 6:1-6

“Come, let us return to the LORD,

    it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;

    he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.

He will revive us after two days;

    on the third day he will raise us up,

    to live in his presence.

Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;

    as certain as the dawn is his coming,

    and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!

He will come to us like the rain,

    like spring rain that waters the earth.”

What can I do with you, Ephraim?

What can I do with you, Judah?

Your piety is like a morning cloud,

    like the dew that early passes away.

For this reason I smote them through the prophets,

    I slew them by the words of my mouth;

For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,

    and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Responsorial Psalm

51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab

R.    (see Hosea 6:6)  It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;

    in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.

Thoroughly wash me from my guilt

    and of my sin cleanse me.

R.    It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.

For you are not pleased with sacrifices;

    should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.

My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;

    a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

R.    It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.

Be bountiful, O LORD, to Zion in your kindness

    by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem;

Then shall you be pleased with due sacrifices,

    burnt offerings and holocausts.

R.    It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.

Verse before the Gospel

Ps 95:8

If today you hear his voice,

harden not your hearts.

Gospel

Lk 18:9-14

Jesus addressed this parable

to those who were convinced of their own righteousness

and despised everyone else.

“Two people went up to the temple area to pray;

one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.

The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,

‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — 

greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.

I fast twice a week,

and I pay tithes on my whole income.’

But the tax collector stood off at a distance

and would not even raise his eyes to heaven

but beat his breast and prayed,

‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’

I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;

for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,

and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The New Amsterdam's Lack of Catholic Understanding in Croaklahoma [S01:E15]

In something that seems all too common, TV shows seem unable to find a single expert on Catholicism. That is no different when it comes to a new Netflix program called "New Amsterdam". The show is pretty good as far as shows go, but there is of course many moral problems with it.

[Spoiler Alert!]

In one episode titled "Croaklahoma" (Season 1, Episode 15), there is a married couple whose child received a transplanted organ and is now having adverse side effects. The situation is that the medical insurance of the parents covered the necessary transplant but not the subsequent anti-rejection medication. The parents cannot afford the excessive cost of the drugs and therefore decided to give their child half the number of dosages so they would last longer. This caused the negative side effects.

Not sure what to do, the main character Dr. Max Goodwin brings up a controversial suggestion. Medicaid can be used to pay for drugs if a person's income is low enough. The bold suggestion of Max is for the couple to divorce, thus bringing at least one of them below the threshold for free medication.

This present the couple with a quandary. They declare they cannot divorce because they are Catholic and for them it would be a sin. After tearfully considering all their alternatives, the couple decides they would rather commit a sin to save their son's life than to avoid sin but put him at risk. A monkey wrench is thrown into the situation when the son runs off in the hospital and can't be found. He leaves a note saying "No Divorce".

Eventually the son is found and he tells his parents that he doesn't want them to go to Hell, which is what will happen if they divorce, as he doesn't want to go to Heaven without them. They look at each other as if they agree with him and think well that's okay we are willing to do whatever it takes to save his life.

This is a ridiculous premise to being with, but it gets worse. Stay tuned for that. But for now, I will explain what is wrong with this line of thinking. The Catholic Church does not say its members are not allowed to divorce. Rather, it says if a couple of validly married, then divorce is not an option, it's simply impossible. Christ established marriage as a permanent bond between two people which cannot be broken save by the death of one of the spouses.

The key is that the Church regards legal marriage by the state as a separate affair altogether. In other words, the Sacrament of Marriage is altogether distinct from the civil procedure known as marriage. When a couple of married in a Church wedding witnessed by a priest, the priest must also have the couple sign a state form separately. The priest is granted permission by the state to perform a wedding just like they permit other civil servants. I must stress that the Catholic Church sacrament called Marriage is completely separate from the state version of marriage, even though they occur concurrently.

What this means is that the Church actually allows couples to legally divorce in various contexts if it is for a greater good. For example, if a woman must be separated from her husband for her own safety and can only do so with a legal divorce, she would be permitted to do this. Of course, she would not be allowed to remarry as she would still be bonded to this man in marriage.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explicitly states this:

The separation of the spouses while maintaining the marriage bond can be legitimate in certain cases provided for by canon law. If civil divorce remains the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the care of the children, or the protection of inheritance, it can be tolerated and does not constitute a moral offense. – CCC 2383

Clearly in the case above, this civil divorce would be permitted for the care of children. It's very straightforward. Yet somehow, NBC couldn't get anyone who knew this? Maybe some people say perhaps they were just creating a plot and this is simply artistic license. Well I find that implausible. In every other instance, it seems they use real laws, possible scenarios, etc. The producers of the show do their research when it comes to various groups and facts. Yet, it seems they are unable to verify even straightforward information on Catholics. It only took me a few seconds to find the Catechism quote above.

So, how does the situation get even worse in the show? Well, as chance would have it, the pope's right-hand-man happened to be in the hospital as the pope was in town at the time and they had to maintain a presence in the hospital "just in case". After being helped by Dr. Max Goodwin, the Cardinal asks if there is anything he can do for him. So Max thinks for a second and then says to the Cardinal, actually there is.

The next scene shows the couple and their son speaking to the cardinal. Max introduces him as the pope's right-hand-man. The cardinal then says he spoke to the Holy Father about their situation he says ...pause.... "it's cool!"

Seriously? That's the best they could come up with? First of all, it's clear the cardinal never did speak to the pope about this situation at all. So he's lying right off the bat to the family. Then he tells them the pope says "it's cool", like it just some little do-dad, no biggie, whatevs! It's all good!

The Catholic Church doesn't work like that. Moral laws aren't just applied willy-nilly. Things aren't done on a case-by-case basis. Our entire moral code is based on the teachings of Christ. Christ said once two people are joined they become one flesh and that divorce is unlawful. The Church is simply upholding that. For the cardinal to simply brush off the situation like it was nothing would be like him disregarding the laws laid down by Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Another problem with this whole scenario is that it gives the impression the clergy, including cardinals and the pope, have some kind of absolute authority. As if they can just change any rule they want and that we as Catholics just do whatever they say because they said it. It's presented as though the Vatican and the clergy are some kind of absolute monarchs who make and change rules at their whim and we are just servants who dutifully do what they tell us.

In reality these laws do not change. The Church is our teacher which is why she is called Holy Mother Church. Not only we, but also the pope and cardinals must abide by and follow the teachings of the Church. Sometimes the magisterium (or teaching authority of the Church) will issue a clarification or address a particular issue. These represent developments in doctrines but never breaks from it. No moral law, doctrine or dogma can contradict another.

If there were an episode featuring basketball, they would probably have someone with knowledge of the game to inform the episode so that it made sense. Yet somehow, when it comes to Catholicism, no such care is taken. It's a pity and should be corrected.

Catholic Church Readings for Friday, March 12, 2021: Friday of the Third Week of Lent

Catholic Church Readings for Friday, March 12, 2021: Friday of the Third Week of Lent

Lectionary: 241

Reading I

Hos 14:2-10

    Thus says the LORD:

Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;

    you have collapsed through your guilt.

Take with you words,

    and return to the LORD;

Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,

    and receive what is good, that we may render

    as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.

Assyria will not save us,

    nor shall we have horses to mount;

We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’

    to the work of our hands;

    for in you the orphan finds compassion.”

I will heal their defection, says the LORD,

    I will love them freely;

    for my wrath is turned away from them.

I will be like the dew for Israel:

    he shall blossom like the lily;

He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,

    and put forth his shoots.

His splendor shall be like the olive tree

    and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.

Again they shall dwell in his shade

    and raise grain;

They shall blossom like the vine,

    and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?

    I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.

“I am like a verdant cypress tree”– 

    Because of me you bear fruit!

Let him who is wise understand these things;

    let him who is prudent know them.

Straight are the paths of the LORD,

    in them the just walk,

    but sinners stumble in them.

Responsorial Psalm

81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17

R.    (see 11 and 9a)  I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

An unfamiliar speech I hear:

    “I relieved his shoulder of the burden;

    his hands were freed from the basket.

In distress you called, and I rescued you.”

R.    I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

“Unseen, I answered you in thunder;

    I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

Hear, my people, and I will admonish you;

    O Israel, will you not hear me?”

R.    I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

“There shall be no strange god among you

     nor shall you worship any alien god.

I, the LORD, am your God

    who led you forth from the land of Egypt.”

R.    I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

“If only my people would hear me,

    and Israel walk in my ways,

I would feed them with the best of wheat,

    and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”

R.    I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

Verse before the Gospel

Mt 4:17

Repent, says the Lord;

the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Gospel

Mk 12:28-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,

“Which is the first of all the commandments?”

Jesus replied, “The first is this:

    Hear, O Israel!

    The Lord our God is Lord alone!

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, 

    with all your soul, 

    with all your mind, 

    and with all your strength.

The second is this:

    You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no other commandment greater than these.”

The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.

You are right in saying,

    He is One and there is no other than he.

And to love him with all your heart,

    with all your understanding, 

    with all your strength,

    and to love your neighbor as yourself

is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,

he said to him,

“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Catholic Church Readings for Thursday, March 11, 2021: Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

Catholic Church Readings for Thursday, March 11, 2021: Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

Lectionary: 240

Reading I

Jer 7:23-28

Thus says the LORD: 

This is what I commanded my people:

Listen to my voice;

then I will be your God and you shall be my people.

Walk in all the ways that I command you,

so that you may prosper.

But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed.

They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts

and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.

From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day,

I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets.

Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed;

they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers.

When you speak all these words to them,

they will not listen to you either;

when you call to them, they will not answer you.

Say to them:

This is the nation that does not listen

to the voice of the LORD, its God,

or take correction.

Faithfulness has disappeared;

the word itself is banished from their speech.

Responsorial Psalm

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

R.    (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;

    let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

    let us joyfully sing psalms to him.

R.    If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us bow down in worship;

    let us kneel before the LORD who made us.

For he is our God,

    and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.

R.    If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Oh, that today you would hear his voice:

    “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,

    as in the day of Massah in the desert,

Where your fathers tempted me;

    they tested me though they had seen my works.”

R.    If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Verse before the Gospel

Jl 2:12-13

Even now, says the LORD,

return to me with your whole heart,

for I am gracious and merciful.

Gospel

Lk 11:14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,

and when the demon had gone out,

the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.

Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,

he drives out demons.”

Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.

But he knew their thoughts and said to them,

“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste

and house will fall against house.

And if Satan is divided against himself, 

how will his kingdom stand?

For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.

If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,

by whom do your own people drive them out?

Therefore they will be your judges.

But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,

then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,

his possessions are safe.

But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,

he takes away the armor on which he relied

and distributes the spoils.

Whoever is not with me is against me,

and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

Sorry I missed yesterday's readings

I'm not sure if anyone or how many people come here to get the readings daily. If you do, please let me know in the comments, I'd appreciate that. Yes, you. Anyway, I got a little off-track and missed yesterday and was late for today's. Would love to hear from you.

Catholic Church Readings for Wednesday, March 10, 2021: Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

Catholic Church Readings for Wednesday, March 10, 2021: Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

Lectionary: 239

Reading I

Dt 4:1, 5-9

Moses spoke to the people and said:

“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees

which I am teaching you to observe,

that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land 

which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 

Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees

as the LORD, my God, has commanded me,

that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.

Observe them carefully,

for thus will you give evidence

of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,

who will hear of all these statutes and say,

‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’

For what great nation is there

that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us

whenever we call upon him?

Or what great nation has statutes and decrees

that are as just as this whole law

which I am setting before you today?

“However, take care and be earnestly on your guard

not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,

nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,

but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.”

Responsorial Psalm

147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20

R.    (12a)  Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;

    praise your God, O Zion.

For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;

    he has blessed your children within you.

R.    Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

He sends forth his command to the earth;

    swiftly runs his word!

He spreads snow like wool;

    frost he strews like ashes.

R.    Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,

    his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.

He has not done thus for any other nation;

    his ordinances he has not made known to them.

R.    Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Verse before the Gospel

See Jn 6:63c, 68c

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;

you have the words of everlasting life.

Gospel

Mt 5:17-19

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,

not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter

will pass from the law,

until all things have taken place.

Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments

and teaches others to do so

will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.

But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments

will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

Catholic Church Readings for March 8, 2021: Monday of the Third Week of Lent

Catholic Church Readings for March 8, 2021: Monday of the Third Week of Lent

Lectionary: 237

Reading I

2 Kgs 5:1-15ab

Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram,

was highly esteemed and respected by his master,

for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram.

But valiant as he was, the man was a leper.

Now the Arameans had captured in a raid on the land of Israel

a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman’s wife.

“If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,”

she said to her mistress, “he would cure him of his leprosy.”

Naaman went and told his lord

just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said.

“Go,” said the king of Aram.

“I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.”

So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents,

six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments.

To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read:

“With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you,

that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

When he read the letter,

the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed:

“Am I a god with power over life and death,

that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy?

Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!”

When Elisha, the man of God,

heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments,

he sent word to the king:

“Why have you torn your garments?

Let him come to me and find out

that there is a prophet in Israel.”

Naaman came with his horses and chariots

and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house.

The prophet sent him the message:

“Go and wash seven times in the Jordan,

and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.”

But Naaman went away angry, saying,

“I thought that he would surely come out and stand there

to invoke the LORD his God,

and would move his hand over the spot,

and thus cure the leprosy.

Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar,

better than all the waters of Israel? 

Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?”

With this, he turned about in anger and left.

But his servants came up and reasoned with him.

“My father,” they said,

“if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary,

would you not have done it?

All the more now, since he said to you,

‘Wash and be clean,’ should you do as he said.”

So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times

at the word of the man of God.

His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God.

On his arrival he stood before him and said,

“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,

except in Israel.”

Responsorial Psalm

42:2, 3; 43:3, 4

R.    (see 42:3) Athirst is my soul for the living God.

When shall I go and behold the face of God?

As the hind longs for the running waters,

    so my soul longs for you, O God.

R.    Athirst is my soul for the living God.

When shall I go and behold the face of God?

Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.

    When shall I go and behold the face of God?

R.    Athirst is my soul for the living God.

When shall I go and behold the face of God?

Send forth your light and your fidelity;

    they shall lead me on

And bring me to your holy mountain,

    to your dwelling-place.

R.    Athirst is my soul for the living God.

When shall I go and behold the face of God?

Then will I go in to the altar of God,

    the God of my gladness and joy;

Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,

    O God, my God!

R.    Athirst is my soul for the living God.

When shall I go and behold the face of God?

Verse before the Gospel

See Ps 130:5, 7

I hope in the LORD, I trust in his word;

with him there is kindness and plenteous redemption.

Gospel

Lk 4:24-30

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:

“Amen, I say to you,

no prophet is accepted in his own native place.

Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel

in the days of Elijah

when the sky was closed for three and a half years

and a severe famine spread over the entire land.

It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,

but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.

Again, there were many lepers in Israel

during the time of Elisha the prophet;

yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

When the people in the synagogue heard this,

they were all filled with fury.

They rose up, drove him out of the town,

and led him to the brow of the hill

on which their town had been built, 

to hurl him down headlong.

But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Readings for the Optional Memorial of Saint John of God, religious

Catholic Church Readings for Sunday, March 7, 2021: Third Sunday of Lent

Catholic Church Readings for Sunday, March 7, 2021: Third Sunday of Lent

Year B

Lectionary: 29

Reading I

Ex 20:1-17

In those days, God delivered all these commandments:

“I, the LORD, am your God, 

who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.

You shall not have other gods besides me.

You shall not carve idols for yourselves 

in the shape of anything in the sky above 

or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; 

you shall not bow down before them or worship them.

For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, 

inflicting punishment for their fathers’ wickedness 

on the children of those who hate me, 

down to the third and fourth generation; 

but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation 

on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.

“You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.

For the LORD will not leave unpunished 

the one who takes his name in vain.

“Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.

Six days you may labor and do all your work, 

but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God.

No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, 

or your male or female slave, or your beast, 

or by the alien who lives with you.

In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, 

the sea and all that is in them; 

but on the seventh day he rested.

That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

“Honor your father and your mother, 

that you may have a long life in the land 

which the LORD, your God, is giving you.

You shall not kill.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, 

nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, 

nor anything else that belongs to him.”

OR: 

Ex 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17

In those days, God delivered all these commandments:

“I, the LORD am your God, 

who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.

You shall not have other gods besides me.

“You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.

For the LORD will not leave unpunished 

the one who takes his name in vain.

“Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.

Honor your father and your mother, 

that you may have a long life in the land 

which the Lord, your God, is giving you.

You shall not kill.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, 

nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, 

nor anything else that belongs to him.”

Responsorial Psalm

19:8, 9, 10, 11

R. (John 6:68c)  Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The law of the LORD is perfect,

    refreshing the soul;

The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,

    giving wisdom to the simple.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The precepts of the LORD are right,

    rejoicing the heart;

the command of the LORD is clear,

    enlightening the eye.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The fear of the LORD is pure,

    enduring forever;

the ordinances of the LORD are true,

    all of them just.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

They are more precious than gold,

    than a heap of purest gold;

sweeter also than syrup

    or honey from the comb.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

Reading II

1 Cor 1:22-25

Brothers and sisters:

Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 

but we proclaim Christ crucified, 

a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 

but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, 

Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, 

and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Verse Before the Gospel

Jn 3:16

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.

Gospel

Jn 2:13-25

Since the Passover of the Jews was near,

Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, 

as well as the money changers seated there.

He made a whip out of cords

and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, 

and spilled the coins of the money changers

and overturned their tables, 

and to those who sold doves he said,

“Take these out of here, 

and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”

His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, 

Zeal for your house will consume me.

At this the Jews answered and said to him,

“What sign can you show us for doing this?”

Jesus answered and said to them, 

“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”

The Jews said, 

“This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, 

and you will raise it up in three days?”

But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, 

his disciples remembered that he had said this, 

and they came to believe the Scripture 

and the word Jesus had spoken.

While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, 

many began to believe in his name 

when they saw the signs he was doing.

But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, 

and did not need anyone to testify about human nature.

He himself understood it well.