Today’s Readings

Brothers and sisters:  Since through the Blood of Jesus  we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary  by the new and living way he opened for us through the veil,  that is, his flesh, and since we have “a great priest over the house of God,”  let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust,  with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience  and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope,  for he who made the promise is trustworthy. We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly,  as is the custom of some, but encourage one another,  and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.

R.    (see 6)  Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face. The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;     the world and those who dwell in it. For he founded it upon the seas     and established it upon the rivers. R.    Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face. Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?     or who may stand in his holy place? He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,     who desires not what is vain. R.    Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,     a reward from God his savior. Such is the race that seeks for him,     that seeks the face of the God of Jacob. R.    Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

R. Alleluia, alleluia. A lamp to my feet is your word, a light to my path. R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible;  nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.” He also told them, “Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you,  and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given;  from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”  

Every priest stands daily at his ministry,  offering frequently those same sacrifices  that can never take away sins. But this one offered one sacrifice for sins,  and took his seat forever at the right hand of God;  now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool. For by one offering he has made perfect forever  those who are being consecrated. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying:

    This is the covenant I will establish with them         after those days, says the Lord:     “I will put my laws in their hearts,         and I will write them upon their minds,”

he also says:

    Their sins and their evildoing         I will remember no more.

Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin.

R.    (4b)  You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek. The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand     till I make your enemies your footstool.” R.    You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek. The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:     “Rule in the midst of your enemies.” R.    You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek. “Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;     before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.” R.    You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek. The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:     “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” R.    You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

R. Alleluia, alleluia. The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever. R. Alleluia, alleluia.

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him  so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables,  and in the course of his instruction he said to them,  “Hear this!  A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,  and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.   Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it  and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

And when he was alone,  those present along with the Twelve  questioned him about the parables. He answered them,  “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that

    they may look and see but not perceive,         and hear and listen but not understand,     in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.”

Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once  and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who,  when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,  they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word,  but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches,  and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,  and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God for the promise of life in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dear child: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am grateful to God, whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day. I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears, so that I may be filled with joy,  as I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and that I am confident lives also in you.

For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.

OR:

Ti 1:1-5

Paul, a slave of God and Apostle of Jesus Christ for the sake of the faith of God’s chosen ones and the recognition of religious truth, in the hope of eternal life  that God, who does not lie, promised before time began, who indeed at the proper time revealed his word in the proclamation with which I was entrusted by the command of God our savior, to Titus, my true child in our common faith: grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.

For this reason I left you in Crete so that you might set right what remains to be done and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you.

R.    (3)  Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations. Sing to the LORD a new song;     sing to the LORD, all you lands. Sing to the LORD; bless his name. R.    Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations. Announce his salvation, day after day. Tell his glory among the nations;     among all peoples, his wondrous deeds. R.    Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations. Give to the LORD, you families of nations,     give to the LORD glory and praise;     give to the LORD the glory due his name! R.    Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations. Say among the nations: The LORD is king. He has made the world firm, not to be moved;     he governs the peoples with equity. R.    Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.

R. Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom. R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house. Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you.” But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”