Outside Easter Time: Old Testament

PDF 1st Readings

C1  2 Maccabees 12:43-46
A Reading from the Second Book of Maccabees
Judas [the ruler of Israel]
then took up a collection among all his soldiers,
amounting to two thousand silver drachmas,
which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an
expiatory sacrifice.
In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way,
inasmuch as he had the resurrection in mind;
for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again,
it would have been superfluous
and foolish to pray for the dead.
But if he did this
with a view to the splendid reward
that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness,
it was a holy and pious thought.
Thus he made atonement for the dead
that they might be absolved from their sin.
The Word of the Lord

C2  Job 19: 1,23-27a
A Reading from the Book of Job
Then Job answered and said:
Oh, would that my words were written down!
Would that they were inscribed in a record:
that with an iron chisel and with lead they were cut in the rock forever!
As for me, I know that my vindicator lives,
and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust.
This will happen when my skin has been stripped off,
and from my flesh I will see God:
I will see for myself,
my own eyes, not another’s, will behold him:
my inmost being is consumed with longing.
The Word of the Lord

C3 (Long Form)  Wisdom 3: 1-9
A Reading from the Book of Wisdom
The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if to others, indeed, they seem punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their judgment they shall shine
and dart about as sparks through stubble;
they shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the LORD shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with the elect.
The Word of the Lord

C3 (Short Form) Wisdom 3: 1-6, 9
A Reading from the Book of Wisdom
The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if to others, indeed, they seem punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with the elect.
The Word of the Lord

C4 Wisdom 4:7-15
A Reading from the Book of Wisdom
The righteous one, though he die early, shall be at rest.
For the age that is honorable comes not with the passing
of time, nor can it be measured in terms of years.
Rather, understanding passes for gray hair,
and an unsullied life is the attainment of old age.
The one who pleased God was loved,
living among sinners, was transported —
snatched away, lest wickedness pervert his mind
or deceit beguile his soul;
for the witchery of paltry things
obscures what is right
and the whirl of desire transforms the innocent mind. Having become perfect in a short while,
he reached the fullness of a long career;
for his soul was pleasing to the LORD,
therefore he sped him out of the midst of wickedness.
But the people saw and did not understand,
nor did they take that consideration into account.
The Word of the Lord

C5  Isaiah 25:6a, 7-9
A Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah
On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
the web that is woven over all nations.
He will destroy death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
the reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth;
for the LORD has spoken.
On that day it will be said:
"Indeed, this is our God;
we looked to him, and he saved us!
This is the LORD to whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"
The Word of the Lord

C6  Lamenations 3:17-26
A Reading from the Book of Lamentations
My life is deprived of peace,
I have forgotten what happiness is;
my enduring hope, I said,
has perished before the LORD.
The thought of my wretched homelessness
is wormwood and poison;
remembering it over and over,
my soul is downcast.
But this I will call to mind;
therefore I will hope:
the LORD’s acts of mercy are not exhausted,
his compassion is not spent;
they are renewed each morning—
great is your faithfulness!
The LORD is my portion, I tell myself,
therefore I will hope in him.
The LORD is good to those who trust in him,
to the one that seeks him;
it is good to hope in silence
for the LORD’s deliverance.
The Word of the Lord

C7  Daniel 12:1-3
A Reading from the Book of the Prophet Daniel
In those days, I, Daniel, mourned
and heard this word of the Lord:
At that time there shall arise
Michael, the great prince,
guardian of your people;
It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress
since nations began until that time.
At that time your people shall escape,
everyone who is found written in the book.
Many of those who sleep
in the dust of the earth shall awake;
Some shall live forever,
others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.
But the wise shall shine brightly
like the splendor of the firmament,
And those who lead the many to justice
shall be like the stars forever.
The word of the Lord.

During Easter Time: New Testament

C8  (Long Version) Acts of the Apostles 10:34-43
A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles
Then Peter proceeded to speak and said,
"In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him
and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.
You know the word [that] he sent to the Israelites
as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ,
who is Lord of all, what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good and healing all those
oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
We are witnesses of all that he did
both in the country of the Jews and (in) Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.
This man God raised (on) the third day
and granted that he be visible,
not to all the people, but to us,
the witnesses chosen by God in advance,
who ate and drank with him
after he rose from the dead.
He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify
that he is the one appointed by God
as judge of the living and the dead.
To him all the prophets bear witness,
that everyone who believes in him will receive
forgiveness of sins through his name."
The Word of the Lord

C8 (Short Version) Acts of the Apostles 10:34-36, 42-43
A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles
Then Peter proceeded to speak and said,
"In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him
and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.
You know the word [that] he sent to the Israelites
as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ,
who is Lord of all, what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the holy Spirit and power.
He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify
that he is the one appointed by God
as judge of the living and the dead.
To him all the prophets bear witness,
that everyone who believes in him will receive
forgiveness of sins through his name."
The Word of the Lord

C9 Revelation 14:13
A Reading from the Book of Revelation
I, John, heard a voice from heaven say,
"Write this: Blessed are the dead
who die in the Lord from now on."
"Yes," said the Spirit,
"let them find rest from their labors,
for their works accompany them."
The Word of the Lord

C10 Revelation 20:11-21:1
A Reading from the Book of Revelation
I, John, saw a large white throne
and the one who was sitting on it.
The earth and the sky fled from his presence
and there was no place for them.
I saw the dead, the great and the lowly,
standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened.
Then another scroll was opened, the book of life.
The dead were judged according to their deeds,
by what was written in the scrolls.
The sea gave up its dead;
then Death and Hades gave up their dead.
All the dead were judged according to their deeds.
Then Death and Hades
were thrown into the pool of fire.
(This pool of fire is the second death.)
Anyone whose name was not found
written in the book of life
was thrown into the pool of fire.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth
had passed away, and the sea was no more.
The Word of the Lord

C11 Revelation 21:1-5a, 6b-7
A Reading from the Book of Revelation
I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth
had passed away, and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
"Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.
He will dwell with them and they will be his people and
God himself will always be with them
as their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning,
wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away."
The one who sat on the throne said,
"Behold, I make all things new."
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty
I will give a gift from the spring of life-giving water.
The victor will inherit these gifts,
and I shall be his God, and he will be my son.
The Word of the Lord