First Reading

Book of the Prophet Malachi (Mal 3: 1-4)

The Lord whom you seek will come to his temple.

Thus says the Lord GOD:

Lo, I am sending my messenger
to prepare the way before me;
And suddenly there will come to the temple
the LORD whom you seek,
And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.
Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
But who will endure the day of his coming?
And who can stand when he appears?
For he is like the refiner’s fire,
or like the fuller’s lye.
He will sit refining and purifying silver,
and he will purify the sons of Levi,
Refining them like gold or like silver
that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.
Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem
will please the LORD,
as in the days of old, as in years gone by.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 24: 7, 8, 9, 10

Who is this king of glory?  It is the Lord!

Lift up, O gates, your lintels;
reach up, you ancient portals,
that the king of glory may come in!

Who is this king of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle.

Lift up, O gates, your lintels;
reach up, you ancient portals,
that the king of glory may come in!

Who is this king of glory?
The LORD of hosts; he is the king of glory.

Second Reading

Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 2: 14-18)

He had to be made like his brethren in every respect.

Since the children share in blood and flesh,
Jesus likewise shared in them,
that through death he might destroy the one
who has the power of death, that is, the Devil,
and free those who through fear of death
had been subject to slavery all their life.
Surely he did not help angels
but rather the descendants of Abraham;
therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters
in every way,
that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God
to expiate the sins of the people.
Because he himself was tested through what he suffered,
he is able to help those who are being tested.

— The word of the Lord.

Gospel

Alleluia. Alleluia.

A light of revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.

Alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 2: 22-40)

My eyes have seen your salvation.

When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord,

Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,

and to offer the sacrifice of
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he should not see death
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.
He came in the Spirit into the temple;
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus
to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

“Now, Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,

“Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
-and you yourself a sword will pierce-
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

There was also a prophetess, Anna,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years,
having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
And coming forward at that very time,
she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.

— The Gospel of the Lord.

Gospel

Alleluia. Alleluia.

A light of revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.

Alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 2: 22-32)

My eyes have seen your salvation.

When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord,

Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,

and to offer the sacrifice of
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he should not see death
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.
He came in the Spirit into the temple;
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus
to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

“Now, Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

First Book of Kings (1 Kgs 2: 1-4, 10-12)

I am going the way of all flesh. Take courage and be a man.

When the time of David’s death drew near,
he gave these instructions to his son Solomon:

“I am going the way of all flesh.
Take courage and be a man.
Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways
and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees
as they are written in the law of Moses,
that you may succeed in whatever you do,
wherever you turn, and the LORD may fulfill
the promise he made on my behalf when he said,

‘If your sons so conduct themselves
that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart
and with their whole soul,
you shall always have someone of your line
on the throne of Israel.’”

David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David.
The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years:
he reigned seven years in Hebron
and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

Solomon was seated on the throne of his father David,
with his sovereignty firmly established.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

1 Chronicles 29: 10, 11ab, 11d-12a, 12bcd

Lord, you are exalted over all.

“Blessed may you be, O LORD,
God of Israel our father,
from eternity to eternity.”

“Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power,
majesty, splendor, and glory.”

“LORD, you are exalted over all.
Yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty;
you are exalted as head over all.
Riches and honor are from you.”

“In your hand are power and might;
it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all.”

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

The Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark (Mk 6: 7-13)

 He began to send them out.

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick
– no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them,

“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”

So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

Second Book of Samuel (2 Sm 24: 2, 9-17)

It is I who have sinned; it is I who have done wrong. But these are sheep; what have they done?

King David said to Joab and the leaders of the army who were with him,

“Tour all the tribes in Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba
and register the people, that I may know their number.”

Joab then reported to the king the number of people registered:
in Israel, eight hundred thousand men fit for military service;
in Judah, five hundred thousand.

Afterward, however, David regretted having numbered the people,
and said to the LORD:

“I have sinned grievously in what I have done.
But now, LORD, forgive the guilt of your servant,
for I have been very foolish.”

When David rose in the morning,
the LORD had spoken to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying:

“Go and say to David, This is what the LORD says:
I offer you three alternatives;
choose one of them, and I will inflict it on you.”

Gad then went to David to inform him.
He asked:

“Do you want a three years’ famine to come upon your land,
or to flee from your enemy three months while he pursues you,
or to have a three days’ pestilence in your land?
Now consider and decide what I must reply to him who sent me.”

David answered Gad:

”I am in very serious difficulty.
Let us fall by the hand of God, for he is most merciful;
but let me not fall by the hand of man.”

Thus David chose the pestilence.
Now it was the time of the wheat harvest
when the plague broke out among the people.
The LORD then sent a pestilence over Israel
from morning until the time appointed,
and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beer-sheba died.
But when the angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it,
the LORD regretted the calamity
and said to the angel causing the destruction among the people,

“Enough now! Stay your hand.”

The angel of the LORD was then standing
at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
When David saw the angel who was striking the people,
he said to the LORD:

“It is I who have sinned;
it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong.
But these are sheep; what have they done?
Punish me and my kindred.”

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 32: 1-2, 5, 6, 7

Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.

Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, “I confess my faults to the LORD,”
and you took away the guilt of my sin.

For this shall every faithful man pray to you
in time of stress.
Though deep waters overflow,
they shall not reach him.

You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me;
with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark (Mk 6: 1-6)

A prophet is not without honor except in his native place.

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place,
accompanied by his disciples.
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astonished.
They said,

“Where did this man get all this?
What kind of wisdom has been given him?
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon?
And are not his sisters here with us?”

And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them,

“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house.”

So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.

— The Gospel of the Lord.