First Reading

Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians (Eph 2: 19-22)

You are built upon the foundation of the Apostles.

Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 117: 1bc, 2

Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!

For steadfast is his kindness for us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord; blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe!

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John (Jn 20: 24-29)

My Lord and my God!

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him,

“We have seen the Lord.”

But Thomas said to them,

“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said,

“Peace be with you.”

Then he said to Thomas,

“Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”

Thomas answered and said to him,

“My Lord and my God!”

Jesus said to him,

“Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

Acts of the Apostles (Acts 12: 1-11)

Now I know for certain that the Lord rescued me from the hand of Herod.

In those days, King Herod laid hands upon some members of the Church to harm them.
He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword,
and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews
he proceeded to arrest Peter also.
– It was the feast of Unleavened Bread. –
He had him taken into custody and put in prison
under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each.
He intended to bring him before the people after Passover.
Peter thus was being kept in prison,
but prayer by the Church was fervently being made
to God on his behalf.

On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial,
Peter, secured by double chains,
was sleeping between two soldiers,
while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison.
Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him
and a light shone in the cell.
He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying,

“Get up quickly.”

The chains fell from his wrists.
The angel said to him,

“Put on your belt and your sandals.”

He did so.
Then he said to him,

“Put on your cloak and follow me.”

So he followed him out,
not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real;
he thought he was seeing a vision.
They passed the first guard, then the second,
and came to the iron gate leading out to the city,
which opened for them by itself.
They emerged and made their way down an alley,
and suddenly the angel left him.
Then Peter recovered his senses and said,

“Now I know for certain
that the Lord sent his angel
and rescued me from the hand of Herod
and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.”

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.

Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.

The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.

Second Reading

Second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy (2 Tm 4: 6-8, 17-18)

Now the crown of righteousness awaits me.

I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race;
I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.

The Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it.
And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat
and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom.
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

— The word of the Lord.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 16: 13-19)

You are Peter, and I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,

“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

They replied,

“Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

He said to them,

“But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter said in reply,

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus said to him in reply,

“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

Book of Isaiah (Is 49: 1-6)

I will make you a light to the nations.

Hear me, O coastlands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.

Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

139: 1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15

I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.

O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.

Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.

My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.

Second Reading

Acts of the Apostles (Acts 13: 22-26)

John had preached before Christ’s coming.

In those days, Paul said:

“God raised up David as king;
of him God testified,
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,

‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.’

My brothers, sons of the family of Abraham,
and those others among you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of salvation has been sent.”

— The word of the Lord.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

You, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 1: 57-66, 80)

John is his name.

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,

“No. He will be called John.”

But they answered her,

“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”

So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote,

“John is his name,” and all were amazed.

Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,

“What, then, will this child be?”

For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
The child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel.

— The Gospel of the Lord.