First Reading

First Book of Kings (1 Kgs 18: 41-46)

Elijah prayed again, and the sky gave rain.

Elijah said to Ahab,

“Go up, eat and drink,
for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”

So Ahab went up to eat and drink,
while Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel,
crouched down to the earth,
and put his head between his knees.

“Climb up and look out to sea,”

he directed his servant,
who went up and looked, but reported,

“There is nothing.”

Seven times he said,

“Go, look again!”

And the seventh time the youth reported,

“There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.”

Elijah said,

“Go and say to Ahab,
‘Harness up and leave the mountain before the rain stops you.’”

In a trice the sky grew dark with clouds and wind,
and a heavy rain fell.
Ahab mounted his chariot and made for Jezreel.
But the hand of the LORD was on Elijah,
who girded up his clothing and ran before Ahab
as far as the approaches to Jezreel.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 65: 10, 11, 12-13

It is right to praise you in Zion, O God.

You have visited the land and watered it;
greatly have you enriched it.
God’s watercourses are filled;
you have prepared the grain.

Thus have you prepared the land:
drenching its furrows, breaking up its clods,
Softening it with showers,
blessing its yield.

You have crowned the year with your bounty,
and your paths overflow with a rich harvest;
The untilled meadows overflow with it,
and rejoicing clothes the hills.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 5: 20-26)

Whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.

Jesus said to his disciples:

“I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment,
and whoever says to his brother, Raqa,
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

First Book of Kings (1 Kgs 18: 20-39)

That this people may know that you, LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to their senses.

Ahab sent to all the children of Israel
and had the prophets assemble on Mount Carmel.

Elijah appealed to all the people and said,

“How long will you straddle the issue?
If the LORD is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him.”

The people, however, did not answer him.
So Elijah said to the people,

“I am the only surviving prophet of the LORD,
and there are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal.
Give us two young bulls.
Let them choose one, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood,
but start no fire.
I shall prepare the other and place it on the wood,
but shall start no fire.
You shall call on your gods, and I will call on the LORD.
The God who answers with fire is God.”

All the people answered,

“Agreed!”

Elijah then said to the prophets of Baal,

“Choose one young bull and prepare it first,
for there are more of you.
Call upon your gods, but do not start the fire.”

Taking the young bull that was turned over to them, they prepared it
and called on Baal from morning to noon, saying,

“Answer us, Baal!”

But there was no sound, and no one answering.
And they hopped around the altar they had prepared.
When it was noon, Elijah taunted them:

“Call louder, for he is a god and may be meditating,
or may have retired, or may be on a journey.
Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”

They called out louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears,
as was their custom, until blood gushed over them.
Noon passed and they remained in a prophetic state
until the time for offering sacrifice.
But there was not a sound;
no one answered, and no one was listening.

Then Elijah said to all the people,

” Come here to me.”

When the people had done so, he repaired the altar of the LORD
that had been destroyed.
He took twelve stones, for the number of tribes of the sons of Jacob,
to whom the LORD had said,

“Your name shall be Israel.”

He built an altar in honor of the LORD with the stones,
and made a trench around the altar
large enough for two measures of grain.
When he had arranged the wood,
he cut up the young bull and laid it on the wood.

“Fill four jars with water,”

he said,

“and pour it over the burnt offering and over the wood.”

“Do it again,”

he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,”

he said,
and they did it a third time.
The water flowed around the altar,
and the trench was filled with the water.

At the time for offering sacrifice,
the prophet Elijah came forward and said,

“LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
let it be known this day that you are God in Israel
and that I am your servant
and have done all these things by your command.
Answer me, LORD!
Answer me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God
and that you have brought them back to their senses.”

The LORD’s fire came down
and consumed the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust,
and it lapped up the water in the trench.
Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said,

“The LORD is God! The LORD is God!”

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 16: 1b-2ab, 4, 5ab and 8, 11

Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.

Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”

They multiply their sorrows
who court other gods.
Blood libations to them I will not pour out,
nor will I take their names upon my lips.

O LORD, my allotted portion and cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Teach me your paths, my God, and guide me in your truth.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 5: 17-19)

I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

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.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

Actts of the Apostles (Acts 11: 21b-26 ; 13: 1-3)

He was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.

In those days a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem,
and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw the grace of God,
he rejoiced and encouraged them all
to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart,
for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.
And a large number of people was added to the Lord.
Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch.
For a whole year they met with the Church
and taught a large number of people,
and it was in Antioch that the disciples
were first called Christians.Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger,
Lucius of Cyrene,
Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,

“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.”

Then, completing their fasting and prayer,
they laid hands on them and sent them off.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 98: 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.

Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.

The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.

Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Let your light shine before others That they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 5: 13-16)

You are the salt of the earth.

Jesus said to his disciples:

“You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.