First Reading

First Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy (1 Tm 3: 1-13)

A bishop must be irreproachable, the deacons must be holding fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

Beloved, this saying is trustworthy:
whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task.
Therefore, a bishop must be irreproachable,
married only once, temperate, self-controlled,
decent, hospitable, able to teach,
not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle,
not contentious, not a lover of money.
He must manage his own household well,
keeping his children under control with perfect dignity;
for if a man does not know how to manage his own household,
how can he take care of the Church of God?
He should not be a recent convert,
so that he may not become conceited
and thus incur the Devil's punishment.
He must also have a good reputation among outsiders,
so that he may not fall into disgrace, the Devil's trap.

Similarly, deacons must be dignified, not deceitful,
not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain,
holding fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.
Moreover, they should be tested first;
then, if there is nothing against them,
let them serve as deacons.
Women, similarly, should be dignified, not slanderers,
but temperate and faithful in everything.
Deacons may be married only once
and must manage their children and their households well.
Thus those who serve well as deacons gain good standing
and much confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 101: 1b-2ab. 2cd-3ab. 5. 6

I will walk with blameless heart.

Of mercy and judgment I will sing;
to you, O LORD, I will sing praise.
I will persevere in the way of integrity;
when will you come to me?

I will walk with blameless heart,
within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
any base thing.

Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret,
him will I destroy.
The man of haughty eyes and puffed up heart
I will not endure.

My eyes are upon the faithful of the land,
that they may dwell with me.
He who walks in the way of integrity
shall be in my service.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

A great prophet has arisen in our midst and God has visited his people.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 7: 11-17)

Young man, I tell you, arise!

Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain,
and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him.
As he drew near to the gate of the city,
a man who had died was being carried out,
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.
A large crowd from the city was with her.
When the Lord saw her,
he was moved with pity for her and said to her,

“Do not weep.”

He stepped forward and touched the coffin;
at this the bearers halted,
and he said,

“Young man, I tell you, arise!”

The dead man sat up and began to speak,
and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming,

“A great prophet has arisen in our midst,”

and

“God has visited his people.”

This report about him spread through the whole of Judea
and in all the surrounding region.

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

First Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy (1 Tm 2: 1-8)

I ask that prayers be offered for everyone to God, who wills everyone to be saved.

Beloved:
First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,
petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,
for kings and for all in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life
in all devotion and dignity.
This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
who wills everyone to be saved
and to come to knowledge of the truth.

For there is one God.
There is also one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as ransom for all.

This was the testimony at the proper time.
For this I was appointed preacher and Apostle
(I am speaking the truth, I am not lying),
teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray,
lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 28: 2, 7, 8-9

Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.

Hear the sound of my pleading, when I cry to you,
lifting up my hands toward your holy shrine.

The LORD is my strength and my shield.
In him my heart trusts, and I find help;
then my heart exults, and with my song I give him thanks.

The LORD is the strength of his people,
the saving refuge of his anointed.
Save your people, and bless your inheritance;
feed them, and carry them forever!

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 7: 1-10)

Not even in Israel have I found such faith.

When Jesus had finished all his words to the people,
he entered Capernaum.
A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die,
and he was valuable to him.
When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him,
asking him to come and save the life of his slave.
They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying,

“He deserves to have you do this for him,
for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.”

And Jesus went with them,
but when he was only a short distance from the house,
the centurion sent friends to tell him,

“Lord, do not trouble yourself,
for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.
Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you;
but say the word and let my servant be healed.
For I too am a person subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, Go, and he goes;
and to another, Come here, and he comes;
and to my slave, Do this, and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him
and, turning, said to the crowd following him,

“I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”

When the messengers returned to the house,
they found the slave in good health.

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

The Wisdom of Ben Sira (Sir 27: 30 — 28: 7)

Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.

Wrath and anger are hateful things,
yet the sinner hugs them tight.
The vengeful will suffer the LORD’s vengeance,
for he remembers their sins in detail.
Forgive your neighbor’s injustice;
then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.
Could anyone nourish anger against another
and expect healing from the LORD?
Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself,
can he seek pardon for his own sins?
If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath,
who will forgive his sins?
Remember your last days, set enmity aside;
remember death and decay, and cease from sin!
Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor;
remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 103: 1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12

The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits

He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.

He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.

Second Reading

Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (Rom 14: 7-9)

Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

Brothers and sisters:
None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.
For if we live, we live for the Lord,
and if we die, we die for the Lord;
so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For this is why Christ died and came to life,
that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

— The word of the Lord.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

I give you a new commandment, says the Lord; love one another as I have loved you.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 18: 21-35)

I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,

“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive?
As many as seven times?”

Jesus answered,

“I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,

‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’

Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,

‘Pay back what you owe.’

Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,

‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

But he refused.
Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master
and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him,

‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’

Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.