UPCOMING MASS REFLECTIONS IN PROGRESS

  FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME First Reading Isaiah 66:10-14 (NRSV) A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her- that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious bosom. For thus says the Lord: "I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm, and dandled on her knees. As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. "You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bodies shall flourish like the grass; and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with his servants." The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Responsorial Psalm Ps 65:1-7, 16, 20 (JB) R.  Let all the earth cry out to God with joy. Cry out with joy to God all the ear

  First Reading 1 Kings 19:16, 19-21 (NRSV) A reading from the first book of Kings The Lord spoke to the prophet Elijah and said, "You shall anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat, as prophet in your place." So Elijah set out from there, and found Elisha, who was ploughing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by Elisha and threw his mantle over him. Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." Then Elijah said to him, "Go back again; for what have I done to you?" Elisha returned from following Elijah, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then Elisha set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Responsorial Psalm Ps 15:1-2, 5, 7-11 (JB) R.  You are my inheritance, O Lord. Preserve me, God, I

First Reading Genesis 14:18-20 (NRSV) A reading from the book of Genesis When Abram heard that his nephew, Lot, had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, and routed the abductors. After Abram's return King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. He blessed Abram and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" And Abram gave him one tenth of everything. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Responsorial Psalm Ps 109:1-4 (JB) R.  You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek. The Lord's revelation to my Master: 'Sit on my right: I will put your foes beneath your feet.'  R. The Lord will send from Zion your sceptre of power: rule in the midst of all your foes.  R. A prince from the day of your birth on the holy mountains; from the womb before the daybreak I begot you.  R. The Lord has sworn an oath h

  First Reading Proverbs 8:22-31 (NRSV) A reading from the book of Proverbs Thus says the wisdom of God: "The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. "Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth- when he had not yet made earth and fields, or the world's first bits of soil. "When he established the heavens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delightin

  THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD First Reading Acts 1:1-11 (NRSV) A reading from the Acts of the Apostles In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own aut