Readings for the 1st wk of Lent
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List of Readings
1st Sunday of Lent
First Reading: Genesis 9:8-15
8Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying,
9"Now behold, (A)I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you;
10and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth.
11"I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall (B)never again be cut off by the water of the flood, (C)neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth."
12God said, "This is (D)the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations;
13I set My (E)bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.
14"It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud,
15and (F)I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and (G)never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.

Second Reading: First Peter 3:18-22
18For (A)Christ also died for sins (B)once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might (C)bring us to God, having been put to death (D)in the flesh, but made alive (E)in the spirit;
19in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,
20who once were disobedient, when the (F)patience of God (G)kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of (H)the ark, in which a few, that is, (I)eight (J)persons, were brought safely through the water.
21(K)Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you--(L)not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a (M)good conscience--through (N)the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
22(O)who is at the right hand of God, (P)having gone into heaven, (Q)after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.

Gospel: Mark 1:12-15
12(A)Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.
13And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by (B)Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.
Jesus Preaches in Galilee
14(C)Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, (D)preaching the gospel of God,
15and saying, "(E)The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; (F)repent and believe in the gospel."


Monday

First Reading: Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18
1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
2"Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, '(A)You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.
11'(A)You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, (B)nor lie to one another.
12'(C)You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to (D)profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.
13'(E)You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him (F)The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.
14'You shall not curse a deaf man, nor (G)place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the LORD.
15'(H)You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
16'You shall not go about as (I)a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the (J)life of your neighbor; I am the LORD.
17'You (K)shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you (L)may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him.
18'(M)You shall not take vengeance, (N)nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but (O)you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.

Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46
31"But when (A)the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then (B)He will sit on His glorious throne.
32"All the nations will be (C)gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, (D)as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
33and He will put the sheep (E)on His right, and the goats (F)on the left.
34"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, (G)inherit the kingdom prepared for you (H)from the foundation of the world.
35'For (I)I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; (J)I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36(K)naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you (L)visited Me; (M)I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
38'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
39'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
40"(N)The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, (O)to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
41"Then He will also say to those on His left, '(P)Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the (Q)eternal fire which has been prepared for (R)the devil and his angels;
42for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
43I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
44"Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'
45"Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'
46"These will go away into (S)eternal punishment, but the righteous into (T)eternal life."

Tuesday

First Reading: Isaiah 55:10-11
10"For as the (A)rain and the snow come down from heaven,
         And do not return there without watering the earth
         And making it bear and sprout,
         And furnishing (B)seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
    11So will My (C)word be which goes forth from My mouth;
         It will (D)not return to Me empty,
         Without (E)accomplishing what I desire,
         And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15
7"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their (A)many words.
8"So do not be like them; for (B)your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
9"(C)Pray, then, in this way:
         'Our Father who is in heaven,
         Hallowed be Your name.
    10'(D)Your kingdom come
         (E)Your will be done,
         On earth as it is in heaven.
    11'(F)Give us this day our daily bread.
    12'And (G)forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
    13'And do not lead us into temptation, but (H)deliver us from (I)evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'
14"(J)For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15"But (K)if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Wednesday

First Reading: Jonah 3:1-10
1Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying,
2"Arise, go to (A)Nineveh the great city and (B)proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you."
3So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was [a]an (C)exceedingly great city, a three days' walk.
4Then Jonah began to go through the city one day's walk; and he (D)cried out and said, "Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown."
5Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a (E)fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.
6When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, (F)covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes.
7He issued a (G)proclamation and it said, "In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water.
8"But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men (H)call on God earnestly that each may (I)turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands.
9"(J)Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish."
10When God saw their deeds, that they (K)turned from their wicked way, then (L)God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.

Gospel: Luke 11:29-32
29As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "(A)This generation is a wicked generation; it (B)seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah.
30"For just as (C)Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
31"The (D)Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
32"The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because (E)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Thursday

First Reading: Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25
12  Raising the golden scepter, he touched her neck with it, embraced her, and said, "Speak to me."
14  For you are awesome, my lord, though your glance is full of kindness."
15 for I am taking my life in my hand.
16  As a child I was wont to hear from the people of the land of my forefathers that you, O Lord, chose Israel from among all peoples, and our fathers from among all their ancestors, as a lasting heritage, and that you fulfilled all your promises to them.
23  Be mindful of us, O Lord. Manifest yourself in the time of our distress and give me courage, King of gods and Ruler of every power.
24  Put in my mouth persuasive words in the presence of the lion, and turn his heart to hatred for our enemy, so that he and those who are in league with him may perish.
25  Save us by your power, and help me, who am alone and have no one but you, O Lord. "You know all things.

Gospel: Matthew 7:7-12
7"(A)Ask, and (B)it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8"For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
9"Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?
10"Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?
11"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, (C)how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
12"In everything, (D)therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for (E)this is the Law and the Prophets.

Friday

First Reading: Ezekiel 18:21-28
21"But if the (A)wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
22"(B)All his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his (C)righteousness which he has practiced, he will live.
23"(D)Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked," declares the Lord GOD, "rather than that he should (E)turn from his ways and live?
24"But when a righteous man (F)turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live? (G)All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his (H)treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.
25"Yet you say, '(I)The way of the Lord is not right ' Hear now, O house of Israel! Is (J)My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right?
26"When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and dies because of it, for his iniquity which he has committed he will die.
27"Again, when a wicked man turns away (K)from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life.
28"Because he considered and turned away from all his transgressions which he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die

Gospel: Matthew 5:20-26
20"For I say to you that unless your (A)righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Personal Relationships
21"(B)You have heard that the ancients were told, '(C)YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be [a]liable to (D)the court.'
22"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before (E)the court; and whoever says to his brother, '[b]You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before [c](F)the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the [d](G)fiery hell.
23"Therefore if you are (H)presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be (I)reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
25"(J)Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.

26"Truly I say to you, (K)you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last [e]cent.

Saturday

First Reading: Deuteronomy 26:16-19
16"This day the LORD your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore be careful to do them (A)with all your heart and with all your soul.
17"(B)You have today declared the LORD to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice.
18"The LORD has today declared you to be (C)His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments;
19and that He will (D)set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be (E)a consecrated people to the LORD your God, as He has spoken."

Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48
43"(A)You have heard that it was said, '(B)YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR (C)and hate your enemy.'
44"But I say to you, (D)love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45so that you may be (E)sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
46"For (F)if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47"If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
48"Therefore (G)you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.