Saints
Daily Readings:
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First Reading
Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
1King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords, with whom he drank. 2Under the influence of the wine, he ordered the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, to be brought in so that the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers might drink from them. 3When the gold and silver vessels taken from the house of God in Jerusalem had been brought in, and while the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers were drinking 4wine from them, they praised their gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. 5Suddenly, opposite the lampstand, the fingers of a human hand appeared, writing on the plaster of the wall in the king's palace. When the king saw the wrist and hand that wrote, 6his face blanched; his thoughts terrified him, his hip joints shook, and his knees knocked. 13Then Daniel was brought into the presence of the king. The king asked him, "Are you the Daniel, the Jewish exile, whom my father, the king, brought from Judah? 14I have heard that the spirit of God is in you, that you possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom. 16But I have heard that you can interpret dreams and solve difficulties; if you are able to read the writing and tell me what it means, you shall be clothed in purple, wear a gold collar about your neck, and be third in the government of the kingdom." 17Daniel answered the king: "You may keep your gifts, or give your presents to someone else; but the writing I will read for you, O king, and tell you what it means. 23you have rebelled against the Lord of heaven. You had the vessels of his temple brought before you, so that you and your nobles, your wives and your entertainers, might drink wine from them; and you praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, that neither see nor hear nor have intelligence. But the God in whose hand is your life breath and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify. 24By him were the wrist and hand sent, and the writing set down. 25"This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, TEKEL, and PERES. These words mean: 26MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it; 27TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; 28PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians." -
Responsorial Psalm
Daniel 3:62-67
62Sun and moon, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. 63Stars of heaven, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. 64Every shower and dew, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. 65All you winds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. 66Fire and heat, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. 67Cold and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. -
Gospel
Luke 21:12-19
12But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. 13This will be a time for you to bear testimony. 14Settle it therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how to answer; 15for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death; 17you will be hated by all for my name's sake. 18But not a hair of your head will perish. 19By your endurance you will gain your lives.
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First Reading
Ephesians 1:3-14
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. 5He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8which he lavished upon us. 9For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ 10as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11In him, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will, 12we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. -
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 85:2-4, 7-11
1LORD, thou wast favorable to thy land; thou didst restore the fortunes of Jacob. 2Thou didst forgive the iniquity of thy people; thou didst pardon all their sin. [Selah] 3Thou didst withdraw all thy wrath; thou didst turn from thy hot anger. 6Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee? 7Show us thy steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation. 8Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints, to those who turn to him in their hearts. 9Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. 10Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. -
Gospel
Matthew 16:24-27
24Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? 27For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done.
