First Reading

First Book of Samuel (1 Sm 9: 1-4, 17-19 ; 10: 1)

This is the man of whom the Lord told you; he is to govern his people.

There was a stalwart man from Benjamin named Kish,
who was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror,
son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite.
He had a son named Saul, who was a handsome young man.
There was no other child of Israel more handsome than Saul;
he stood head and shoulders above the people.

Now the asses of Saul’s father, Kish, had wandered off.
Kish said to his son Saul,

“Take one of the servants with you
and go out and hunt for the asses.”

Accordingly they went through the hill country of Ephraim,
and through the land of Shalishah.
Not finding them there,
they continued through the land of Shaalim without success.
They also went through the land of Benjamin,
but they failed to find the animals.

When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD assured him,

“This is the man of whom I told you; he is to govern my people.”

Saul met Samuel in the gateway and said,

“Please tell me where the seer lives.”

Samuel answered Saul:

“I am the seer.
Go up ahead of me to the high place and eat with me today.
In the morning, before dismissing you,
I will tell you whatever you wish.”

Then, from a flask he had with him, Samuel poured oil on Saul’s head;
he also kissed him, saying:

“The LORD anoints you commander over his heritage.
You are to govern the LORD’s people Israel,
and to save them from the grasp of their enemies roundabout.

This will be the sign for you
that the LORD has anointed you commander over his heritage.”

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 21: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Lord, in your strength the king is glad.

O LORD, in your strength the king is glad;
in your victory how greatly he rejoices!
You have granted him his heart’s desire;
you refused not the wish of his lips.

For you welcomed him with goodly blessings,
you placed on his head a crown of pure gold.
He asked life of you: you gave him
length of days forever and ever.

Great is his glory in your victory;
majesty and splendor you conferred upon him.
For you made him a blessing forever;
you gladdened him with the joy of your face.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Marc (Mk 2: 13-17)

I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.

Jesus went out along the sea.
All the crowd came to him and he taught them.
As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus,
sitting at the customs post.
Jesus said to him,

“Follow me.”

And he got up and followed Jesus.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples;
for there were many who followed him.
Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners
and tax collectors and said to his disciples,

“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus heard this and said to them,

“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

First Book of Samuel (1 Sm 8: 4-7, 10-22a)

You will complain against the king whom you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you.

All the elders of Israel came in a body to Samuel at Ramah
and said to him,

“Now that you are old,
and your sons do not follow your example,
appoint a king over us, as other nations have, to judge us.”

Samuel was displeased when they asked for a king to judge them.
He prayed to the LORD, however, who said in answer:

“Grant the people’s every request.
It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me as their king.”

Samuel delivered the message of the LORD in full
to those who were asking him for a king.
He told them:

“The rights of the king who will rule you will be as follows:
He will take your sons and assign them to his chariots and horses,
and they will run before his chariot.
He will also appoint from among them his commanders of groups
of a thousand and of a hundred soldiers.
He will set them to do his plowing and his harvesting,
and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.
He will use your daughters as ointment makers, as cooks, and as bakers.
He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive groves,
and give them to his officials.
He will tithe your crops and your vineyards,
and give the revenue to his eunuchs and his slaves.
He will take your male and female servants,
as well as your best oxen and your asses,
and use them to do his work.
He will tithe your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves.
When this takes place,
you will complain against the king whom you have chosen,
but on that day the LORD will not answer you.”

The people, however, refused to listen to Samuel’s warning and said,

“Not so! There must be a king over us.
We too must be like other nations,
with a king to rule us and to lead us in warfare
and fight our battles.”

When Samuel had listened to all the people had to say,
he repeated it to the LORD, who then said to him,

“Grant their request and appoint a king to rule them.”

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 89: 16-17, 18-19

For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.

For you are the splendor of their strength,
and by your favor our horn is exalted.
For to the LORD belongs our shield,
and to the Holy One of Israel, our King.

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 Mark (Mk 2: 1-12)

The Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth.

When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days,
it became known that he was at home.
Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them,
not even around the door,
and he preached the word to them.
They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd,
they opened up the roof above him.
After they had broken through,
they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him,

“Child, your sins are forgiven.”

Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves,

“Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming.
Who but God alone can forgive sins?”

Jesus immediately knew in his mind what
they were thinking to themselves,
so he said,

“Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic,
‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’?
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”
— he said to the paralytic,
I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.”

He rose, picked up his mat at once,
and went away in the sight of everyone.
They were all astounded
and glorified God, saying,

“We have never seen anything like this.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

First Book of Samuel (1 Sm 4: 1-11)

Israel was defeated and the ark of God was captured.

The Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel.
Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer,
while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel.
After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines,
who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield.
When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said

“Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today
by the Philistines?
Let us fetch the ark of the Lord from Shiloh
that it may go into battle among us
and save us from the grasp of our enemies.”

So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there
the ark of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim.
The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God.
When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp,
all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded.
The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked,

“What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?”

On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp,
the Philistines were frightened.
They said,

“Gods have come to their camp.”

They said also,

“Woe to us! This has never happened before. Woe to us!
Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods?
These are the gods that struck the Egyptians
with various plagues and with pestilence.
Take courage and be manly, Philistines;
otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews,
as they were your slaves.
So fight manfully!”

The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated;
every man fled to his own tent.
It was a disastrous defeat,
.in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.
The ark of God was captured,
and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 44: 10-11, 14-15, 24-25

Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.

Yet now you have cast us off and put us in disgrace,
and you go not forth with our armies.
You have let us be driven back by our foes;
those who hated us plundered us at will.

You made us the reproach of our neighbors,
the mockery and the scorn of those around us.
You made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.

Why do you hide your face,
forgetting our woe and our oppression?
For our souls are bowed down to the dust,
our bodies are pressed to the earth.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and cured every disease among the people.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark (Mk 1: 40-45)

The leprosy left him and he was made clean.

A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,

“If you wish, you can make me clean.”

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,

“I do will it. Be made clean.”

The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him,

“See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”

The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

— The Gospel of the Lord.