First Reading

First Letter of Saint John (1 Jn 1: 5 — 2: 2)

The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.

Beloved:
This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ
and proclaim to you:
God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.
If we say, “We have fellowship with him,”
while we continue to walk in darkness,
we lie and do not act in truth.
But if we walk in the light as he is in the light,
then we have fellowship with one another,
and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
If we say, “We are without sin,”
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just
and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.
If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us.

My children, I am writing this to you
so that you may not commit sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He is expiation for our sins,
and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 124: 2-3, 4-5, 7cd-8

Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler’s snare.

Had not the LORD been with us —
When men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed against us.

Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept the raging waters.

Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

Gospel

Alleluia. Alleluia.

We praise you, O God, we acclaim you as Lord; the white-robed army of martyrs praise you.

Alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 2: 13-18)

Herod killed all the male children un Bethlehem.

When the magi had departed, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,

“Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”

Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,

Out of Egypt I called my son.

When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:

A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

First Letter of Saint John (1 Jn 1: 1-4)

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you.

Beloved:
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life —
for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father and was made visible to us —
what we have seen and heard
we proclaim now to you,
so that you too may have fellowship with us;
for our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 97: 1-2, 5-6, 11-12

Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are around him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.

The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.

Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.

Gospel

Alleluia. Alleluia.

We praise you, O God, we acclaim you as Lord; the glorious company of Apostles praise you.

Alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John (Jn 20: 1a and 2-8)

The other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

On the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,

“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we do not know where they put him.”

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

The Acts of the Apostles (Acts 6: 8-10; 7: 54-59)

Behold, I see the heavens opened.

Stephen, filled with grace and power,
was working great wonders and signs among the people.
Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen,
Cyrenians, and Alexandrians,
and people from Cilicia and Asia,
came forward and debated with Stephen,
but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.

When they heard this, they were infuriated,
and they ground their teeth at him.
But he, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked up intently to heaven
and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and he said,

“Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man
standing at the right hand of God.”

But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears,
and rushed upon him together.
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.
The witnesses laid down their cloaks
at the feet of a young man named Saul.
As they were stoning Stephen, he called out

“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 31: 3cd-4, 6 and 8ab, 16bc and 17

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety.
You are my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake you will lead and guide me.

Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
I will rejoice and be glad because of your mercy.

Rescue me from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.

Gospel

Alleluia. Alleluia.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD: the LORD is God and has given us light.

Alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 10: 17-22)

It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father.

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts
and scourge you in their synagogues,
and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake
as a witness before them and the pagans.
When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will hand over brother to death,
and the father his child;
children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.