First Reading

Book of Nehemiah (Neh 2: 1-8)

If it please the king, send me to the city of my ancestors’ graves, to rebuild it.

In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,
when the wine was in my charge,
I took some and offered it to the king.
As I had never before been sad in his presence,
the king asked me,

“Why do you look sad?
If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart.”

Though I was seized with great fear, I answered the king:

“May the king live forever!
How could I not look sad
when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins,
and its gates have been eaten out by fire?”

The king asked me,

“What is it, then, that you wish?”

I prayed to the God of heaven and then answered the king:

“If it please the king,
and if your servant is deserving of your favor,
send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’ graves,
to rebuild it.”

Then the king, and the queen seated beside him,
asked me how long my journey would take
and when I would return.
I set a date that was acceptable to him,
and the king agreed that I might go.

I asked the king further:

“If it please the king,
let letters be given to me for the governors
of West-of-Euphrates,
that they may afford me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah;
also a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the royal park,
that he may give me wood for timbering the gates
of the temple-citadel and for the city wall
and the house that I shall occupy.”

The king granted my requests,
for the favoring hand of my God was upon me.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 137: 1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.

Though there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
“Sing for us the songs of Zion!”

How could we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!

May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

I consider all things so much rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 9: 57-62)

I will follow you wherever you go.

As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding
on their journey, someone said to him,

“I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus answered him,

“Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”

And to another he said,

“Follow me.”

But he replied,

“Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”

But he answered him,

“Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”

And another said,

“I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home.”

Jesus answered him,

“No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

Frist Reading

Book of Zechariah (Zec 8: 20-23)

Many peoples shall come to seek the LORD in Jerusalem.

Thus says the LORD of hosts:
There shall yet come peoples,
the inhabitants of many cities;
and the inhabitants of one city shall approach those of another,
and say,

“Come! let us go to implore the favor of the LORD”;

and,

“I too will go to seek the LORD.”

Many peoples and strong nations shall come
to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem
and to implore the favor of the LORD.
Thus says the LORD of hosts:
In those days ten men of every nationality,
speaking different tongues, shall take hold,
yes, take hold of every Jew by the edge of his garment and say,

“Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 87: 1b-3, 4-5, 6-7

God is with us.

His foundation upon the holy mountains
the LORD loves:
The gates of Zion,
more than any dwelling of Jacob.
Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God!

I tell of Egypt and Babylon
among those that know the LORD;
Of Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia:
“This man was born there.”
And of Zion they shall say:
“One and all were born in her;
And he who has established her
is the Most High LORD.”

They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled:
“This man was born there.”
And all shall sing, in their festive dance:
“My home is within you.”

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 9: 51-56)

They would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled,
he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,
and he sent messengers ahead of him.
On the way they entered a Samaritan village
to prepare for his reception there,
but they would not welcome him
because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.
When the disciples James and John saw this they asked,

“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven
to consume them?”

Jesus turned and rebuked them,
and they journeyed to another village.

— The Gospel of the Lord.