Frist Reading

Book of Ezra (Ezr 9: 5-9)

In our servitude, our God has not abandoned us.

At the time of the evening sacrifice, I, Ezra, rose in my wretchedness,
and with cloak and mantle torn I fell on my knees,
stretching out my hands to the LORD, my God.

I said:

“My God, I am too ashamed and confounded to raise my face to you,
O my God, for our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads
and our guilt reaches up to heaven.
From the time of our fathers even to this day
great has been our guilt,
and for our wicked deeds we have been delivered up,
we and our kings and our priests,
to the will of the kings of foreign lands,
to the sword, to captivity, to pillage, and to disgrace,
as is the case today.

And now, but a short time ago, mercy came to us from the LORD, our God,
who left us a remnant and gave us a stake in his holy place;
thus our God has brightened our eyes
and given us relief in our servitude.
For slaves we are, but in our servitude our God has not abandoned us;
rather, he has turned the good will
of the kings of Persia toward us.
Thus he has given us new life
to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins,
and has granted us a fence in Judah and Jerusalem.”

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Tobit 13: 2, 3-4a, 4befghn, 7-8

Blessed be God, who lives for ever.

He scourges and then has mercy;
he casts down to the depths of the nether world,
and he brings up from the great abyss.
No one can escape his hand.

Praise him, you children of Israel, before the Gentiles,
for though he has scattered you among them,
he has shown you his greatness even there.

So now consider what he has done for you,
and praise him with full voice.
Bless the Lord of righteousness,
and exalt the King of ages.

In the land of my exile I praise him
and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation.

Bless the Lord, all you his chosen ones,
and may all of you praise his majesty.
Celebrate days of gladness, and give him praise.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

The Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 9: 1-6)

He sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority
over all demons and to cure diseases,
and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God
and to heal the sick.
He said to them,

“Take nothing for the journey,
neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money,
and let no one take a second tunic.
Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there.
And as for those who do not welcome you,
when you leave that town,
shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.”

Then they set out and went from village to village
proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

Book of Ezra (Ezr 6: 7-8, 12b, 14-20)

They finished building the house of God and the exiles kept the Passover.

King Darius issued an order to the officials
of West-of-Euphrates:

“Let the governor and the elders of the Jews
continue the work on that house of God;
they are to rebuild it on its former site.
I also issue this decree
concerning your dealing with these elders of the Jews
in the rebuilding of that house of God:
From the royal revenue, the taxes of West-of-Euphrates,
let these men be repaid for their expenses, in full and without delay.
I, Darius, have issued this decree;
let it be carefully executed.”

The elders of the Jews continued to make progress in the building,
supported by the message of the prophets,
Haggai and Zechariah, son of Iddo.
They finished the building according to the command
of the God of Israel
and the decrees of Cyrus and Darius
and of Artaxerxes, king of Persia.
They completed this house on the third day of the month Adar,
in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
The children of Israel–priests, Levites,
and the other returned exiles–
celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
For the dedication of this house of God,
they offered one hundred bulls,
two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs,
together with twelve he-goats as a sin-offering for all Israel,
in keeping with the number of the tribes of Israel.
Finally, they set up the priests in their classes
and the Levites in their divisions
for the service of God in Jerusalem,
as is prescribed in the book of Moses.

The exiles kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.
The Levites, every one of whom had purified himself for the occasion,
sacrificed the Passover for the rest of the exiles,
for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 122: 1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5

Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

I rejoiced because they said to me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD.”
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.

According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 8: 19-21)

 My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.

The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him
but were unable to join him because of the crowd.
He was told,

“Your mother and your brothers are standing outside
and they wish to see you.”

He said to them in reply,

“My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.