Psalms; II. New Testament Readings with Responsorial Psalms; III. Gospel Readings with
Alleluia Verses and Verses before the Gospel) taken either from the Lectionary for Mass or
from the propers of the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Lectionary. In accord
with what has been said in the General Introduction of this volume, no. 4c, the celebrant,
with due regard for the mystery being celebrated and for the liturgical season, may use
these texts in place of those provided in any particular Mass formulary.
I. OLD TESTAMENT READINGS
WITH RESPONSORIAL PSALMS
2. FIRST READING
This is nothing else but the house of God and the gate of heaven.
Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and proceeded toward Haran.
When he came upon a certain shrine, as the sun had already set,
he stopped there for the night.
Taking one of the stones at the shrine, he put it under his head
and lay down to sleep at that spot.
Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground,
with its top reaching to the heavens;
and God's messengers were going up and down on it.
And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying:
"I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham
and the God of Isaac;
the land on which you are lying
I will give to you and your descendants.
These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth,
and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south.
In you and your descendants
all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.
Know that I am with you;
I will protect you wherever you go,
and bring you back to this land.
I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you."
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed,
"Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!"
In solemn wonder he cried out: "How awesome is this shrine!
This is nothing else but an abode of God,
and that is the gateway to heaven!"
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Commentary on Gn 28:10-17
The story of the first patriarchs of the Jewish people continues with the story of “Jacob’s Dream.” Jacob takes a stone from a shrine at the holy place he later calls Bethel and uses it for a pillow. He has a dream in which God gives him and his descendants the land.
The notion of God being especially present in a specific physical location represents an ancient Jewish belief (shared by many other ancient near-eastern religions) that God came to earth at “high places” or special places requiring sacrifice to be offered and altars set up. God’s revelation in Christ informs us that God is omnipresent – that is, in all places equally present.
CCC: Gn 28:10-22 2573
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. (2 Chronicles 7:16a) I have chosen and sanctified this house.
The earth and what fills it are the LORD'S,
the world and those who live there.
For God founded it on the seas,
established it over the rivers.
R. I have chosen and sanctified this house.
Who may go up the mountain of the LORD?
Who can stand in that holy place?
"The clean of hand and pure of heart,
who are not devoted to idols,
who have not sworn falsely."
R. I have chosen and sanctified this house.
They will receive blessings from the LORD,
and justice from their saving God.
Such are the people that love the LORD,
that seek the face of the God of Jacob.
R. I have chosen and sanctified this house.
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Commentary on Ps 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
Psalm 24 is a processional song. It recalls that God is the great creator and he calls his people to be faithful. It asks the question: "Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord?" The psalmist answers, only those who are sinless (completely reconciled to God). They who achieve that beatified state will receive the reward of eternal life from the savior. It focuses on the character of the one who worthily seeks God, and the one who is worthy to come into God’s kingdom and stand before him. We are answered: “He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain.”
This is part of a hymn of entrance, sung as the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the Temple at Jerusalem, followed by the faithful. Once again in this song, we find a reference borrowed by St. John’s Revelation (Revelations 14:5), and an image created in the Letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 10:22). Who are the ones allowed full access to God?
CCC: Ps 24:6 2582
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8. FIRST READING
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion.
Thus says the LORD:
Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion,
shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king shall come to you;
a just savior is he,
meek, and riding on an ass,
on a colt, the foal of an ass.
He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,
and the horse from Jerusalem;
the warrior’s bow shall be banished,
and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.
His dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
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Commentary on Zec 9:9-10
The oracle of the Prophet Zechariah speaks of the restoration of Israel following the great exile. In this section he speaks of the coming of the Messiah. “The Messiah will come, not as a conquering warrior, but in lowliness and peace. Not like the last kings of Judah, who rode in chariots and on horses (Jeremiah 17:25; 22:4), but like the princes of old (Genesis 49:11; Judges 5:10; 10:4), the Messiah will ride on an ass. The Evangelists see a literal fulfillment of this prophecy in the Savior's triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:4-5; John 12:14-15).”[1]
CCC: Zec 9:9 559
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. (cf. 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
he shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
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Commentary on Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
Psalm 72 is one of the Royal Psalms. In this selection we hear an echo of the justice and peace of the King’s rule that is reiterated in Isaiah’s prophecy.
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II. NEW TESTAMENT READINGS
WITH RESPONSORIAL PSALMS
12. FIRST READING
As members of Christ all people will be raised, Christ first,
and after him all who belong to him.
Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the Kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death,
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Commentary on 1 Cor 15:20-26
St. Paul reminding us that Christ is the King in heaven and on earth, and that all things (including his Mother, who will be Queen of Heaven) are subject to him. He begins speaking of Jesus as “firstfruits,” which, in the culture of the time, was that offering from the harvest which consecrated the entire harvest. In this case, Jesus' own sacrifice is the salvation of all those who have suffered death in his name. Death entered the world through Adam, and through his sin, the gates of heaven slammed shut. Through Jesus' own resurrection, he was victorious over the final enemy, death itself, and once more flung open the heavenly gates. Hence, we believe he has sovereignty over the living and the dead.
CCC: 1 Cor 15:20-22 655; 1 Cor 15:20 632, 991; 1 Cor 15:21-22 411; 1 Cor 15:24-28 2855; 1 Cor 15:24 668; 1 Cor 15:26 1008
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. (1) Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
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Commentary on Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11
Psalm 16 is song of thanksgiving and praise, in this instance for presence of the Lord and his saving power. It refers to the end times as well: “because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.” The intention of this selection is to remind us that there is a resurrection of the dead, and that we should take heart in God who makes this promise.
CCC: Ps 16:9-10 627
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III GOSPEL READINGS (Alleluia Verses Not Included)
19. GOSPEL
Whoever has done the will of God is my brother, my sister, and my mother.
Mark 3:31-35
III GOSPEL READINGS (Alleluia Verses Not Included)
19. GOSPEL
Whoever has done the will of God is my brother, my sister, and my mother.
Mark 3:31-35
Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
“Your mother and your brothers (and your sisters)
are outside asking for you.”
But he said to them in reply,
“Who are my mother and (my) brothers?”
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
(For) whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.”
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Commentary on Mk 3:31-35
This passage, while affirming our own adoption as brothers and sisters in Christ, does cause some confusion among those who take scripture at face value without understanding the culture of the time. The first part of this reading from St. Mark’s Gospel is somewhat controversial in that many of the Protestant and Evangelical apologists take the term “and his brothers” to mean his familial or biological brothers. The Church teaches that Mary bore only one child – Jesus. Responding to this scripture, Catholic scripture scholars teach that “in Semitic usage, the terms 'brother,' 'sister' are applied not only to children of the same parents, but to nephews, nieces, cousins, half-brothers, and half-sisters; cf Genesis 14:16; Genesis 29:15; Leviticus 10:4.”[1]
Another possible explanation, although it comes from an apocryphal source from the second or third centuries A.D., is that the Lord’s foster father, St. Joseph, had been previously married (and widowed). According to “The History of Joseph the Carpenter” from this first marriage, “[2.]… he begot for himself sons and daughters, four sons, namely, and two daughters. Now these are their names— Judas, Justus, James, and Simon. The names of the two daughters were Assia and Lydia.” These would have been the half-brothers and sisters of the Lord.
Because of this, when Mary comes looking for Jesus in this selection, she is, as would be expected, joined by members of the extended family. Jesus extends the family even further though his adoption of those “seated in the circle” who listen to his word and believe, telling those gathered that “whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
CCC: Mk 3:31-35 500
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(alt.) The Lectionary for Special Masses for the BVM uses a different translation of the psalter than the Lectionary for Mass.
[1] From the reference note on Mark 6; 3 in the NAB
(alt.) The Lectionary for Special Masses for the BVM uses a different translation of the psalter than the Lectionary for Mass.
[1] From the reference note on Mark 6; 3 in the NAB
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