Sunday, January 14, 2024
Liturgical Season:
Special Significance:
II Sunday after Denho
Forty Martyrs of Mount Sinai
St. Devasahayam
Lv 22:26-33
26* The LORD said to Moses: 27When an ox or a lamb or a goat is born, it shall remain with its mother for seven days; only from the eighth day onward will it be acceptable, to be offered as an oblation to the LORD.s 28You shall not slaughter an ox or a sheep on one and the same day with its young. 29Whenever you offer a thanksgiving sacrifice to the LORD, so offer it that it may be acceptable on your behalf; 30it must be eaten on the same day; none of it shall be left over until morning.t I am the LORD.
31Be careful to observe my commandments. I am the LORD. 32Do not profane my holy name, that in the midst of the Israelites I may be hallowed. I, the LORD, make you holy, 33who led you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD.
Prv 8:22-36
22* “The LORD begot me, the beginning of his works,
the forerunner of his deeds of long ago;f
23From of old I was formed,*
at the first, before the earth.g
24* When there were no deeps I was brought forth,
when there were no fountains or springs of water;
25Before the mountains were settled into place,
before the hills, I was brought forth;
26When the earth and the fields were not yet made,
nor the first clods of the world.
27When he established the heavens, there was I,h
when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;
28When he made firm the skies above,
when he fixed fast the springs of the deep;
29When he set for the sea its limit,
so that the waters should not transgress his command;
When he fixed the foundations of earth,
30then was I beside him as artisan;* i
I was his delight day by day,
playing before him all the while,
31Playing over the whole of his earth,
having my delight with human beings.
32* Now, children, listen to me;
happy are they who keep my ways.
33Listen to instruction and grow wise,
do not reject it!
34Happy the one who listens to me,
attending daily at my gates,
keeping watch at my doorposts;
35For whoever finds me finds life,j
and wins favor from the LORD;
Woman Wisdom Issues Her Invitation
Mi 5:1-8
1* But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathaha
least among the clans of Judah,
From you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
Whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
2Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne,*
Then the rest of his kindred shall return
to the children of Israel.b
3He shall take his place as shepherd
by the strength of the LORD,
by the majestic name of the LORD, his God;
And they shall dwell securely, for now his greatness
shall reach to the ends of the earth:
4he shall be peace.*
If Assyria invades our country
and treads upon our land,
We shall raise against it seven shepherds,
eight of royal standing;
5They shall tend the land of Assyria with the sword,
and the land of Nimrod* with the drawn sword;
They will deliver us from Assyria,
when it invades our land,
when it treads upon our borders.
6The remnant of Jacob shall be
in the midst of many peoples,
Like dew coming from the LORD,
like showers on the grass,
Which wait for no one,
delay for no human being.
7And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
Like a lion among beasts of the forest,
like a young lion among flocks of sheep;
When it passes through it tramples;
it tears and no one can rescue.
8Your hand shall be lifted above your foes,
and all your enemies shall be cut down.
Is 51:1-8
1Listen to me, you who pursue justice,
who seek the LORD;
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
to the quarry* from which you were taken;a
2Look to Abraham, your father,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth;
Though he was but one when I called him,
I blessed him and made him many.b
3Yes, the LORD shall comfort Zion,
shall comfort all her ruins;
Her wilderness he shall make like Eden,
her wasteland like the garden of the LORD;
Joy and gladness shall be found in her,
thanksgiving and the sound of song.
4Be attentive to me, my people;*
my nation, give ear to me.
For teaching shall go forth from me,
and my judgment, as light to the peoples.c
5I will make my victory come swiftly;
my salvation shall go forth
and my arm shall judge the nations;
In me the coastlands shall hope,
and my arm they shall await.
6Raise your eyes to the heavens,
look at the earth below;
Though the heavens vanish like smoke,
the earth wear out like a garment
and its inhabitants die like flies,
My salvation shall remain forever
and my victory shall always be firm.*
7Hear me, you who know justice,
you people who have my teaching at heart:
Do not fear the reproach of others;
remain firm at their revilings.
8They shall be like a garment eaten by moths,
like wool consumed by grubs;
But my victory shall remain forever,
my salvation, for all generations.d
1 Pt 1:13-25
Obedience. 13* Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind,* live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance* 15but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct,i 16for it is written, “Be holy because I [am] holy.”j
Reverence. 17Now if you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one’s works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning,k 18realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or goldl 19but with the precious blood of Christm as of a spotless unblemished lamb.* 20He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you, 21who through him believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Mutual Love.* 22Since you have purified yourselves by obedience to the truth for sincere mutual love, love one another intensely from a [pure] heart.n 23You have been born anew,o not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God,* 24for:
“All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flower of the field;
the grass withers,
and the flower wilts;p
25but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
Rom 3:1-8
Answers to Objections. 1* What advantage is there then in being a Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2Much, in every respect. [For] in the first place, they were entrusted with the utterances of God.a 3What if some were unfaithful? Will their infidelity nullify the fidelity of God?b 4Of course not! God must be true, though every human being is a liar,* as it is written:
“That you may be justified in your words,
and conquer when you are judged.”c
5But if our wickedness provides proof of God’s righteousness, what can we say? Is God unjust, humanly speaking, to inflict his wrath?d 6Of course not! For how else is God to judge the world? 7But if God’s truth redounds to his glory through my falsehood, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8And why not say—as we are accused and as some claim we say—that we should do evil that good may come of it? Their penalty is what they deserve.e
Jn 1:43-51
43The next day he* decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”b 46But Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true Israelite.* There is no duplicity in him.” 48* c Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” 49Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God;* you are the King of Israel.”d 50Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?* You will see greater things than this.” 51And he said to him, “Amen, amen,* I say to you, you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”e
Rom 3:21-26
Justification Apart from the Law.* 21But now* the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and the prophets,n 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction;o 23all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.p 24They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus,q 25whom God set forth as an expiation,* through faith, by his blood, to prove his righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed,r 26through the forbearance of God—to prove his righteousness in the present time, that he might be righteous and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
Mt 7:1-6
Judging Others. 1* a “Stop judging,* that you may not be judged.b 2For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.c 3Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? 5You hypocrite,* remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.
Pearls Before Swine. 6“Do not give what is holy to dogs,* or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.d