2021-08-15 | St. Mary, Queen of Peace Syro-Malankara Catholic Eparchy in USA and Canada

Ex 23:20-29

Reward of Fidelity. 20See, I am sending an angel^j before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. 21Be attentive to him and obey him. Do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your sin. My authority is within him.^* 22If you obey him and carry out all I tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.

23My angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites; and I will wipe them out. 24Therefore, you shall not bow down to their gods and serve them, nor shall you act as they do; rather, you must demolish them and smash their sacred stones.^* ^k 25You shall serve the LORD, your God; then he will bless your food and drink, and I will remove sickness from your midst; 26no woman in your land will be barren or miscarry; and I will give you a full span of life.

27I will have the terror of me precede you, so that I will throw into panic every nation you reach.^l I will make all your enemies turn from you in flight, 28and ahead of you I will send hornets^* to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 29But I will not drive them all out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals multiply against you.

Josh 1:10-18

So Joshua commanded the officers of the people: “Go through the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for three days from now you shall cross the Jordan here, to march in and possess the land the LORD, your God, is giving as your possession.’”

Joshua addressed the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh: “Remember what Moses, the servant of the LORD, commanded you when he said, ‘The LORD, your God, is about to give you rest; he will give you this land.’ Your wives, your children, and your livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you here beyond the Jordan. But all the warriors among you must cross over armed, ahead of your kindred, and you must help them until the LORD has settled your kindred, and they like you possess the land the LORD, your God, is giving them. Afterward you may return and possess your own land, which Moses, the servant of the

Hos 11:1-6

1^* When Israel was a child I loved him,^a

out of Egypt^* I called my son.^b

2The more I called them,

the farther they went from me,

Sacrificing to the Baals

and burning incense to idols.

3Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,

who took them in my arms;^c

but they did not know that I cared for them.

4I drew them with human cords,

with bands of love;^*

I fostered them like those

who raise an infant to their cheeks;

I bent down to feed them.^d

5He shall return to the land of Egypt,^e

Assyria shall be his king,

because they have refused to repent.

6The sword shall rage in his cities:

it shall destroy his diviners,

and devour them because of their schemings.

1 Cor 10:7-13

7And do not become idolaters, as some of them did, as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.”^f 8Let us not indulge in immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell within a single day.^g 9Let us not test Christ^* as some of them did, and suffered death by serpents.^h 10Do not grumble as some of them did, and suffered death by the destroyer.ⁱ 11These things happened to them as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us, upon whom the end of the ages has come.^* 12Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.^* 13No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.^j

Mk 12:38-44

Denunciation of the Scribes.^* 38In the course of his teaching he said,^p “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, 39seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. 40They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.”

The Poor Widow’s Contribution.^* 41He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.^q Many rich people put in large sums. 42A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. 43Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. 44For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”

Mt 12:46-50

The True Family of Jesus.^* 46^x While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. 47[Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.”]^* 48But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

Josh 4:1-14

After the entire nation had completed the crossing of the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua: Choose twelve men from the people, one from each tribe, and command them, “Take up twelve stones from this spot in the Jordan riverbed where the priests have been standing. Carry them over with you, and place them where you are to stay tonight.”

Summoning the twelve men he had selected from among the Israelites, one from each tribe, Joshua said to them: “Go to the Jordan riverbed in front of the ark of the LORD, your God; lift to your shoulders one stone apiece, so that they will equal in number the tribes of the Israelites. In the future, these are to be a sign among you. When your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ you shall answer them, ‘The waters of the Jordan ceased to flow before the ark of the covenant of the LORD when it crossed the Jordan.’ Thus these stones are to serve as a perpetual memorial

Ps 45:9-17

9With myrrh, aloes, and cassia

your robes are fragrant.

From ivory-paneled palaces^*

stringed instruments bring you joy.

10Daughters of kings are your lovely wives;

a princess arrayed in Ophir’s gold^*

comes to stand at your right hand.

11Listen, my daughter, and understand;

pay me careful heed.

Forget your people and your father’s house,^*

12that the king might desire your beauty.

He is your lord;

13^dhonor him, daughter of Tyre.

Then the richest of the people

will seek your favor with gifts.

14All glorious is the king’s daughter as she enters,^e

her raiment threaded with gold;

15In embroidered apparel she is led to the king.

The maids of her train are presented to the king.

16They are led in with glad and joyous acclaim;

they enter the palace of the king.

17The throne of your fathers your sons will have;

you shall make them princes through all the land.^f

Acts 7:44-53

44Our ancestors had the tent of testimony in the desert just as the One who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern he had seen.^g 45Our ancestors who inherited it brought it with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out from before our ancestors, up to the time of David,^h 46who found favor in the sight of God and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob.ⁱ 47But Solomon built a house for him.^j 48Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:^k

49‘The heavens are my throne,

the earth is my footstool.

What kind of house can you build for me?

says the Lord,

or what is to be my resting place?^l

50Did not my hand make all these things?’

Conclusion. 51“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. 52Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.^m 53You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.”ⁿ

Heb 9:1-12

The Worship of the First Covenant.^* 1Now [even] the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. 2For a tabernacle was constructed, the outer one,^* in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of offering; this is called the Holy Place.^a 3^* Behind the second veil was the tabernacle called the Holy of Holies,^b 4in which were the gold altar of incense^* and the ark of the covenant entirely covered with gold. In it were the gold jar containing the manna, the staff of Aaron that had sprouted, and the tablets of the covenant.^c 5^* Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the place of expiation. Now is not the time to speak of these in detail.^d

6With these arrangements for worship, the priests, in performing their service,^* go into the outer tabernacle repeatedly,^e 7but the high priest alone goes into the inner one once a year, not without blood^* that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people.^f 8In this way the holy Spirit shows that the way into the sanctuary had not yet been revealed while the outer tabernacle still had its place. 9This is a symbol of the present time,^* in which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper in conscience 10but only in matters of food and drink and various ritual washings: regulations concerning the flesh, imposed until the time of the new order.^g

Sacrifice of Jesus. 11^* But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be,^* passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation,^h 12he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.ⁱ

Jn 19:25-27

25^* ^m Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. 26When Jesus saw his mother^* and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”ⁿ 27Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

St. Mary, Queen of Peace Syro-Malankara Catholic Eparchy in USA and Canada