Daily Reading

Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers and sisters
(there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons
in the one place).
He said, “My brothers and sisters,
the Scripture had to be fulfilled
which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand
through the mouth of David, concerning Judas,
who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus.
Judas was numbered among us
and was allotted a share in this ministry.
For it is written in the Book of Psalms:
            Let his encampment become desolate,
                        and may no one dwell in it.
and:
            May another take his office.

Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men
who accompanied us the whole time
the Lord Jesus came and went among us,
beginning from the baptism of John
until the day on which he was taken up from us,
become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas,
who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.
Then they prayed,
“You, Lord, who know the hearts of all,
show which one of these two you have chosen
to take the place in this apostolic ministry
from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.”
Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias,
and he was counted with the Eleven Apostles.

R.        (8)  The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
            praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
            both now and forever.
R.        The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
From the rising to the setting of the sun
            is the name of the LORD to be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD;
            above the heavens is his glory.
R.        The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high
            and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
R.        The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
            from the dunghill he lifts up the poor
To seat them with princes,
            with the princes of his own people.
R.        The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
or:
R.        Alleluia.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I chose you from the world,
to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy might be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you:  love one another.”

When Paul came to Antioch in Pisidia, he said in the synagogue:
 “My brothers, children of the family of Abraham,
and those others among you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of salvation has been sent.
The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize him,
and by condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophets
that are read sabbath after sabbath.
For even though they found no grounds for a death sentence,
they asked Pilate to have him put to death,
and when they had accomplished all that was written about him,
they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb.
But God raised him from the dead,
and for many days he appeared to those
who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.
These are now his witnesses before the people.
We ourselves are proclaiming this good news to you
that what God promised our fathers
he has brought to fulfillment for us, their children, by raising up Jesus,
as it is written in the second psalm,
     You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.”

R.        (7bc)  You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
“I myself have set up my king
            on Zion, my holy mountain.”
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
            The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
            this day I have begotten you.”
R.        You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
“Ask of me and I will give you
            the nations for an inheritance
            and the ends of the earth for your possession.
You shall rule them with an iron rod;
            you shall shatter them like an earthen dish.”
R.        You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
And now, O kings, give heed;
            take warning, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him;
            with trembling rejoice.
R.        You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R.        Alleluia.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way.”
Thomas said to him,
“Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”

From Paphos, Paul and his companions
set sail and arrived at Perga in Pamphylia.
But John left them and returned to Jerusalem.
They continued on from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia.
On the sabbath they entered into the synagogue and took their seats.
After the reading of the law and the prophets,
the synagogue officials sent word to them,
“My brothers, if one of you has a word of exhortation
for the people, please speak.”

So Paul got up, motioned with his hand, and said,
“Fellow children of Israel and you others who are God-fearing, listen.
The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors
and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt.
With uplifted arm he led them out,
and for about forty years he put up with them in the desert.
When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan,
he gave them their land as an inheritance
at the end of about four hundred and fifty years.
After these things he provided judges up to Samuel the prophet.
Then they asked for a king.
God gave them Saul, son of Kish,
a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
Then he removed him and raised up David as their king;
of him he testified,
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.’”
 

R.        (2)  For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
The favors of the LORD I will sing forever;
            through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
            in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R.        For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
“I have found David, my servant;
            with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him,
            and that my arm may make him strong.”
R.        For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
“My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him,
            and through my name shall his horn be exalted.
He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
            my God, the Rock, my savior.’”
R.        For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ, you are the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead,
you have loved us and freed us from our sins by your Blood.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

When Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, he said to them:
“Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master
nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.
If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.
I am not speaking of all of you.
I know those whom I have chosen.
But so that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me.
From now on I am telling you before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe that I AM.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send
receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

The word of God continued to spread and grow.

After Barnabas and Saul completed their relief mission,
they returned to Jerusalem,
taking with them John, who is called Mark.

Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,
Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.”
Then, completing their fasting and prayer,
they laid hands on them and sent them off.

So they, sent forth by the Holy Spirit,
went down to Seleucia
and from there sailed to Cyprus.
When they arrived in Salamis,
they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.
 

R.        (4)  O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R.        Alleluia.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
            may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
            among all nations, your salvation.
R.        O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R.        Alleluia.
May the nations be glad and exult
            because you rule the peoples in equity;
            the nations on the earth you guide.
R.        O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R.        Alleluia.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
            may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
            and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R.        O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R.        Alleluia.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus cried out and said,
“Whoever believes in me believes not only in me
but also in the one who sent me,
and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me.
I came into the world as light,
so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.
And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them,
I do not condemn him,
for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.
Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words
has something to judge him: the word that I spoke,
it will condemn him on the last day,
because I did not speak on my own,
but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak.
And I know that his commandment is eternal life.
So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”

Those who had been scattered by the persecution
that arose because of Stephen
went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,
preaching the word to no one but Jews.
There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them, however,
who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well,
proclaiming the Lord Jesus.
The hand of the Lord was with them
and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem,
and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw the grace of God,
he rejoiced and encouraged them all
to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart,
for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.
And a large number of people was added to the Lord.
Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch.
For a whole year they met with the Church
and taught a large number of people,
and it was in Antioch that the disciples
were first called Christians.

R.        (117:1a)  All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
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!
R.        All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
I tell of Egypt and Babylon
            among those who 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.”
R.        All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
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.”
R.        All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R.        Alleluia.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem.
It was winter.
And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon.
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,
“How long are you going to keep us in suspense?
If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe.
The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me.
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”