Daily Reading

Hannah rose after a meal at Shiloh,
and presented herself before the LORD;
at the time, Eli the priest was sitting on a chair
near the doorpost of the LORD’s temple.
In her bitterness she prayed to the LORD, weeping copiously,
and she made a vow, promising: “O LORD of hosts,
if you look with pity on the misery of your handmaid,
if you remember me and do not forget me,
if you give your handmaid a male child,
I will give him to the LORD for as long as he lives;
neither wine nor liquor shall he drink,
and no razor shall ever touch his head.”
As she remained long at prayer before the LORD,
Eli watched her mouth, for Hannah was praying silently;
though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard.
Eli, thinking her drunk, said to her,
“How long will you make a drunken show of yourself?
Sober up from your wine!”
“It isn’t that, my lord,” Hannah answered.
“I am an unhappy woman.
I have had neither wine nor liquor;
I was only pouring out my troubles to the LORD.
Do not think your handmaid a ne’er-do-well;
my prayer has been prompted by my deep sorrow and misery.”
Eli said, “Go in peace,
and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”
She replied, “Think kindly of your maidservant,” and left.
She went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband,
and no longer appeared downcast.
Early the next morning they worshiped before the LORD,
and then returned to their home in Ramah.

When Elkanah had relations with his wife Hannah,
the LORD remembered her. 
She conceived, and at the end of her term bore a son
whom she called Samuel, since she had asked the LORD for him.

R.        (see 1) My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.
“My heart exults in the LORD,
            my horn is exalted in my God.
I have swallowed up my enemies;
            I rejoice in my victory.”
R.        My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.
“The bows of the mighty are broken,
            while the tottering gird on strength.
The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,
            while the hungry batten on spoil.
The barren wife bears seven sons,
            while the mother of many languishes.”
R.        My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.
“The LORD puts to death and gives life;
            he casts down to the nether world;
            he raises up again.
The LORD makes poor and makes rich;
            he humbles, he also exalts.”
R.        My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.
“He raises the needy from the dust;
            from the dung heap he lifts up the poor,
To seat them with nobles
            and make a glorious throne their heritage.”
R.        My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Receive the word of God, not as the word of men,
but as it truly is, the word of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
 

Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, 
and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” 
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet!  Come out of him!”
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
 “What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

There was a certain man from Ramathaim, Elkanah by name,
a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim.
He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu,
son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
He had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah;
Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless.
This man regularly went on pilgrimage from his city
to worship the LORD of hosts and to sacrifice to him at Shiloh,
where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas,
were ministering as priests of the LORD.
When the day came for Elkanah to offer sacrifice,
he used to give a portion each to his wife Peninnah
and to all her sons and daughters,
but a double portion to Hannah because he loved her,
though the LORD had made her barren.
Her rival, to upset her, turned it into a constant reproach to her
that the LORD had left her barren.
This went on year after year;
each time they made their pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the LORD,
Peninnah would approach her,
and Hannah would weep and refuse to eat.
Her husband Elkanah used to ask her: 
“Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you refuse to eat?
Why do you grieve?
Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

R.        (17a)  To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
How shall I make a return to the LORD
            for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
            and I will call upon the name of the LORD. 
R.        To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
            in the presence of all his people. 
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
            is the death of his faithful ones.
O LORD, I am your servant;
            I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
            you have loosed my bonds.
R.        To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
            in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the house of the LORD,
            in your midst, O Jerusalem.
R.        To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R.        Alleluia.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment.
The Kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee,
he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea;
they were fishermen.
Jesus said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Then they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along a little farther
and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They too were in a boat mending their nets.
Then he called them.
So they left their father Zebedee in the boat
along with the hired men and followed him.

Thus says the LORD:
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
     my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
upon whom I have put my spirit;
     he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
not crying out, not shouting,
     not making his voice heard in the street.
a bruised reed he shall not break,
     and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
until he establishes justice on the earth;
     the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
     I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
     as a covenant of the people,
     a light for the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
     to bring out prisoners from confinement,
     and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

OR:

Is  40:1-5, 9-11

Comfort, give comfort to my people,
            says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
            that her service is at an end,
            her guilt is expiated;
indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
            double for all her sins.

            A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
            Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
            every mountain and hill shall be made low;
the rugged land shall be made a plain,
            the rough country, a broad valley. 
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
            and all people shall see it together;
            for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Go up on to a high mountain,
            Zion, herald of glad tidings;
cry out at the top of your voice,
            Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
            and say to the cities of Judah:
            Here is your God!
Here comes with power
            the Lord GOD,
            who rules by a strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
            his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
            in his arms he gathers the lambs,
carrying them in his bosom,
            and leading the ewes with care.

R. (11b)  The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Give to the LORD, you sons of God,
            give to the LORD glory and praise,
Give to the LORD the glory due his name;
            adore the LORD in holy attire.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters,
            the LORD, over vast waters.
The voice of the LORD is mighty;
            the voice of the LORD is majestic. 
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The God of glory thunders,
            and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
The LORD is enthroned above the flood;
            the LORD is enthroned as king forever.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.

OR:

Ps 104:1b-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, 29-30 

R. (1)  O bless the Lord, my soul.
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
     you are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.
     You have spread out the heavens like a tent-cloth;
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
You have constructed your palace upon the waters.
     You make the clouds your chariot;
you travel on the wings of the wind.
     You make the winds your messengers,
and flaming fire your ministers.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
     In wisdom you have wrought them allC
the earth is full of your creatures;
     the sea also, great and wide,
in which are schools without number
     of living things both small and great.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
They look to you to give them food in due time.
     When you give it to them, they gather it;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
If you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust.
     When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered
in the house of Cornelius, saying: 
“In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly
is acceptable to him.
You know the word that he sent to the Israelites 
as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, 
what has happened all over Judea, 
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached, 
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good 
and healing all those oppressed by the devil, 
for God was with him.”

OR: 

Ti 2:11-14; 3:4-7

Beloved:
The grace of God has appeared, saving all
and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires
and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
as we await the blessed hope,
the appearance of the glory of our great God
and savior Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness
and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,
eager to do what is good.

            When the kindness and generous love
                        of God our savior appeared,
            not because of any righteous deeds we had done
                        but because of his mercy,
            He saved us through the bath of rebirth
                        and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
            whom he richly poured out on us
                        through Jesus Christ our savior,
            so that we might be justified by his grace
                        and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered:
This is my beloved Son, listen to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

OR:

Cf. Lk 3:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
John said: One mightier than I is coming;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying, 
“I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

After all the people had been baptized 
and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, 
heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him
in bodily form like a dove. 
And a voice came from heaven, 
“You are my beloved Son;
with you I am well pleased.”

Beloved:
We have this confidence in him
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 
And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,
we know that what we have asked him for is ours. 
If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,
he should pray to God and he will give him life. 
This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. 
There is such a thing as deadly sin,
about which I do not say that you should pray. 
All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.

We know that anyone begotten by God does not sin;
but the one begotten by God he protects,
and the Evil One cannot touch him. 
We know that we belong to God,
and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One. 
We also know that the Son of God has come
and has given us discernment to know the one who is true. 
And we are in the one who is true,
in his Son Jesus Christ. 
He is the true God and eternal life. 
Children, be on your guard against idols.

R.        (see 4a)  The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song
            of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
            let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R.        The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
            let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
            and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R.        The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
            let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
            This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R.        The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R.        Alleluia.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea,
where he spent some time with them baptizing. 
John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,
because there was an abundance of water there,
and people came to be baptized,
for John had not yet been imprisoned. 
Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew
about ceremonial washings. 
So they came to John and said to him,
“Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan,
to whom you testified,
here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.”
John answered and said,
“No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. 
You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ,
but that I was sent before him. 
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom;
the best man, who stands and listens for him,
rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. 
So this joy of mine has been made complete. 
He must increase; I must decrease.”

Beloved:
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood. 
The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth. 
So there are three who testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood, 
and the three are of one accord. 
If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater. 
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son. 
Whoever believes in the Son of God
has this testimony within himself.
Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar
by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son. 
And this is the testimony:
God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son. 
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.

I write these things to you so that you may know
that you have eternal life,
you who believe in the name of the Son of God.

R.        (12a)  Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
            praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
            he has blessed your children within you.
R.        Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
            with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
            swiftly runs his word!
R.        Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R.        Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
            his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
            his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R.        Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R.        Alleluia.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was;
and when he saw Jesus,
he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” 
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I do will it.  Be made clean.” 
And the leprosy left him immediately. 
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but
“Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” 
The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him
and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.