First Reading

Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 (JB)

A reading from the prophet Isaiah

Here is my servant, my chosen one in whom I am well pleased.

Thus says the Lord:

Here is my servant whom I uphold,

my chosen one in whom my soul delights.

I have endowed him with my spirit

that he may bring true justice to the nations.

He does not cry out or shout aloud,

or make his voice heard in the streets.

He does not break the crushed reed,

nor quench the wavering flame.

Faithfully he brings true justice;

he will neither waver, nor be crushed

until true justice is established on earth,

for the islands are awaiting his law.

I, the Lord, have called you to serve the cause of right;

I have taken you by the hand and formed you;

I have appointed you as covenant of the people

and light of the nations,

to open the eyes of the blind,

to free captives from prison,

and those who live in darkness from the dungeon.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Isaiah 55:1-11 (JB)

A reading from the prophet Isaiah

Come to the water; listen to my words and you shall have life.

Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty;

though you have no money, come!

Buy corn without money, and eat,

and, at no cost, wine and milk.

Why spend money on what is not bread,

your wages on what fails to satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and you will have good things to eat

and rich food to enjoy.

Pay attention, come to me;

listen, and your soul will live.

With you I will make an everlasting covenant

out of the favours promised to David.

See, I have made of you a witness to the peoples,

a leader and a master of the nations.

See, you will summon a nation you never knew,

those unknown will come hurrying to you,

for the sake of the Lord your God,

of the Holy One of Israel who will glorify you.

Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,

call to him while he is still near.

Let the wicked man abandon his ways,

the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn back to the Lord who will take pity on him,

to our God who is rich in forgiving;

for my thoughts are not your thoughts,

my ways not your ways – it is the Lord who speaks.

Yes, the heavens are as high above earth

as my ways are above your ways,

my thoughts above your thoughts.

Yes, as the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 (NRSV)

A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah

Thus says the Lord:

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

I have put my spirit upon him;

he will bring forth justice to the nations.

He will not cry or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street;

a bruised reed he will not break,

and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;

he will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow faint or be crushed

until he has established justice in the earth;

and the coastlands wait for his teaching.

“I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,

I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

I have given you as a covenant to the people,

a light to the nations,

to open the eyes that are blind,

to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Isaiah 55:1-11 (NRSV)

A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah 55.1-11

Everyone who thirsts,

come to the waters;

and you that have no money,

come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without price.

‘Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

and your labour for that which does not satisfy’?

Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,

and delight yourselves in rich food.

Incline your ear, and come to me;

listen, so that you may live.

I will make with you an everlasting covenant,

my steadfast, sure love for David.

See, I made him a witness to the peoples,

a leader and commander for the peoples.

See, you shall call nations that you do not know,

and nations that do not know you shall run to you,

because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,

for he has glorified you.

Seek the Lord while he may be found,

call upon him while he is near;

let the wicked forsake their way,

and the unrighteous their thoughts;

let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

and do not return there until they have watered the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Isaiah 12:2-6 (JB)

R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

Truly, God is my salvation,

I trust, I shall not fear.

For the Lord is my strength, my song,

he became my saviour.

With joy you will draw water

from the wells of salvation. R.

Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!

Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!

Declare the greatness of his name. R.

Sing a psalm to the Lord

for he has done glorious deeds,

make them known to all the earth!

People of Zion, sing and shout for joy

for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. R.

Ps 28:1-4, 9-10 (JB)

R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.

O give the Lord you sons of God,

give the Lord glory and power;

give the Lord the glory of his name.

Adore the Lord in his holy court. R.

The Lord’s voice resounding on the waters,

the Lord on the immensity of waters;

the voice of the Lord, full of power,

the voice of the Lord, full of splendour. R.

The God of glory thunders.

In his temple they all cry: ‘Glory!’

The Lord sat enthroned over the flood;

the Lord sits as king for ever. R.

Second Reading

1 John 5:1-9 (JB)

A reading from the first letter of St John

The Spirit, the water and the blood give witness.

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ

has been begotten by God;

and whoever loves the Father that begot him

loves the child whom he begets.

We can be sure that we love God’s children

if we love God himself and do what he has commanded us;

this is what loving God is –

keeping his commandments;

and his commandments are not difficult,

because anyone who has been begotten by God

has already overcome the world;

this is the victory over the world –

our faith.

Who can overcome the world?

Only the man who believes that Jesus is the Son of God:

Jesus Christ who came by water and blood,

not with water only,

but with water and blood;

with the Spirit as another witness –

since the Spirit is the truth –

so that there are three witnesses,

the Spirit, the water and the blood,

and all three of them agree.

We accept the testimony of human witnesses,

but God’s testimony is much greater,

and this is God’s testimony,

given as evidence for his Son.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Acts 10:34-38 (JB)

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles

God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power.

Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: ‘The truth I have now come to realise’ he said ‘is that God does not have favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.

‘It is true, God sent his word to the people of Israel, and it was to them that the good news of peace was brought by Jesus Christ – but Jesus Christ is Lord of all men. You must have heard about the recent happenings in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil.’

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

1 John 5:1-9 (NRSV)

A reading from the first letter of John

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ

has been born of God,

and everyone who loves the parent loves the child.

By this we know that we love the children of God,

when we love God and obey his commandments.

For the love of God is this,

that we obey his commandments.

And his commandments are not burdensome,

for whatever is born of God conquers the world.

And this is the victory that conquers the world,

our faith.

Who is it that conquers the world

but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ,

not with the water only but with the water and the blood.

And the Spirit is the one that testifies,

for the Spirit is the truth.

There are three that testify:

the Spirit and the water and the blood,

and these three agree.

If we receive human testimony,

the testimony of God is greater;

for this is the testimony of God

that he has testified to his Son.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Acts 10:34-38 (NRSV)

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles

Peter began to speak to those assembled

in the house of Cornelius.

“I truly understand that God shows no partiality,

but in every nation anyone who fears him

and does what is right is acceptable to him.

You know the message he sent to the people of Israel,

preaching peace by Jesus Christ-he is Lord of all.

That message spread throughout Judea,

beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced:

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth

with the Holy Spirit and with power;

how he went about doing good

and healing all who were oppressed by the devil,

for God was with him.”

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation

cf John 1:29 (JB)

Alleluia, alleluia!

John saw Jesus approaching him, and said:

This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Alleluia!

John 1:29 (NRSV)

Alleluia, alleluia!

John saw Jesus approaching him, and said:

This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 1:7-11 (JB)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

In the course of his preaching John the Baptist said, ‘Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit’.

It was this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised in the Jordan by John. No sooner had he come up out of the water than he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Mark 1:7-11 (NRSV)

A reading from the holy gospel according to Mark

John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness,

proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

In his preaching he proclaimed,

“The one who is more powerful than I

is coming after me;

I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.

I have baptized you with water;

but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee

and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

And just as he was coming up out of the water,

he saw the heavens torn apart

and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.

And a voice came from heaven,

“You are my Son, the Beloved;

with you I am well pleased.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Posted in Readings