First Reading

Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 (JB)

A reading from the book of Deuteronomy

The Lord himself is God in heaven above and on earth below: there is no other.

Moses said to the people: ‘Put this question to the ages that are past, that went before you, from the time God created man on earth: Was there ever a word so majestic, from one end of heaven to the other? Was anything ever heard? Did ever a people hear the voice of the living God speaking from the heart of the fire, as you heard it, and remain alive? Has any god ventured to take to himself one nation from the midst of another by ordeals, signs, wonders, war with mighty hand and outstretched arm, by fearsome terrors – all this that the Lord your God did for you before your eyes in Egypt?

‘Understand this today, therefore, and take it to heart: The Lord is God indeed, in heaven above as on earth beneath, he and no other. Keep his laws and commandments as I give them to you today so that you and your children may prosper and live long in the land that the Lord your God gives you for ever.’

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 (NRSV)

A reading from the book of Deuteronomy

Moses assembled the people to remind them

how the Lord had spoken out of the fire

while they stood at the foot of the mountain.

He said:

“Ask now about former ages, long before your own,

ever since the day that God created human beings on the earth;

ask from one end of heaven to the other:

‘has anything so great as this ever happened

or has its like ever been heard of?’

“Has any people ever heard the voice of a god

speaking out of a fire, as you have heard, and lived?

Or has any god ever attempted to go

and take a nation for himself

from the midst of another nation,

by trials, by signs and wonders, by war,

by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,

and by terrifying displays of power;

as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt

before your very eyes?

“So acknowledge today and take to heart

that the Lord is God in heaven above

and on the earth beneath;

there is no other.

Keep his statutes and his commandments,

which I am commanding you today

for your own wellbeing and that of your descendants after you,

so that you may long remain in the land

that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 32:4-6, 9, 18-20, 22 (JB)

R. Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

The word of the Lord is faithful

and all his works to be trusted.

The Lord loves justice and right

and fills the earth with his love. R.

By his word the heavens were made,

by the breath of his mouth all the stars.

He spoke: and they came to be.

He commanded; they sprang into being. R.

The Lord looks on those who revere him,

on those who hope in his love,

to rescue their souls from death,

to keep them alive in famine. R.

Our soul is waiting for the Lord.

The Lord is our help and our shield.

May your love be upon us, O Lord,

as we place all our hope in you. R.

Second Reading

Romans 8:14-17 (JB)

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans

You have received the Spirit that makes you God’s own children, and in that Spirit we call God: Father, our Father!

Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God. The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God. And if we are children we are heirs as well: heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Romans 8:14-17 (NRSV)

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans

All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery

to fall back into fear,

but you have received a spirit of adoption.

When we cry, “Abba! Father!”

it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit

that we are children of God,

and if children, then heirs,

heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.

In fact, we suffer with him

so that we may also be glorified with him.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation

cf Revelation 1:8 (JB)

Alleluia, alleluia!

Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit:

to God who is, who was, and who is to come.

Alleluia!

cf Revelation 1:8 (NRSV)

Alleluia, alleluia!

Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit:

to God who is, who was, and who is to come.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 28:16-20 (JB)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Baptise them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

The eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down before him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 28:16-20 (NRSV)

A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew

The eleven disciples went to Galilee,

to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.

When they saw him, they worshipped him;

but some doubted.

And Jesus came and said to them,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father

and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you

“And remember; I am with you always,

to the end of the age.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.