He had to rise from the dead Jn 20:1-9 or Mk 16:1-7 or Lk 24:13-35

On the first day of the week,

Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,

   while it was still dark,

   and saw the stone removed from the tomb.

So she ran and went to Simon Peter

   and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,

   “They have taken the Lord from the tomb,

   and we don't know where they put him.”

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.

They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter

   and arrived at the tomb first;

   he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.

When Simon Peter arrived after him,

   he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,

   and the cloth that had covered his head,

   not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.

Then the other disciple also went in,

   the one who had arrived at the tomb first,

   and he saw and believed.

For they did not yet understand the Scripture

   that he had to rise from the dead.

Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified, has been raised. Mark 16:1-7

When the sabbath was over,

Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome

   bought spices so that they might go and anoint him.

Very early when the sun had risen,

   on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb.

They were saying to one another,

   “Who will roll back the stone for us

   from the entrance to the tomb?”

When they looked up,

   they saw that the stone had been rolled back;

   it was very large.

On entering the tomb they saw a young man

   sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe,

   and they were utterly amazed.

He said to them, “Do not be amazed!

You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified.

He has been raised; he is not here.

Behold the place where they laid him.

But go and tell his disciples and Peter,

   ‘He is going before you to Galilee;

   there you will see him, as he told you.’”

Lord’s Passion according to John Jn 18: 1-19: 42

 VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL

Phil 2:8-9

Christ became obedient to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

Because of this, God greatly exalted him

and bestowed on him the name which is above every other name.

9.Then the narrative of the Lord’s Passion according to John (18: 1-19: 42) is read in the same way as on the preceding Sunday.

[iBreviary note: the Passion is given here as divided into parts, in line with the most common practice of reading the Gospel]

Narrator: The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John

Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley

   to where there was a garden,

   into which he and his disciples entered.

Judas his betrayer also knew the place,

   because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.

So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards

   from the chief priests and the Pharisees

   and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.

Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him,

   went out and said to them,

Jesus: “Whom are you looking for?”

Narrator: They answered him,

Chorus: “Jesus the Nazorean.”

Narrator: He said to them,

Jesus: “I AM.”

Narrator: Judas his betrayer was also with them.

When he said to them, “I AM,”

   they turned away and fell to the ground.

So he again asked them,

Jesus: “Whom are you looking for?”

Narrator: They said,

Chorus: “Jesus the Nazorean.”

Narrator: Jesus answered,

Jesus: “I told you that I AM.

So if you are looking for me, let these men go.”

Narrator: This was to fulfill what he had said,

   “I have not lost any of those you gave me.”

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,

   struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear.

The slave’s name was Malchus.

Jesus said to Peter,

Jesus: “Put your sword into its scabbard.

Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”

Narrator: So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,

   bound him, and brought him to Annas first.

He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,

   who was high priest that year.

It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews

   that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.

Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.

Now the other disciple was known to the high priest,

   and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.

But Peter stood at the gate outside.

So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest,

went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.

Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter,

Speaker: “You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?”

Narrator: He said,

Speaker: “I am not.”

Narrator: Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire

   that they had made, because it was cold,

   and were warming themselves.

Peter was also standing there keeping warm.

The high priest questioned Jesus

   about his disciples and about his doctrine.

Jesus answered him,

Jesus: “I have spoken publicly to the world.

I have always taught in a synagogue

   or in the temple area where all the Jews gather,

   and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me?

Ask those who heard me what I said to them.

They know what I said.”

Narrator: When he had said this,

   one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said,

Speaker: “Is this the way you answer the high priest?”

Narrator: Jesus answered him,

Jesus: “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong;

   but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?”

Narrator: Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm.

And they said to him,

Chorus: “You are not one of his disciples, are you?”

Narrator: He denied it and said,

Speaker: “I am not.”

Narrator: One of the slaves of the high priest,

   a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,

Speaker: “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”

Narrator: Again Peter denied it.

And immediately the cock crowed.

Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.

It was morning.

And they themselves did not enter the praetorium,

   in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.

So Pilate came out to them and said,

Speaker: “What charge do you bring against this man?”

Narrator: They answered and said to him,

Chorus: “If he were not a criminal,

   we would not have handed him over to you.”

Narrator: At this, Pilate said to them,

Speaker: “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.”

Narrator: The Jews answered him,

Chorus: “We do not have the right to execute anyone,”

Narrator: in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled

   that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.

So Pilate went back into the praetorium

   and summoned Jesus and said to him,

Speaker: “Are you the King of the Jews?”

Narrator: Jesus answered,

Jesus: “Do you say this on your own

   or have others told you about me?”

Narrator: Pilate answered,

Speaker: “I am not a Jew, am I?

Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.

What have you done?”

Narrator: Jesus answered,

Jesus: “My kingdom does not belong to this world.

If my kingdom did belong to this world,

   my attendants would be fighting

   to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.

But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”

Narrator: So Pilate said to him,

Speaker: “Then you are a king?”

Narrator: Jesus answered,

Jesus: “You say I am a king.

For this I was born and for this I came into the world,

   to testify to the truth.

Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

Narrator: Pilate said to him,

Speaker: “What is truth?”

Narrator: When he had said this,

   he again went out to the Jews and said to them,

Speaker: “I find no guilt in him.

But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover.

Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

Narrator: They cried out again,

Chorus: “Not this one but Barabbas!”

Narrator: Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.

And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head,

   and clothed him in a purple cloak,

   and they came to him and said,

Chorus: “Hail, King of the Jews!”

Narrator: And they struck him repeatedly.

Once more Pilate went out and said to them,

Speaker: “Look, I am bringing him out to you,

   so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.”

Narrator: So Jesus came out,

   wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.

And he said to them,

Speaker: “Behold, the man!”

Narrator: When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,

Chorus: “Crucify him, crucify him!”

Narrator: Pilate said to them,

Speaker: “Take him yourselves and crucify him.

I find no guilt in him.”

Narrator: The Jews answered,

Chorus: “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die,

   because he made himself the Son of God.”

Narrator: Now when Pilate heard this statement,

   he became even more afraid,

   and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus,

Speaker: “Where are you from?”

Narrator: Jesus did not answer him.

So Pilate said to him,

Speaker: “Do you not speak to me?

Do you not know that I have power to release you

   and I have power to crucify you?”

Narrator: Jesus answered him,

Jesus: “You would have no power over me

   if it had not been given to you from above.

For this reason the one who handed me over to you

   has the greater sin.”

Narrator: Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out,

Chorus: “If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar.

Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

Narrator: When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out

   and seated him on the judge’s bench

   in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.

It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.

And he said to the Jews,

Speaker: “Behold, your king!”

Narrator: They cried out,

Chorus: “Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!”

Narrator: Pilate said to them,

Speaker: “Shall I crucify your king?”

Narrator: The chief priests answered,

Chorus: “We have no king but Caesar.”

Narrator: Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself,

   he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull,

   in Hebrew, Golgotha.

There they crucified him, and with him two others,

   one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.

Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.

It read,

“Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.”

Now many of the Jews read this inscription,

   because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city;

   and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.

So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,

Chorus: “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’

   but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.”

Narrator: Pilate answered,

Speaker: “What I have written, I have written.”

Narrator: When the soldiers had crucified Jesus,

   they took his clothes and divided them into four shares,

   a share for each soldier.

They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless,

   woven in one piece from the top down.

So they said to one another,

Chorus: “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be,”

Narrator: in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says:

      They divided my garments among them,

         and for my vesture they cast lots.

This is what the soldiers did.

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother

   and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,

   and Mary of Magdala.

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved

   he said to his mother,

Jesus: “Woman, behold, your son.”

Narrator: Then he said to the disciple,

Jesus: “Behold, your mother.”

Narrator: And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

After this, aware that everything was now finished,

   in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,

   Jesus said,

Jesus: “I thirst.”

Narrator: There was a vessel filled with common wine.

So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop

   and put it up to his mouth.

When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,

Jesus: “It is finished.”

Narrator: And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Here all kneel and pause for a short time.

Now since it was preparation day,

   in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,

   for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,

   the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken

   and that they be taken down.

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first

   and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.

But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,

   they did not break his legs,

   but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,

   and immediately blood and water flowed out.

An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true;

   he knows that he is speaking the truth,

   so that you also may come to believe.

For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:

   Not a bone of it will be broken.

And again another passage says:

   They will look upon him whom they have pierced.

After this, Joseph of Arimathea,

   secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews,

   asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus.

And Pilate permitted it.

So he came and took his body.

Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night,

   also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes

   weighing about one hundred pounds.

They took the body of Jesus

   and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices,

   according to the Jewish burial custom.

Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden,

   and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.

So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day;

   for the tomb was close by.

Jesus loved them to the end. Jn 13:1-15

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come

   to pass from this world to the Father.

He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.

The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.

So, during supper,

   fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power

   and that he had come from God and was returning to God,

   he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.

He took a towel and tied it around his waist.

Then he poured water into a basin

   and began to wash the disciples’ feet

   and dry them with the towel around his waist.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,

   “Master, are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus answered and said to him,

   “What I am doing, you do not understand now,

   but you will understand later.”

Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered him,

   “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”

Simon Peter said to him,

   “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”

Jesus said to him,

   “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over;

   so you are clean, but not all.”

For he knew who would betray him;

   for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

So when he had washed their feet

   and put his garments back on and reclined at table again,

   he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?

You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.

If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,

   you ought to wash one another’s feet.

I have given you a model to follow,

   so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. Mt 26:14-25

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,

   went to the chief priests and said,

“What are you willing to give me

   if I hand him over to you?”

They paid him thirty pieces of silver,

   and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,

   the disciples approached Jesus and said,

   “Where do you want us to prepare

   for you to eat the Passover?”

He said,

   “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,

   ‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near;

   in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”’”

The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,

   and prepared the Passover.

When it was evening,

   he reclined at table with the Twelve.

And while they were eating, he said,

   “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”

Deeply distressed at this,

   they began to say to him one after another,

   “Surely it is not I, Lord?”

He said in reply,

   “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me

   is the one who will betray me.

The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,

   but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.

It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”

Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,

   “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”

He answered, “You have said so.”

One of your will betray me; the cock will not crow before you deny me three times. Jn 13:21-33, 36-38

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified,

“Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”

The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.

One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,

   was reclining at Jesus’ side.

So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.

He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him,

   “Master, who is it?”

Jesus answered,

   “It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.”

So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,

   son of Simon the Iscariot.

After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.

So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”

Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.

Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,

   “Buy what we need for the feast,”

   or to give something to the poor.

So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

When he had left, Jesus said,

   “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.

If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,

   and he will glorify him at once.

My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.

You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,

   ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”

Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?”

Jesus answered him,

   “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,

   though you will follow later.”

Peter said to him,

   “Master, why can I not follow you now?

   I will lay down my life for you.”

Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me?

Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow

   before you deny me three times.”

Hail to you, our King; you alone are compassionate with our faults.

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany,

   where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served,

   while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.

Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil

   made from genuine aromatic nard

   and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;

   the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,

   and the one who would betray him, said,

   “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages

   and given to the poor?”

He said this not because he cared about the poor

   but because he was a thief and held the money bag

   and used to steal the contributions.

So Jesus said, “Leave her alone.

Let her keep this for the day of my burial.

You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came,

   not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus,

   whom he had raised from the dead.

And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,

   because many of the Jews were turning away

   and believing in Jesus because of him.

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Mk 14:1-15:47 or 15:1-39

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark

The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread

   were to take place in two days’ time.

So the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way

   to arrest him by treachery and put him to death.

They said, “Not during the festival,

   for fear that there may be a riot among the people.”

When he was in Bethany reclining at table

   in the house of Simon the leper,

   a woman came with an alabaster jar of perfumed oil,

   costly genuine spikenard.

She broke the alabaster jar and poured it on his head.

There were some who were indignant.

“Why has there been this waste of perfumed oil?

It could have been sold for more than three hundred days’ wages

   and the money given to the poor.”

They were infuriated with her.

Jesus said, “Let her alone.

Why do you make trouble for her?

She has done a good thing for me.

The poor you will always have with you,

   and whenever you wish you can do good to them,

   but you will not always have me.

She has done what she could.

She has anticipated anointing my body for burial.

Amen, I say to you,

   wherever the gospel is proclaimed to the whole world,

   what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve,

   went off to the chief priests to hand him over to them.

When they heard him they were pleased and promised to pay him money.

Then he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,

   when they sacrificed the Passover lamb,

   his disciples said to him,

   “Where do you want us to go

   and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”

He sent two of his disciples and said to them,

   “Go into the city and a man will meet you,

   carrying a jar of water.

Follow him.

Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house,

   ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room

   where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’

Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready.

Make the preparations for us there.”

The disciples then went off, entered the city,

   and found it just as he had told them;

   and they prepared the Passover.

When it was evening, he came with the Twelve.

And as they reclined at table and were eating, Jesus said,

   “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me,

   one who is eating with me.”They began to be distressed and to say to him, one by one,

   “Surely it is not I?”

He said to them,

   “One of the Twelve, the one who dips with me into the dish.

For the Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,

   but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.

It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”

While they were eating,

   he took bread, said the blessing,

   broke it, and gave it to them, and said,

   “Take it; this is my body.”

Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them,

   and they all drank from it.

He said to them,

   “This is my blood of the covenant,

   which will be shed for many.

Amen, I say to you,

   I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine

   until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Then, after singing a hymn,

   they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Then Jesus said to them,

   “All of you will have your faith shaken, for it is written:

      I will strike the shepherd,

         and the sheep will be dispersed.

But after I have been raised up,

   I shall go before you to Galilee.”

Peter said to him,

   “Even though all should have their faith shaken,

   mine will not be.”

Then Jesus said to him,

   “Amen, I say to you,

   this very night before the cock crows twice

   you will deny me three times.”

But he vehemently replied,

   “Even though I should have to die with you,

   I will not deny you.”

And they all spoke similarly.

Then they came to a place named Gethsemane,

   and he said to his disciples,

   “Sit here while I pray.”

He took with him Peter, James, and John,

   and began to be troubled and distressed.

Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death.

Remain here and keep watch.”

He advanced a little and fell to the ground and prayed

   that if it were possible the hour might pass by him;

   he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you.

Take this cup away from me,

   but not what I will but what you will.”

When he returned he found them asleep.

He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep?

Could you not keep watch for one hour?

Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”

Withdrawing again, he prayed, saying the same thing.

   Then he returned once more and found them asleep,

   for they could not keep their eyes open

   and did not know what to answer him.

He returned a third time and said to them,

   “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?

It is enough. The hour has come.

Behold, the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners.

Get up, let us go.

See, my betrayer is at hand.”

Then, while he was still speaking,

   Judas, one of the Twelve,

   arrived, accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs

   who had come from the chief priests,

   the scribes, and the elders.

His betrayer had arranged a signal with them, saying,

   “The man I shall kiss is the one;

   arrest him and lead him away securely.”

He came and immediately went over to him and said,

   “Rabbi.” And he kissed him.

At this they laid hands on him and arrested him.

One of the bystanders drew his sword,

   struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his ear.

Jesus said to them in reply,

   “Have you come out as against a robber,

   with swords and clubs, to seize me?

Day after day I was with you teaching in the temple area,

   yet you did not arrest me;

   but that the Scriptures may be fulfilled.”

And they all left him and fled.

Now a young man followed him

   wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body.

They seized him,

   but he left the cloth behind and ran off naked.

They led Jesus away to the high priest,

   and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together.

Peter followed him at a distance into the high priest’s courtyard

   and was seated with the guards, warming himself at the fire.

The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin

   kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus

   in order to put him to death, but they found none.

Many gave false witness against him,

   but their testimony did not agree.

Some took the stand and testified falsely against him,

   alleging, “We heard him say,

   ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands

   and within three days I will build another

   not made with hands.’”

Even so their testimony did not agree.

The high priest rose before the assembly and questioned Jesus,

   saying, “Have you no answer?

What are these men testifying against you?”

But he was silent and answered nothing.

Again the high priest asked him and said to him,

   “Are you the Christ, the son of the Blessed One?”

Then Jesus answered, “I am;

      and ‘you will see the Son of Man

         seated at the right hand of the Power

         and coming with the clouds of heaven.’”

At that the high priest tore his garments and said,

   “What further need have we of witnesses?

You have heard the blasphemy.

What do you think?”

They all condemned him as deserving to die.

Some began to spit on him.

They blindfolded him and struck him and said to him, “Prophesy!”

And the guards greeted him with blows.

While Peter was below in the courtyard,

   one of the high priest’s maids came along.

Seeing Peter warming himself,

   she looked intently at him and said,

   “You too were with the Nazarene, Jesus.”

But he denied it saying,

   “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.”

So he went out into the outer court.

Then the cock crowed.

The maid saw him and began again to say to the bystanders,

   “This man is one of them.”

Once again he denied it.

A little later the bystanders said to Peter once more,

   “Surely you are one of them; for you too are a Galilean.”

He began to curse and to swear,

   “I do not know this man about whom you are talking.”

And immediately a cock crowed a second time.

Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said to him,

   “Before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times.”

He broke down and wept.

As soon as morning came,

   the chief priests with the elders and the scribes,

   that is, the whole Sanhedrin, held a council.

They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.

Pilate questioned him,

   “Are you the king of the Jews?”

He said to him in reply, “You say so.”

The chief priests accused him of many things.

Again Pilate questioned him,

   “Have you no answer?

See how many things they accuse you of.”

Jesus gave him no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now on the occasion of the feast he used to release to them

   one prisoner whom they requested.

A man called Barabbas was then in prison

   along with the rebels who had committed murder in a rebellion.

The crowd came forward and began to ask him

   to do for them as he was accustomed.

Pilate answered,

   “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?”

For he knew that it was out of envy

   that the chief priests had handed him over.

But the chief priests stirred up the crowd

   to have him release Barabbas for them instead.

Pilate again said to them in reply,

   “Then what do you want me to do

   with the man you call the king of the Jews?”

They shouted again, “Crucify him.”

Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?”

They only shouted the louder, “Crucify him.”

So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd,

   released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged,

   handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers led him away inside the palace,

   that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort.

They clothed him in purple and,

   weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him.

They began to salute him with, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

   and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him.

They knelt before him in homage.

And when they had mocked him,

   they stripped him of the purple cloak,

   dressed him in his own clothes,

   and led him out to crucify him.

They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon,

   a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country,

   the father of Alexander and Rufus,

   to carry his cross.

They brought him to the place of Golgotha

   —which is translated Place of the Skull—,

They gave him wine drugged with myrrh,

   but he did not take it.

Then they crucified him and divided his garments

   by casting lots for them to see what each should take.

It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.

The inscription of the charge against him read,

   “The King of the Jews.”

With him they crucified two revolutionaries,

   one on his right and one on his left.

Those passing by reviled him,

   shaking their heads and saying,

   “Aha! You who would destroy the temple

   and rebuild it in three days,

   save yourself by coming down from the cross.”

Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes,

   mocked him among themselves and said,

   “He saved others; he cannot save himself.

Let the Christ, the King of Israel,

   come down now from the cross

   that we may see and believe.”

Those who were crucified with him also kept abusing him.

At noon darkness came over the whole land

   until three in the afternoon.

And at three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,

  “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”

   which is translated,

   “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Some of the bystanders who heard it said,

   “Look, he is calling Elijah.”

One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed

   and gave it to him to drink saying,

   “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down.”

Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

Here all kneel and pause for a short time.

The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.

When the centurion who stood facing him

   saw how he breathed his last he said,

   “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

There were also women looking on from a distance.

Among them were Mary Magdalene,

   Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses, and Salome.

These women had followed him when he was in Galilee

   and ministered to him.

There were also many other women

   who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

When it was already evening,

   since it was the day of preparation,

   the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea,

   a distinguished member of the council,

   who was himself awaiting the kingdom of God,

   came and courageously went to Pilate

   and asked for the body of Jesus.

Pilate was amazed that he was already dead.

He summoned the centurion and asked him if Jesus had already died.

And when he learned of it from the centurion,

   he gave the body to Joseph.

Having bought a linen cloth, he took him down,

   wrapped him in the linen cloth,

   and laid him in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock.

Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses

   watched where he was laid.

Or:

As soon as morning came,

   the chief priests with the elders and the scribes,

   that is, the whole Sanhedrin, held a council.

They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.

Pilate questioned him,

   “Are you the king of the Jews?”

He said to him in reply, “You say so.”

The chief priests accused him of many things.

Again Pilate questioned him,

   “Have you no answer?

See how many things they accuse you of.”

Jesus gave him no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now on the occasion of the feast he used to release to them

   one prisoner whom they requested.

A man called Barabbas was then in prison

   along with the rebels who had committed murder in a rebellion.

The crowd came forward and began to ask him

   to do for them as he was accustomed.

Pilate answered,

   “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?”

For he knew that it was out of envy

   that the chief priests had handed him over.

But the chief priests stirred up the crowd

   to have him release Barabbas for them instead.

Pilate again said to them in reply,

   “Then what do you want me to do

   with the man you call the king of the Jews?”

They shouted again, “Crucify him.”

Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?”

They only shouted the louder, “Crucify him.”

So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd,

   released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged,

   handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers led him away inside the palace,

   that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort.

They clothed him in purple and,

   weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him.

They began to salute him with, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

   and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him.

They knelt before him in homage.

And when they had mocked him,

   they stripped him of the purple cloak,

   dressed him in his own clothes,

   and led him out to crucify him.

They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon,

   a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country,

   the father of Alexander and Rufus,

   to carry his cross.

They brought him to the place of Golgotha

   —which is translated Place of the Skull—,

They gave him wine drugged with myrrh,

   but he did not take it.

Then they crucified him and divided his garments

   by casting lots for them to see what each should take.

It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.

The inscription of the charge against him read,

   “The King of the Jews.”

With him they crucified two revolutionaries,

   one on his right and one on his left.

Those passing by reviled him,

   shaking their heads and saying,

   “Aha! You who would destroy the temple

   and rebuild it in three days,

   save yourself by coming down from the cross.”

Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes,

   mocked him among themselves and said,

   “He saved others; he cannot save himself.

Let the Christ, the King of Israel,

   come down now from the cross

   that we may see and believe.”

Those who were crucified with him also kept abusing him.

At noon darkness came over the whole land

   until three in the afternoon.

And at three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,

   “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”

   which is translated,

   “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Some of the bystanders who heard it said,

   “Look, he is calling Elijah.”

One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed

   and gave it to him to drink saying,

   “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down.”

Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

To gather into unity the scattered children of God. Jn 11:45-56

Many of the Jews who had come to Mary

   and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him.

But some of them went to the Pharisees

   and told them what Jesus had done.

So the chief priests and the Pharisees

   convened the Sanhedrin and said,

   “What are we going to do?

This man is performing many signs.

If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,

   and the Romans will come

   and take away both our land and our nation.”

But one of them, Caiaphas,

   who was high priest that year, said to them,

   “You know nothing,

   nor do you consider that it is better for you

   that one man should die instead of the people,

   so that the whole nation may not perish.”

He did not say this on his own,

   but since he was high priest for that year,

   he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,

   and not only for the nation,

   but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.

So from that day on they planned to kill him.

So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews,

   but he left for the region near the desert,

   to a town called Ephraim,

   and there he remained with his disciples.

Now the Passover of the Jews was near,

   and many went up from the country to Jerusalem

   before Passover to purify themselves.

They looked for Jesus and said to one another

   as they were in the temple area, “What do you think?

That he will not come to the feast?”

They wanted to arrest Jesus, but he eluded them. Jn 10:31-42

The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.

Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father.

For which of these are you trying to stone me?”

The Jews answered him,

   “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.

You, a man, are making yourself God.”

Jesus answered them,

   “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, ‘You are gods”’?

If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came,

   and Scripture cannot be set aside,

   can you say that the one

   whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world

   blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?

If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me;

   but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,

   believe the works, so that you may realize and understand

   that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

Then they tried again to arrest him;

   but he escaped from their power.

He went back across the Jordan

   to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained.

Many came to him and said,

   “John performed no sign,

   but everything John said about this man was true.”

And many there began to believe in him.

Your father, Abraham, rejoiced because he saw my day. Jn 8:51-59

Jesus said to the Jews:

“Amen, amen, I say to you,

   whoever keeps my word will never see death.”

So the Jews said to him,

   “Now we are sure that you are possessed.

Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,

   ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’

Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?

Or the prophets, who died?

Who do you make yourself out to be?”

Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing;

   but it is my Father who glorifies me,

   of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’

You do not know him, but I know him.

And if I should say that I do not know him,

   I would be like you a liar.

But I do know him and I keep his word.

Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day;

   he saw it and was glad.”

So the Jews said to him,

   “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,

   before Abraham came to be, I AM.”

So they picked up stones to throw at him;

   but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.

If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. Jn 8:31-42

 ✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him,

“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,

   and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham

   and have never been enslaved to anyone.

How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”

Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,

   everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.

A slave does not remain in a household forever,

   but a son always remains.

So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.

I know that you are descendants of Abraham.

But you are trying to kill me,

   because my word has no room among you.

I tell you what I have seen in the Father’s presence;

   then do what you have heard from the Father.”

They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.”

Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children,

   you would be doing the works of Abraham.

But now you are trying to kill me,

   a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God;

Abraham did not do this.

You are doing the works of your father!”

So they said to him, “We were not born of fornication.

We have one Father, God.”

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,

   for I came from God and am here;

   I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”

Joseph did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him. Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a Or: Luke 2:41-51a Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.

Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.

When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,

   but before they lived together,

   she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.

Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,

   yet unwilling to expose her to shame,

   decided to divorce her quietly.

Such was his intention when, behold,

   the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,

   “Joseph, son of David,

   do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.

For it is through the Holy Spirit

   that this child has been conceived in her.

She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,

   because he will save his people from their sins.”

When Joseph awoke,

   he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him

   and took his wife into his home.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,

   and when he was twelve years old,

   they went up according to festival custom.

After they had completed its days, as they were returning,

   the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,

   but his parents did not know it.

Thinking that he was in the caravan,

   they journeyed for a day

   and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,

   but not finding him,

   they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.

After three days they found him in the temple,

   sitting in the midst of the teachers,

   listening to them and asking them questions,

   and all who heard him were astounded

   at his understanding and his answers.

When his parents saw him,

   they were astonished,

   and his mother said to him,

   “Son, why have you done this to us?

Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”

And he said to them,

   “Why were you looking for me?

Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

But they did not understand what he said to them.

He went down with them and came to Nazareth,

   and was obedient to them.

I am the light of the world. Jn 8:12-20

Jesus spoke to them again, saying,

   “I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,

   but will have the light of life.”

So the Pharisees said to him,

   “You testify on your own behalf,

   so your testimony cannot be verified.”

Jesus answered and said to them,

   “Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony can be verified,

   because I know where I came from and where I am going.

But you do not know where I come from or where I am going.

You judge by appearances, but I do not judge anyone.

And even if I should judge, my judgment is valid,

   because I am not alone,

   but it is I and the Father who sent me.

Even in your law it is written

   that the testimony of two men can be verified.

I testify on my behalf and so does the Father who sent me.”

So they said to him, “Where is your father?”

Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father.

If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

He spoke these words

   while teaching in the treasury in the temple area.

But no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

If a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it produces much fruit. Jn 12:20-33

Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast

   came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee,

   and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”

Philip went and told Andrew;

   then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

Jesus answered them,

   “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

Amen, amen, I say to you,

   unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,

   it remains just a grain of wheat;

   but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

Whoever loves his life loses it,

   and whoever hates his life in this world

   will preserve it for eternal life.

Whoever serves me must follow me,

   and where I am, there also will my servant be.

The Father will honor whoever serves me.

“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?

‘Father, save me from this hour’?

But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.

Father, glorify your name.”

Then a voice came from heaven,

   “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”

The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder;

   but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”

Jesus answered and said,

   “This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.

Now is the time of judgment on this world;

   now the ruler of this world will be driven out.

And when I am lifted up from the earth,

   I will draw everyone to myself.”

He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.

The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he? Jn 7:40-53

Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said,

“This is truly the Prophet.”

Others said, “This is the Christ.”

But others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he?

Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David’s family

   and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”

So a division occurred in the crowd because of him.

Some of them even wanted to arrest him,

   but no one laid hands on him.

So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees,

   who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?”

The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.”

So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived?

Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?

But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.”

Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them,

   “Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him

   and finds out what he is doing?”

They answered and said to him,

   “You are not from Galilee also, are you?

Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

Then each went to his own house.

They tried to arrest him, but his hour had not yet come. Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Jesus moved about within Galilee;

   he did not wish to travel in Judea,

   because the Jews were trying to kill him.

But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.

But when his brothers had gone up to the feast,

   he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret.

Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said,

   “Is he not the one they are trying to kill?

And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him.

Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ?

But we know where he is from.

When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”

So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said,

   “You know me and also know where I am from.

Yet I did not come on my own,

   but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.

I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”

So they tried to arrest him,

   but no one laid a hand upon him,

   because his hour had not yet come.

The one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. Jn 5:31-47

Jesus said to the Jews:

“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.

But there is another who testifies on my behalf,

   and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.

You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.

I do not accept human testimony,

   but I say this so that you may be saved.

He was a burning and shining lamp,

   and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.

But I have testimony greater than John’s.

The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,

   these works that I perform testify on my behalf

   that the Father has sent me.

Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.

But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,

   and you do not have his word remaining in you,

   because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.

You search the Scriptures,

   because you think you have eternal life through them;

   even they testify on my behalf.

But you do not want to come to me to have life.

“I do not accept human praise;

   moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.

I came in the name of my Father,

   but you do not accept me;

   yet if another comes in his own name,

   you will accept him.

How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another

   and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?

Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:

   the one who will accuse you is Moses,

   in whom you have placed your hope.

For if you had believed Moses,

   you would have believed me,

   because he wrote about me.

But if you do not believe his writings,

   how will you believe my words?”

As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also does the Son give life to those whom he chooses. Jn 5:17-30

Jesus answered the Jews:

“My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.”

For this reason they tried all the more to kill him,

   because he not only broke the sabbath

   but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.

Jesus answered and said to them,

   “Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own,

   but only what he sees the Father doing;

   for what he does, the Son will do also.

For the Father loves the Son

   and shows him everything that he himself does,

   and he will show him greater works than these,

   so that you may be amazed.

For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,

   so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.

Nor does the Father judge anyone,

   but he has given all judgment to the Son,

   so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.

Whoever does not honor the Son

   does not honor the Father who sent him.

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word

   and believes in the one who sent me

   has eternal life and will not come to condemnation,

   but has passed from death to life.

Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here

   when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,

   and those who hear will live.

For just as the Father has life in himself,

   so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself.

And he gave him power to exercise judgment,

   because he is the Son of Man.

Do not be amazed at this,

   because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs

   will hear his voice and will come out,

   those who have done good deeds

   to the resurrection of life,

   but those who have done wicked deeds

   to the resurrection of condemnation.

“I cannot do anything on my own;

   I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just,

   because I do not seek my own will

   but the will of the one who sent me.”

Immediately the man became well. Jn 5:1-16

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate

   a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.

In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.

One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.

When Jesus saw him lying there

   and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,

   “Do you want to be well?”

The sick man answered him,

   “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool

   when the water is stirred up;

   while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.”

Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”

Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

Now that day was a sabbath.

So the Jews said to the man who was cured,

   “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.”

He answered them, “The man who made me well told me,

   ‘Take up your mat and walk.’”

They asked him,

   “Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?”

The man who was healed did not know who it was,

   for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.

After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,

   “Look, you are well; do not sin any more,

   so that nothing worse may happen to you.”

The man went and told the Jews

   that Jesus was the one who had made him well.

Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus

   because he did this on a sabbath.

Go, your son will live. Jn 4:43-54

At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee.

For Jesus himself testified

   that a prophet has no honor in his native place.

When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him,

   since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast;

   for they themselves had gone to the feast.

Then he returned to Cana in Galilee,

   where he had made the water wine.

Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.

When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,

   he went to him and asked him to come down

   and heal his son, who was near death.

Jesus said to him,

   “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”

The royal official said to him,

   “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.”

The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.

While the man was on his way back,

   his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.

He asked them when he began to recover.

They told him,

   “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.”

The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,

   “Your son will live,”

   and he and his whole household came to believe.

Now this was the second sign Jesus did

   when he came to Galilee from Judea.

God sent his Son so that the world might be saved through him. Jn 3:14-21

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,

   so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

   so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

For God so loved the world that he gave  his only Son,

   so that everyone who believes in him might not perish

   but might have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

   but that the world might be saved through him.

Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,

   but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,

   because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

And this is the verdict,

   that the light came into the world,

   but people preferred darkness to light,

   because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light

   and does not come toward the light,

   so that his works might not be exposed.

But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,

   so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

The tax collector went home justified, not the Pharisee. Lk 18:9-14

Jesus addressed this parable

   to those who were convinced of their own righteousness

   and despised everyone else.

“Two people went up to the temple area to pray;

   one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.

The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,

   ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—

   greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector.

I fast twice a week,

   and I pay tithes on my whole income.’

But the tax collector stood off at a distance

   and would not even raise his eyes to heaven

   but beat his breast and prayed,

   ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’

I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;

   for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,

   and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God.Mk 12:28-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,

“Which is the first of all the commandments?”

Jesus replied, “The first is this:

   Hear, O Israel!

   The Lord our God is Lord alone!

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

   with all your soul,

   with all your mind,

   and with all your strength.

The second is this:

   You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no other commandment greater than these.”

The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.

You are right in saying,

   He is One and there is no other than he.

And to love him with all your heart,

   with all your understanding,

   with all your strength,

   and to love your neighbor as yourself

   is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,

   he said to him,

“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Whoever is not with me is against me.Lk 11:14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,

   and when the demon had gone out,

   the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.

Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,

   he drives out demons.”

Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.

But he knew their thoughts and said to them,

   “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste

   and house will fall against house.

And if Satan is divided against himself,

   how will his kingdom stand?

For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.

If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,

   by whom do your own people drive them out?

Therefore they will be your judges.

But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,

   then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,

   his possessions are safe.

But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,

   he takes away the armor on which he relied

   and distributes the spoils.

Whoever is not with me is against me,

   and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

Whoever keeps and teaches the law will be called great. Mt 5:17-19

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,

   not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter

   will pass from the law,

   until all things have taken place.

Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments

   and teaches others to do so

   will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.

But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments

   will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

Unless each of you forgives your brother and sister, the Father will not fogive you. Mt 18:21-35

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,

   “Lord, if my brother sins against me,

   how often must I forgive him?

As many as seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.

That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king

   who decided to settle accounts with his servants.

When he began the accounting,

   a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.

Since he had no way of paying it back,

   his master ordered him to be sold,

   along with his wife, his children, and all his property,

   in payment of the debt.

At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,

   ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’

Moved with compassion the master of that servant

   let him go and forgave him the loan.

When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants

   who owed him a much smaller amount.

He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,

   ‘Pay back what you owe.’

Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,

   ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

But he refused.

Instead, he had him put in prison

   until he paid back the debt.

Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,

   they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master

   and reported the whole affair.

His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!

I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.

Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,

   as I had pity on you?’

Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers

   until he should pay back the whole debt.

So will my heavenly Father do to you,

   unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”

Like Elijah and Elisha, Jesus was sent not only to the Jews. Lk 4:24-30

 Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:

   “Amen, I say to you,

   no prophet is accepted in his own native place.

Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel

   in the days of Elijah

   when the sky was closed for three and a half years

   and a severe famine spread over the entire land.

It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,

   but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.

Again, there were many lepers in Israel

   during the time of Elisha the prophet;

   yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

When the people in the synagogue heard this,

   they were all filled with fury.

They rose up, drove him out of the town,

   and led him to the brow of the hill

   on which their town had been built,

   to hurl him down headlong.

But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Jn 2:13-25

Since the Passover of the Jews was near,

Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,

   as well as the money changers seated there.

He made a whip out of cords

   and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,

   and spilled the coins of the money changers

   and overturned their tables,

   and to those who sold doves he said,

   “Take these out of here,

   and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”

His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,

   Zeal for your house will consume me.

At this the Jews answered and said to him,

   “What sign can you show us for doing this?”

Jesus answered and said to them,

   “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”

The Jews said,

   “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,

   and you will raise it up in three days?”

But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,

   his disciples remembered that he had said this,

   and they came to believe the Scripture

   and the word Jesus had spoken.

While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,

   many began to believe in his name

   when they saw the signs he was doing.

But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all,

   and did not need anyone to testify about human nature.

He himself understood it well.

Your brother was dead and has come to life. Lk 15:1-3, 11-32

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,

   but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,

“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So to them Jesus addressed this parable.

“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father,

   ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’

So the father divided the property between them.

After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings

   and set off to a distant country

   where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.

When he had freely spent everything,

   a severe famine struck that country,

   and he found himself in dire need.

So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens

   who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.

And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed,

   but nobody gave him any.

Coming to his senses he thought,

   ‘How many of my father’s hired workers

   have more than enough food to eat,

   but here am I, dying from hunger.

I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,

   “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

I no longer deserve to be called your son;

   treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’

So he got up and went back to his father.

While he was still a long way off,

   his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.

He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.

His son said to him,

   ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;

   I no longer deserve to be called your son.’

But his father ordered his servants,

   ‘Quickly, bring the finest robe and put it on him;

   put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.

Then let us celebrate with a feast,

   because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;

   he was lost, and has been found.’

Then the celebration began.

Now the older son had been out in the field

   and, on his way back, as he neared the house,

   he heard the sound of music and dancing.

He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.

The servant said to him,

   ‘Your brother has returned

   and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf

   because he has him back safe and sound.’

He became angry,

   and when he refused to enter the house,

   his father came out and pleaded with him.

He said to his father in reply,

   ‘Look, all these years I served you

   and not once did I disobey your orders;

   yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.

But when your son returns

   who swallowed up your property with prostitutes,

   for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’

He said to him,

   ‘My son, you are here with me always;

   everything I have is yours.

But now we must celebrate and rejoice,

   because your brother was dead and has come to life again;

   he was lost and has been found.’”

This is the heir; let us kill him. Mt 21:33-43, 45-46

 Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:

   “Hear another parable.

There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,

   put a hedge around it,

   dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.

Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.

When vintage time drew near,

   he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.

But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,

   another they killed, and a third they stoned.

Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,

   but they treated them in the same way.

Finally, he sent his son to them,

   thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’

But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,

   ‘This is the heir.

Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’

They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?”

They answered him,

   “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death

   and lease his vineyard to other tenants

   who will give him the produce at the proper times.”

Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures:

   The stone that the builders rejected

      has become the cornerstone;

   by the Lord has this been done,

      and it is wonderful in our eyes?

Therefore, I say to you,

   the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you

   and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,

   they knew that he was speaking about them.

And although they were attempting to arrest him,

   they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.