And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Lk 1:39–56

Mary set out

   and traveled to the hill country in haste

   to a town of Judah,

   where she entered the house of Zechariah

   and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,

   the infant leaped in her womb,

   and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,

   cried out in a loud voice and said,

   “Most blessed are you among women,

   and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And how does this happen to me,

   that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,

   the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Blessed are you who believed

   that what was spoken to you by the Lord

   would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

   my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

   for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

   the Almighty has done great things for me,

   and holy is his Name.

 He has mercy on those who fear him

   in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

   he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

   and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

   and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

   for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

   the promise he made to our fathers,

   to Abraham and his children for ever.”

Mary remained with her about three months

   and then returned to her home.

Master, I want to see. Mk 10:46-52

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,

   Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,

   sat by the roadside begging.

On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,

   he began to cry out and say,

   “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”

And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.

But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.”

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called the blind man, saying to him,

   “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”

He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.

Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”

The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”

Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”

Immediately he received his sight

   and followed him on the way.

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be handed over. Mk 10:32-45

The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem,

   and Jesus went ahead of them.

They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.

Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them

   what was going to happen to him.

“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man

   will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes,

   and they will condemn him to death

   and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him,

   spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death,

   but after three days he will rise.”

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee,

   came to Jesus and said to him,

“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”

He replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?”

They answered him,

   “Grant that in your glory

   we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.”

Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking.

Can you drink the chalice that I drink

   or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”

They said to him, “We can.”

Jesus said to them, “The chalice that I drink, you will drink,

   and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;

   but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give

   but is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.

Jesus summoned them and said to them,

   “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles

   lord it over them,

   and their great ones make their authority over them felt.

But it shall not be so among you.

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;

   whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.

For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve

   and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

You will receive a hundred times as much persecution in this present age, and eternal life in the age to come. Mk 10:28-31

Peter began to say to Jesus,

“We have given up everything and followed you.”

Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you,

   there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters

   or mother or father or children or lands

   for my sake and for the sake of the gospel

   who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:

   houses and brothers and sisters

   and mothers and children and lands,

   with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.

But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor. Mk 10:17-27

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,

   knelt down before him, and asked him,

   “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good?

No one is good but God alone.

You know the commandments: You shall not kill;

   you shall not commit adultery;

   you shall not steal;

   you shall not bear false witness;

   you shall not defraud;

   honor your father and your mother.”

He replied and said to him,

   “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.”

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,

   “You are lacking in one thing.

Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor

   and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

At that statement, his face fell,

   and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,

   “How hard it is for those who have wealth

   to enter the Kingdom of God!”

The disciples were amazed at his words.

So Jesus again said to them in reply,

   “Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God!

It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle

   than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”

They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,

   “Then who can be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said,

   “For men it is impossible, but not for God.

All things are possible for God.”

Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Mt 28:16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee,

   to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.

When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.

Then Jesus approached and said to them,

   “All power 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,

   teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Accept the Kingdom of God like a child. Mk 10:13-16

People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them,

   but the disciples rebuked them.

When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,

   “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them,

   for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Amen, I say to you,

   whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child

   will not enter it.”

Then he embraced the children and blessed them,

   placing his hands on them.

What God has joined together, no human being must separate. Mk 10:1-12

Jesus set out from there and went into the district of Judea and across the Jordan.

Again crowds gathered around him and, as was his custom,

   he again taught them.

The Pharisees approached and asked,

   “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?”

They were testing him.

He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?”

They replied,

   “Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce

   and dismiss her.”

But Jesus told them,

   “Because of the hardness of your hearts

   he wrote you this commandment.

But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother

   and be joined to his wife,

   and the two shall become one flesh.

So they are no longer two but one flesh.

Therefore what God has joined together,

   no human being must separate.”

In the house the disciples again questioned him about this.

He said to them,

   “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another

   commits adultery against her;

   and if she divorces her husband and marries another,

   she commits adultery.”

It is better for you to enter into life with one hand, than with two hands to go into Gehenna. Mk 9:41-50

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink

   because you belong to Christ,

   amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,

   it would be better for him if a great millstone

   were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.

It is better for you to enter into life maimed

   than with two hands to go into Gehenna,

   into the unquenchable fire.

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.

It is better for you to enter into life crippled

   than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.

Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye

   than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,

   where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

“Everyone will be salted with fire.

Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid,

   with what will you restore its flavor?

Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.”

Whoever is not against us is for us. Mk 9:38-40

John said to Jesus,

“Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,

   and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.”

Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him.

There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name

   who can at the same time speak ill of me.

For whoever is not against us is for us.”

Father, glorify your Son. Jn 17:1-11a

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,

 “Father, the hour has come.

Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,

   just as you gave him authority over all people,

   so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.

Now this is eternal life,

   that they should know you, the only true God,

   and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.

I glorified you on earth

  by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.

Now glorify me, Father, with you,

   with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.

They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,

   and they have kept your word.

Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,

   because the words you gave to me I have given to them,

   and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,

   and they have believed that you sent me.

I pray for them.

I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,

   because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours

   and everything of yours is mine,

   and I have been glorified in them.

And now I will no longer be in the world,

   but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”

Woman, behold your son. Behold your mother. Jn 19:25-34

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 whom he loved standing beside her,

   he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”

Then he said to the disciple,

   “Behold, your mother.”

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, “I thirst.”

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,

   “It is finished.”

And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

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 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.

As the Father sent me, so I send you. Receive the Spirit. Jn 20:19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week,

   when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,

   for fear of the Jews,

   Jesus came and stood in their midst

   and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.

As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,

   “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,

   and whose sins you retain are retained.”

This is the disciple who has written these things and his testimony is true. Jn 21:20-25

Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved,

   the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper

   and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?”

When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”

Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come?

What concern is it of yours?

You follow me.”

So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die.

But Jesus had not told him that he would not die,

   just “What if I want him to remain until I come?

What concern is it of yours?”

It is this disciple who testifies to these things

   and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true.

There are also many other things that Jesus did,

   but if these were to be described individually,

   I do not think the whole world would contain the books

   that would be written.

Feed my lambs, feed my sheep. Jn 21:15-19

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them,

   he said to Simon Peter,

   “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

He then said to Simon Peter a second time,

   “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”

He said to him the third time,

   “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time,

   “Do you love me?” and he said to him,

   “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,

   you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted;

   but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,

   and someone else will dress you

   and lead you where you do not want to go.”

He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.

And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”

May they all be one. Jn 17:20-26

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:

“I pray not only for these,

   but also for those who will believe in me through their word,

   so that they may all be one,

   as you, Father, are in me and I in you,

   that they also may be in us,

   that the world may believe that you sent me.

And I have given them the glory you gave me,

   so that they may be one, as we are one,

   I in them and you in me,

   that they may be brought to perfection as one,

   that the world may know that you sent me,

   and that you loved them even as you loved me.

Father, they are your gift to me.

I wish that where I am they also may be with me,

   that they may see my glory that you gave me,

   because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,

   but I know you, and they know that you sent me.

I made known to them your name and I will make it known,

   that the love with which you loved me

   may be in them and I in them.”

May they be one just as we are one. Jn 17:11b-19

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying:

“Holy Father, keep them in your name

   that you have given me,

   so that they may be one just as we are one.

When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me,

   and I guarded them,

   and none of them was lost

   except the son of destruction,

   in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

But now I am coming to you.

I speak this in the world

   so that they may share my joy completely.

I gave them your word, and the world hated them,

   because they do not belong to the world

   any more than I belong to the world.

I do not ask that you take them out of the world

   but that you keep them from the Evil One.

They do not belong to the world

   any more than I belong to the world.

Consecrate them in the truth.

Your word is truth.

As you sent me into the world,

   so I sent them into the world.

And I consecrate myself for them,

   so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”

It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you. Jn 15:9–17

Jesus said to his disciples:

“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.

Remain in my love.

If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,

   just as I have kept my Father’s commandments

   and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy might be in you

   and your joy might be complete.

This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.

No one has greater love than this,

   to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

I no longer call you slaves,

   because a slave does not know what his master is doing.

I have called you friends,

   because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.

It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you

   and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,

   so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.

This I command you: love one another.”

Take courage, I have overcome the world. Jn 16:29-33

The disciples said to Jesus,

“Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech.

Now we realize that you know everything

   and that you do not need to have anyone question you.

Because of this we believe that you came from God.”

Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now?

Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived

   when each of you will be scattered to his own home

   and you will leave me alone.

But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.

In the world you will have trouble,

   but take courage, I have conquered the world.”

The Lord Jesus was taken up to heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. Mk 16:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Go into the whole world

   and proclaim the gospel to every creature.

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;

   whoever does not believe will be condemned.

These signs will accompany those who believe:

   in my name they will drive out demons,

   they will speak new languages.

They will pick up serpents with their hands,

   and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.

They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,

   was taken up into heaven

   and took his seat at the right hand of God.

But they went forth and preached everywhere,

   while the Lord worked with them

   and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

My Father loves you because you have loved me and believed in me. Jn 16:23b-28

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Amen, amen, I say to you,

   whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

Until now you have not asked anything in my name;

   ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

“I have told you this in figures of speech.

The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures

   but I will tell you clearly about the Father.

On that day you will ask in my name,

   and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you.

For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me

   and have come to believe that I came from God.

I came from the Father and have come into the world.

Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

No one will take your joy away from you. Jn 16:20-23

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn,

   while the world rejoices;

   you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.

When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived;

   but when she has given birth to a child,

   she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy

   that a child has been born into the world.

So you also are now in anguish.

But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,

   and no one will take your joy away from you.

On that day you will not question me about anything.

Amen, amen, I say to you,

   whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.”

And he blessed them, and was taken up to heaven. Lk 24:46-53

Jesus said to his disciples:

   “Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer

   and rise from the dead on the third day

   and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,

   would be preached in his name to all the nations,

   beginning from Jerusalem.

You are witnesses of these things.

And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you;

   but stay in the city

   until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Then he led them out as far as Bethany,

   raised his hands, and blessed them.

As he blessed them he parted from them

   and was taken up to heaven.

They did him homage

   and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

   and they were continually in the temple praising God.

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you to all truth. Jn 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples:

“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.

But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,

   he will guide you to all truth.

He will not speak on his own,

   but he will speak what he hears,

   and will declare to you the things that are coming.

He will glorify me,

   because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.

Everything that the Father has is mine;

   for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine

   and declare it to you.”

For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. Jn 16:5-11

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Now I am going to the one who sent me,

   and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’

But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.

But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.

For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.

But if I go, I will send him to you.

And when he comes he will convict the world

   in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation:

   sin, because they do not believe in me;

   righteousness, because I am going to the Father

   and you will no longer see me;

   condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.”

The Spirit of truth will testify to me. Jn 15:26-16:4a

Jesus said to his disciples:

“When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,

   the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,

   he will testify to me.

And you also testify,

   because you have been with me from the beginning.

“I have told you this so that you may not fall away.

They will expel you from the synagogues;

   in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you

   will think he is offering worship to God.

They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.

I have told you this so that when their hour comes

   you may remember that I told you.”

No one has greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Jn 15:9-17

Jesus said to his disciples:

“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.

Remain in my love.

If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,

   just as I have kept my Father’s commandments

   and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you

   and your joy might be complete.

This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.

No one has greater love than this,

   to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

I no longer call you slaves,

   because a slave does not know what his master is doing.

I have called you friends,

   because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.

It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you

   and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,

   so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.

This I command you: love one another.” 

You do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world. Jn 15:18-21

Jesus said to his disciples:

“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.

If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;

   but because you do not belong to the world,

   and I have chosen you out of the world,

   the world hates you.

Remember the word I spoke to you,

   ‘No slave is greater than his master.’

If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,

   because they do not know the one who sent me”

Have I been with you so long and yet you do not know me? Jn 14:6-14

Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

If you know me, then you will also know my Father.

From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him,

   “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time

   and you still do not know me, Philip?

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.

How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.

The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.

Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,

   or else, believe because of the works themselves.

Amen, amen, I say to you,

   whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,

   and will do greater ones than these,

   because I am going to the Father.

And whatever you ask in my name, I will do,

   so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.”

When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Mt 10:22-25

Jesus said to the Twelve:

“You will be hated by all because of my name,

   but whoever endures to the end will be saved.

When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.

Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel

   before the Son of Man comes.

No disciple is above his teacher,

   no slave above his master.

It is enough for the disciple that he become like the teacher,

   and the slave that he become like the master.

If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub,

   how much more those of his household!” 

Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit. Jn 15:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.

He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,

   and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.

You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.

Remain in me, as I remain in you.

Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own

   unless it remains on the vine,

   so neither can you unless you remain in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches.

Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,

   because without me you can do nothing.

Anyone who does not remain in me

   will be thrown out like a branch and wither;

   people will gather them and throw them into a fire

   and they will be burned.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you,

   ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.

By this is my Father glorified,

   that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”