Readings for Wednesday 15th Week in Ordinary Time

Year 2

First Reading
Is 10:5-7, 13b-16

Will the axe boast against the one who hews with it?

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah

      Thus says the LORD:
Woe to Assyria! My rod in anger,
   my staff in wrath.
Against an impious nation I send him,
   and against a people under my wrath I order him
To seize plunder, carry off loot,
   and tread them down like the mud of the streets.
But this is not what he intends,
   nor does he have this in mind;
Rather, it is in his heart to destroy,
   to make an end of nations not a few.

   For he says:
“By my own power I have done it,
   and by my wisdom, for I am shrewd.
I have moved the boundaries of peoples,
   their treasures I have pillaged,
   and, like a giant, I have put down the enthroned.
My hand has seized like a nest
   the riches of nations;
As one takes eggs left alone,
   so I took in all the earth;
No one fluttered a wing,
   or opened a mouth, or chirped!”

Will the axe boast against him who hews with it?
   Will the saw exalt itself above him who wields it?
As if a rod could sway him who lifts it,
   or a staff him who is not wood!
Therefore the Lord, the LORD of hosts,
   will send among his fat ones leanness,
And instead of his glory there will be kindling
   like the kindling of fire.


Responsorial Psalm
Ps 94:5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 14-15

R. :

R. (14a) The Lord will not abandon his people.

Your people, O LORD, they trample down,
   your inheritance they afflict.
Widow and stranger they slay,
   the fatherless they murder.

R. The Lord will not abandon his people.

And they say, “The LORD sees not;
   the God of Jacob perceives not.”
Understand, you senseless ones among the people;
   and, you fools, when will you be wise?

R. The Lord will not abandon his people.

Shall he who shaped the ear not hear?
   or he who formed the eye not see?
Shall he who instructs nations not chastise,
   he who teaches men knowledge?

R. The Lord will not abandon his people.

For the LORD will not cast off his people,
   nor abandon his inheritance;
But judgment shall again be with justice,
   and all the upright of heart shall follow it.

R. The Lord will not abandon his people.

Year 1

First Reading
Ex 3:1-6, 9-12

The angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush.

A reading from the Book of Exodus

Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian.
Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb,
   the mountain of God.
There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire
   flaming out of a bush.
As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush,
   though on fire, was not consumed.
So Moses decided,
   “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight,
   and see why the bush is not burned.”

When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely,
   God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
He answered, “Here I am.”
God said, “Come no nearer!
Remove the sandals from your feet,
   for the place where you stand is holy ground.
I am the God of your father,” he continued,
   “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.
The cry of the children of Israel has reached me,
   and I have truly noted that the Egyptians are oppressing them.
Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people,
   the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God,
   “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh
   and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
He answered, “I will be with you;
   and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you:
   when you bring my people out of Egypt,
   you will worship God on this very mountain.”


Responsorial Psalm
Ps 103:1b-2, 3-4, 6-7

R. :

R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
   and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
   and forget not all his benefits.

R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

He pardons all your iniquities,
   he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
   he crowns you with kindness and compassion.

R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

The LORD secures justice
   and the rights of all the oppressed.
He has made known his ways to Moses,
   and his deeds to the children of Israel.

R. The Lord is kind and merciful.


Gospel Acclamation
See Mt 11:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel
Mt 11:25-27

Although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

At that time Jesus exclaimed:
“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
   for although you have hidden these things
   from the wise and the learned
   you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
   and no one knows the Father except the Son
   and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Then he kisses the book, saying quietly:

Through the words of the Gospel
may our sins be wiped away.


Homilies / Gospel Reflections







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