Isaiah 5:7-16

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

⁷ For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
    is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
    are his pleasant planting;
and he looked for justice,
    but behold, bloodshed;
for righteousness,
    but behold, a cry!

Social Injustice Denounced

⁸ Woe to those who join house to house,
    who add field to field,
until there is no more room,
    and you are made to dwell alone
    in the midst of the land.
⁹ The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing:
“Surely many houses shall be desolate,
    large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
¹⁰ For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath,
    and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.”

¹¹ Woe to those who rise early in the morning,
    that they may run after strong drink,
who tarry late into the evening
    till wine inflames them!
¹² They have lyre and harp,
    timbrel and flute and wine at their feasts;
but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord,
    or see the work of his hands.

¹³ Therefore my people go into exile
    for want of knowledge;
their honored men are dying of hunger,
    and their multitude is parched with thirst.
¹⁴ Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite
    and opened its mouth beyond measure,
and the nobility of Jerusalem^[a] and her multitude go down,
    her throng and he who exults in her.
¹⁵ Man is bowed down, and men are brought low,
    and the eyes of the haughty are humbled.
¹⁶ But the Lord of hosts is exalted in justice,
    and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.

Genesis 4:8-15

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

⁸ Cain said to Abel his brother, “Let us go out to the field.”^[a] And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰ And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. ¹¹ And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹² When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” ¹³ Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. ¹⁴ Behold, thou hast driven me this day away from the ground; and from thy face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay me.” ¹⁵ Then the Lord said to him, “Not so!^[b] If any one slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him.

Proverbs 5:1-15

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Warning against Impurity and Infidelity

5 My son, be attentive to my wisdom,
incline your ear to my understanding;
² that you may keep discretion,
    and your lips may guard knowledge.
³ For the lips of a loose woman drip honey,
    and her speech^[a] is smoother than oil;
⁴ but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
    sharp as a two-edged sword.
⁵ Her feet go down to death;
    her steps follow the path to^[b] Sheol;
⁶ she does not take heed to^[c] the path of life;
    her ways wander, and she does not know it.

⁷ And now, O sons, listen to me,
    and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
⁸ Keep your way far from her,
    and do not go near the door of her house;
⁹ lest you give your honor to others
    and your years to the merciless;
¹⁰ lest strangers take their fill of your strength,^[d]
    and your labors go to the house of an alien;
¹¹ and at the end of your life you groan,
    when your flesh and body are consumed,
¹² and you say, “How I hated discipline,
    and my heart despised reproof!
¹³ I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
    or incline my ear to my instructors.
¹⁴ I was at the point of utter ruin
    in the assembled congregation.”

¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern,
    flowing water from your own well.

 

23 The holy martyr Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, who is honored as a disciple of blessed John and the final witness of the apostolic age. Under the emperors Marcus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, about the age of 90, he was given over to the flames in the amphitheater at Smyrna in Asia. Before the proconsul and the whole people, he gave thanks to God the Father because he had been deemed worthy to be numbered among the martyrs and to receive a portion from the cup of Christ. (c. 155)

 

Isaiah 4:2-5:6

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

The Future Glory of the Survivors in Zion

² In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel. ³ And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, every one who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, ⁴ when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. ⁵ Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy and a pavilion. ⁶ It will be for a shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.

The Song of the Unfruitful Vineyard

5 ^[a]Let me sing for my beloved
    a love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
    on a very fertile hill.
² He digged it and cleared it of stones,
    and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
    and hewed out a wine vat in it;
and he looked for it to yield grapes,
    but it yielded wild grapes.

³ And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
    and men of Judah,
judge, I pray you, between me
    and my vineyard.
⁴ What more was there to do for my vineyard,
    that I have not done in it?
When I looked for it to yield grapes,
    why did it yield wild grapes?

⁵ And now I will tell you
    what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
    and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
    and it shall be trampled down.
⁶ I will make it a waste;
    it shall not be pruned or hoed,
    and briers and thorns shall grow up;
I will also command the clouds
    that they rain no rain upon it.

Genesis 3:21-4:7

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

²¹ And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.

²² Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever”— ²³ therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Cain Murders Abel

4 ^[a]Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten^[b] a man with the help of the Lord.” ² And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. ³ In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, ⁴ and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, ⁵ but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. ⁶ The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? ⁷ If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

Proverbs 3:34-4:22

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

³⁴ Toward the scorners he is scornful,
    but to the humble he shows favor.
³⁵ The wise will inherit honor,
    but fools get^[a] disgrace.

Fatherly Advice

4 Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction,
and be attentive, that you may gain^[b] insight;
² for I give you good precepts:
    do not forsake my teaching.
³ When I was a son with my father,
    tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,
⁴ he taught me, and said to me,
“Let your heart hold fast my words;
    keep my commandments, and live;
⁵ do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
    Get wisdom; get insight.^[c]
6 Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;
    love her, and she will guard you.
⁷ The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,
    and whatever you get, get insight.
⁸ Prize her highly,^[d] and she will exalt you;
    she will honor you if you embrace her.
⁹ She will place on your head a fair garland;
    she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

Admonition to Keep to the Right Path

¹⁰ Hear, my son, and accept my words,
    that the years of your life may be many.
¹¹ I have taught you the way of wisdom;
    I have led you in the paths of uprightness.
¹² When you walk, your step will not be hampered;
    and if you run, you will not stumble.
¹³ Keep hold of instruction, do not let go;
    guard her, for she is your life.
¹⁴ Do not enter the path of the wicked,
    and do not walk in the way of evil men.
¹⁵ Avoid it; do not go on it;
    turn away from it and pass on.
¹⁶ For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;
    they are robbed of sleep unless they have made some one stumble.
¹⁷ For they eat the bread of wickedness
    and drink the wine of violence.
¹⁸ But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
    which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
¹⁹ The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
    they do not know over what they stumble.

²⁰ My son, be attentive to my words;
    incline your ear to my sayings.
²¹ Let them not escape from your sight;
    keep them within your heart.
²² For they are life to him who finds them,
    and healing to all his flesh.

 

22 The Finding of the venerable relics of the Martyrs at Eugenia near Constantinople. A divine revelation showed the burial place of these martyrs of whom it was said, “God alone knows their names, and he has written them in the Book of Life in heaven.”

Hebrews 1:1-12

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

God Has Spoken by His Son

1 In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. ³ He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs.^[a]

The Son Is Superior to Angels

⁵ For to what angel did God ever say,

“Thou art my Son,
today I have begotten thee”?

Or again,

“I will be to him a father,
and he shall be to me a son”?

⁶ And again, when he brings the first-born into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”

⁷ Of the angels he says,

“Who makes his angels winds,
and his servants flames of fire.”

⁸ But of the Son he says,

“Thy throne, O God,^[b] is for ever and ever,
the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy^[c] kingdom.
⁹ Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee
with the oil of gladness beyond thy comrades.”

¹⁰ And,

“Thou, Lord, didst found the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the work of thy hands;
¹¹ they will perish, but thou remainest;
they will all grow old like a garment,
¹² like a mantle thou wilt roll them up,
and they will be changed.^[d]
But thou art the same,
and thy years will never end.”

2 Timothy 2:1-10

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

2 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ² and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. ³ Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No soldier on service gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to satisfy the one who enlisted him. ⁵ An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. ⁷ Think over what I say, for the Lord will grant you understanding in everything.

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descended from David, as preached in my gospel, ⁹ the gospel for which I am suffering and wearing fetters like a criminal. But the word of God is not fettered. ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which in Christ Jesus goes with eternal glory.

Mark 2:23-3:5

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Pronouncement about the Sabbath

²³ One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck ears of grain. ²⁴ And the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” ²⁵ And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: ²⁶ how he entered the house of God, when Abi′athar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” ²⁷ And he said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; ²⁸ so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath.”

The Man with a Withered Hand

3 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. ² And they watched him, to see whether he would heal him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. ³ And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come here.” ⁴ And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. ⁵ And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

John 15:17-16:2

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

¹⁷ This I command you, to love one another.

The World’s Hatred

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.^[a] 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant^[b] is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. ²¹ But all this they will do to you on my account, because they do not know him who sent me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ He who hates me hates my Father also. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵ It is to fulfil the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’ ²⁶ But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me; ²⁷ and you also are witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning.

16 “I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away. ² They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.

 

 

20 Our venerable father Leo, bishop of Catania in Sicily, who diligently cared for the poor. (c. 787)

 

Isaiah 2:11-21

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

¹¹ The haughty looks of man shall be brought low,
    and the pride of men shall be humbled;
and the Lord alone will be exalted
    in that day.

¹² For the Lord of hosts has a day
    against all that is proud and lofty,
    against all that is lifted up and high;^[a]
13 against all the cedars of Lebanon,
    lofty and lifted up;
    and against all the oaks of Bashan;
¹⁴ against all the high mountains,
    and against all the lofty hills;
¹⁵ against every high tower,
    and against every fortified wall;
¹⁶ against all the ships of Tarshish,
    and against all the beautiful craft.
¹⁷ And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled,
    and the pride of men shall be brought low;
    and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
¹⁸ And the idols shall utterly pass away.
¹⁹ And men shall enter the caves of the rocks
    and the holes of the ground,
from before the terror of the Lord,
    and from the glory of his majesty,
    when he rises to terrify the earth.

²⁰ In that day men will cast forth
    their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,
    to the moles and to the bats,
²¹ to enter the caverns of the rocks
    and the clefts of the cliffs,
from before the terror of the Lord,
    and from the glory of his majesty,
    when he rises to terrify the earth.

Proverbs 3:1-19

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Admonition to Trust and Honor God

3 My son, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments;
² for length of days and years of life
    and abundant welfare will they give you.

³ Let not loyalty and faithfulness forsake you;
    bind them about your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ So you will find favor and good repute^[a]
    in the sight of God and man.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not rely on your own insight.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.
⁷ Be not wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
⁸ It will be healing to your flesh^[b]
    and refreshment^[c] to your bones.

⁹ Honor the Lord with your substance
    and with the first fruits of all your produce;
¹⁰ then your barns will be filled with plenty,
    and your vats will be bursting with wine.

¹¹ My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
    or be weary of his reproof,
¹² for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
    as a father the son in whom he delights.

The True Wealth

¹³ Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
    and the man who gets understanding,
¹⁴ for the gain from it is better than gain from silver
    and its profit better than gold.
¹⁵ She is more precious than jewels,
    and nothing you desire can compare with her.
¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand;
    in her left hand are riches and honor.
¹⁷ Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
    and all her paths are peace.
¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
    those who hold her fast are called happy.

God’s Wisdom in Creation

¹⁹ The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
    by understanding he established the heavens;

 

18 Our holy father Leo, Pope of Rome who, born in Etruria [i.e. Tuscany], first stood out as a diligent deacon of Rome. He was then elevated to the chair of Peter, where rightly and by his merit he deserved to be called “the Great.” He nourished his flock by his excellent and prudent discourse. Because of his orthodox teaching on the incarnation of God, the true faith was vigorously affirmed through his delegates to the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon. (461)

Isaiah 2:11-21

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

¹¹ The haughty looks of man shall be brought low,
    and the pride of men shall be humbled;
and the Lord alone will be exalted
    in that day.

¹² For the Lord of hosts has a day
    against all that is proud and lofty,
    against all that is lifted up and high;^[a]
13 against all the cedars of Lebanon,
    lofty and lifted up;
    and against all the oaks of Bashan;
¹⁴ against all the high mountains,
    and against all the lofty hills;
¹⁵ against every high tower,
    and against every fortified wall;
¹⁶ against all the ships of Tarshish,
    and against all the beautiful craft.
¹⁷ And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled,
    and the pride of men shall be brought low;
    and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
¹⁸ And the idols shall utterly pass away.
¹⁹ And men shall enter the caves of the rocks
    and the holes of the ground,
from before the terror of the Lord,
    and from the glory of his majesty,
    when he rises to terrify the earth.

²⁰ In that day men will cast forth
    their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,
    to the moles and to the bats,
²¹ to enter the caverns of the rocks
    and the clefts of the cliffs,
from before the terror of the Lord,
    and from the glory of his majesty,
    when he rises to terrify the earth.

Genesis 2:4-19

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

⁴ These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

Another Account of the Creation

^[a]In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, ⁵ when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; ⁶ but a mist^[b] went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground— ⁷ then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. ⁸ And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. ⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. ¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which flows around the whole land of Hav′ilah, where there is gold; ¹² and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which flows around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ And the name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphra′tes.

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” ¹⁹ So out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.

Proverbs 3:1-19

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Admonition to Trust and Honor God

3 My son, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments;
² for length of days and years of life
    and abundant welfare will they give you.

³ Let not loyalty and faithfulness forsake you;
    bind them about your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ So you will find favor and good repute^[a]
    in the sight of God and man.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not rely on your own insight.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.
⁷ Be not wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
⁸ It will be healing to your flesh^[b]
    and refreshment^[c] to your bones.

⁹ Honor the Lord with your substance
    and with the first fruits of all your produce;
¹⁰ then your barns will be filled with plenty,
    and your vats will be bursting with wine.

¹¹ My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
    or be weary of his reproof,
¹² for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
    as a father the son in whom he delights.

The True Wealth

¹³ Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
    and the man who gets understanding,
¹⁴ for the gain from it is better than gain from silver
    and its profit better than gold.
¹⁵ She is more precious than jewels,
    and nothing you desire can compare with her.
¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand;
    in her left hand are riches and honor.
¹⁷ Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
    and all her paths are peace.
¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
    those who hold her fast are called happy.

God’s Wisdom in Creation

¹⁹ The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
    by understanding he established the heavens;

 

17 The holy great martyr Theodore the Recruit (Tyro) of Amasea, who, in the time of the emperor Maximianus, for his confession of the Christian faith, was forcefully beaten and cast into prison, then handed over to be consumed by fire. (306) 6 stichera Mitigation for wine and oil.

 

Isaiah 1:19-2:3

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient,
    you shall eat the good of the land;
²⁰ but if you refuse and rebel,
    you shall be devoured by the sword;
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

The Degenerate City

²¹ How the faithful city
    has become a harlot,
    she that was full of justice!
Righteousness lodged in her,
    but now murderers.
²² Your silver has become dross,
    your wine mixed with water.
²³ Your princes are rebels
    and companions of thieves.
Every one loves a bribe
    and runs after gifts.
They do not defend the fatherless,
    and the widow’s cause does not come to them.

²⁴ Therefore the Lord says,
    the Lord of hosts,
    the Mighty One of Israel:
“Ah, I will vent my wrath on my enemies,
    and avenge myself on my foes.
²⁵ I will turn my hand against you
    and will smelt away your dross as with lye
    and remove all your alloy.
²⁶ And I will restore your judges as at the first,
    and your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness,
    the faithful city.”

²⁷ Zion shall be redeemed by justice,
    and those in her who repent, by righteousness.
²⁸ But rebels and sinners shall be destroyed together,
    and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
²⁹ For you shall be ashamed of the oaks
    in which you delighted;
and you shall blush for the gardens
    which you have chosen.
³⁰ For you shall be like an oak
    whose leaf withers,
    and like a garden without water.
³¹ And the strong shall become tow,
    and his work a spark,
and both of them shall burn together,
    with none to quench them.

The Future House of God

2 The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

² It shall come to pass in the latter days
    that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
    and shall be raised above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
³     and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
    and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Genesis 1:14-23

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also. ¹⁷ And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

²⁰ And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens.” ²¹ So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

Proverbs 1:20-33

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

The Call of Wisdom

²⁰ Wisdom cries aloud in the street;
    in the markets she raises her voice;
²¹ on the top of the walls^[a] she cries out;
    at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
²² “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
    and fools hate knowledge?
²³ Give heed^[b] to my reproof;
behold, I will pour out my thoughts^[c] to you;
    I will make my words known to you.
²⁴ Because I have called and you refused to listen,
    have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
²⁵ and you have ignored all my counsel
    and would have none of my reproof,
²⁶ I also will laugh at your calamity;
    I will mock when panic strikes you,
²⁷ when panic strikes you like a storm,
    and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
    when distress and anguish come upon you.
²⁸ Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
    they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
²⁹ Because they hated knowledge
    and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
³⁰ would have none of my counsel,
    and despised all my reproof,
³¹ therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way
    and be sated with their own devices.
³² For the simple are killed by their turning away,
    and the complacence of fools destroys them;
³³ but he who listens to me will dwell secure
    and will be at ease, without dread of evil.”

 

 

16 The holy martyrs: the presbyter Pamphilius, Porphyry, and their companions, who received the crown of martyrdom: Pamphilus the priest; Valens, a deacon of Jerusalem; and Paul, born in the city of Jamnia, who had passed two years in prison; and also Porphyry, a servant of Pamphilus; Seleucus the Cappadocian, who was of high rank in the military; Theodulus, an old man from the family of the governor Firmilian; and finally Julian the Cappadocian, who, coming from abroad that very same hour, when he kissed the bodies of the martyrs, was accused as a Christian and ordered by the governor to be burned over a slow fire. (309)

N.b “In the Great Fast, abstinence from meat, fish, dairy products, alcohol and foods cooked in oil was prescribed for all days, except days of mitigation. All Saturdays and Sundays, February 24, March 9, Wed to Friday of the 5^th week, the Pre-festive Day and Leave-taking (Otdanije) of Annunciation were mitigated for wine and oil. The Feast of the Annunciation (March 25^th) and Palm Sundays were mitigations (p. 14. 2021 Byzantine Catholic Typicon).

Isaiah 1:1-20

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzzi′ah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezeki′ah, kings of Judah.

The Wickedness of Judah

² Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth;
    for the Lord has spoken:
“Sons have I reared and brought up,
    but they have rebelled against me.
³ The ox knows its owner,
    and the ass its master’s crib;
but Israel does not know,
    my people does not understand.”

⁴ Ah, sinful nation,
    a people laden with iniquity,
offspring of evildoers,
    sons who deal corruptly!
They have forsaken the Lord,
    they have despised the Holy One of Israel,
    they are utterly estranged.

⁵ Why will you still be smitten,
    that you continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
    and the whole heart faint.
⁶ From the sole of the foot even to the head,
    there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
    and bleeding wounds;
they are not pressed out, or bound up,
    or softened with oil.

⁷ Your country lies desolate,
    your cities are burned with fire;
in your very presence
    aliens devour your land;
    it is desolate, as overthrown by aliens.
⁸ And the daughter of Zion is left
    like a booth in a vineyard,
like a lodge in a cucumber field,
    like a besieged city.

⁹ If the Lord of hosts
    had not left us a few survivors,
we should have been like Sodom,
    and become like Gomor′rah.

¹⁰ Hear the word of the Lord,
    you rulers of Sodom!
Give ear to the teaching of our God,
    you people of Gomor′rah!
¹¹ “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
    says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
    and the fat of fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
    or of lambs, or of he-goats.

¹² “When you come to appear before me,
    who requires of you
    this trampling of my courts?
¹³ Bring no more vain offerings;
    incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and sabbath and the calling of assemblies—
    I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
¹⁴ Your new moons and your appointed feasts
    my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me,
    I am weary of bearing them.
¹⁵ When you spread forth your hands,
    I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
    I will not listen;
    your hands are full of blood.
¹⁶ Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
    remove the evil of your doings
    from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
¹⁷     learn to do good;
seek justice,
    correct oppression;
defend the fatherless,
    plead for the widow.

¹⁸ “Come now, let us reason together,
    says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
    they shall become like wool.
¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient,
    you shall eat the good of the land;
²⁰ but if you refuse and rebel,
    you shall be devoured by the sword;
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Genesis 1:1-13

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath

1 ^[a]In the beginning God created^[b] the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit^[c] of God was moving over the face of the waters.

³ And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

⁶ And God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷ And God made the firmament and separated the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. ⁸ And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

⁹ And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. ¹¹ And God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹² The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

Proverbs 1:1-20

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

Prologue

² That men may know wisdom and instruction,
    understand words of insight,
³ receive instruction in wise dealing,
    righteousness, justice, and equity;
⁴ that prudence may be given to the simple,
    knowledge and discretion to the youth—
⁵ the wise man also may hear and increase in learning,
    and the man of understanding acquire skill,
⁶ to understand a proverb and a figure,
    the words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
    fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Warnings against Evil Companions

⁸ Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
    and reject not your mother’s teaching;
⁹ for they are a fair garland for your head,
    and pendants for your neck.
¹⁰ My son, if sinners entice you,
    do not consent.
¹¹ If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood,
    let us wantonly ambush the innocent;
¹² like Sheol let us swallow them alive
    and whole, like those who go down to the Pit;
¹³ we shall find all precious goods,
    we shall fill our houses with spoil;
¹⁴ throw in your lot among us,
    we will all have one purse”—
¹⁵ my son, do not walk in the way with them,
    hold back your foot from their paths;
¹⁶ for their feet run to evil,
    and they make haste to shed blood.
¹⁷ For in vain is a net spread
    in the sight of any bird;
¹⁸ but these men lie in wait for their own blood,
    they set an ambush for their own lives.
¹⁹ Such are the ways of all who get gain by violence;
    it takes away the life of its possessors.

The Call of Wisdom

²⁰ Wisdom cries aloud in the street;
    in the markets she raises her voice;

 

15 The holy apostle Onesimus a fugitive slave whom Saint Paul the apostle caught and gave birth to in Christ, a son in the faith, as Paul himself wrote to his master Philemon. He died a martyr for Christ.

26

Romans 13:11-14:4

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

An Urgent Appeal

¹¹ Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; ¹² the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; ¹³ let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴ But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Do Not Judge Another

14 As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions.^[a] 2 One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables. ³ Let not him who eats despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgment on him who eats; for God has welcomed him. ⁴ Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand.

Hebrews 7:26-8:2

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

²⁶ For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did this once for all when he offered up himself. ²⁸ Indeed, the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect for ever.

Mediator of a Better Covenant

8 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ² a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent^[a] which is set up not by man but by the Lord.

Matthew 6:14-21

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

¹⁴ For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; ¹⁵ but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Concerning Fasting

¹⁶ “And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. ¹⁷ But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Concerning Treasures

¹⁹ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust^[a] consume and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust^[b] consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

John 10:9-16

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

⁹ I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. ¹¹ I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³ He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd;^[a] I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵ as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.

 

14 The passing of our venerable father Constantine, whose monastic name is Cyril, Apostle of the Slavs. Readings at Vespers. Polyeleos at Matins. This man from Thessalonica, along with his brother Methodius, was sent by Photius, the bishop of Constantinople, to Moravia, where he preached the Christian faith and devised an alphabet that they might translate the sacred books from the Greek to the Slavic language. When they came to Rome, Cyril, who had been called Constantine, was afflicted by illness. He was made a monk and the same day slept in the Lord. (869)

 

 

 

Our venerable father Auxentius. (5th century)

The venerable Maron, hermit and wonder-worker. (c. 423)