Hey Everyone!
Did you know that there's a rhyme and reason to what readings you hear at Mass?
The First Reading always come from the Old Testament. The exception to that is during the Easter Season when those readings always come from the Acts of the Apostles.
The Responsorial Psalm is always done in response to the First Reading. For instance: If the First Reading is about how God saved the Israelites from some sort of peril, the Responsorial Psalm will probably be a song of praise and thanks to God for getting them out of trouble.
The Second Reading always comes from the Epistles (letters).
The Gospel Reading always comes from one of the Four Gospels (thanks Captain Obvious!) It will often reference the First Reading. For instance: Let's say the First Reading comes from Isaiah 61: 1-2:
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly,
to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners,
To announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God,
to comfort all who mourn;
Did you know that there's a rhyme and reason to what readings you hear at Mass?
The First Reading always come from the Old Testament. The exception to that is during the Easter Season when those readings always come from the Acts of the Apostles.
The Responsorial Psalm is always done in response to the First Reading. For instance: If the First Reading is about how God saved the Israelites from some sort of peril, the Responsorial Psalm will probably be a song of praise and thanks to God for getting them out of trouble.
The Second Reading always comes from the Epistles (letters).
The Gospel Reading always comes from one of the Four Gospels (thanks Captain Obvious!) It will often reference the First Reading. For instance: Let's say the First Reading comes from Isaiah 61: 1-2:
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly,
to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners,
To announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God,
to comfort all who mourn;
If that's the case, you're likely to hear Luke 4: 17-21:
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."
He said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."
There is a beauty and an interconnectedness to the readings at Mass and, as Catholics, we believe that Jesus is present in The Word. Truly, Jesus IS the Word.
If you would like the readings for an upcoming Mass, you can find them on the U.S Bishop's website. All you need to do is bookmark:
Doing this will help you to be more prepared to participate in the most important thing we do as Catholics, the Mass!
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