DR Squared: Solemnity Of the Nativity Of Saint John The Baptist--Vigil

First Reading:  Jeremiah 1:4-10

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:  Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and made thee a prophet unto the nations. And I said: Ah, ah, ah, Lord God: behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child. And the Lord said to me: Say not: I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee: and whatsoever I shall command thee, thou shalt speak. Be not afraid at their presence: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. And the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth: and the Lord said to me: Behold I have given my words in thy mouth:  Lo, I have set thee this day over the nations, and over the kingdoms, to root up, and pull down, and to waste, and to destroy, and to build, and to plant.

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 71 (70):6b; V. 1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 15ab and 17

R.  (F)rom my mother's womb thou art my protector.

V.  In thee, O Lord, I have hoped,

     let me never be put to confusion:

     Deliver me in thy justice, and rescue me.

     Incline thy ear unto me, and save me.

V.  Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a place of strength:

     that thou mayst make me safe.

     For thou art my firmament and my refuge.

     Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the sinner,

V.  For thou art my patience, O Lord:

     my hope, O Lord, from my youth;

     By thee have I been confirmed from the womb:

     from my mother's womb thou art my protector.

V.  My mouth shall shew forth thy justice;

     thy salvation all the day long.

     Thou hast taught me, O God, from my youth:

     and till now I will declare thy wonderful works. 

Second Reading:  1 Peter 1:8-12

Whom having not seen, you love: in whom also now, though you see him not, you believe: and believing shall rejoice with joy unspeakable and glorified; Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and diligently searched, who prophesied of the grace to come in you. Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in them did signify: when it foretold those sufferings that are in Christ, and the glories that should follow: To whom it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to you they ministered those things which are now declared to you by them that have preached the gospel to you, the Holy Ghost being sent down from heaven, on whom the angels desire to look.

Gospel Reading:  Luke 1:5-17

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zachary, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth. And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame. And they had no son, for that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years. And it came to pass, when he executed the priestly function in the order of his course before God, According to the custom of the priestly office, it was his lot to offer incense, going into the temple of the Lord. And all the multitude of the people was praying without, at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zachary seeing him, was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him: Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John:  And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice in his nativity. For he shall be great before the Lord; and shall drink no wine nor strong drink: and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias; that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

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Originally posted 6/23/2025.

DR Squared: Tuesday Of The Twelfth Week In Ordinary Time (Year II)

First Reading:  2 Kings 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36

(A)nd was going against him, he sent messengers to Ezechias, saying:  Thus shall you say to Ezechias king of Juda: Let not thy God deceive thee, in whom thou trustest: and do not say: Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hands of the king of the Assyrians. Behold thou hast heard what the kings of the Assyrians have done to all countries, how they have laid them waste: and canst thou alone be delivered? And when Ezechias had received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and had read it, he went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord, And he prayed in his sight, saying: O Lord God of Israel, who sitteth upon the cherubims, thou alone art the God of all the kings of the earth: thou madest heaven and earth:  Incline thy ear, and hear: open, O Lord, thy eyes, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to upbraid unto us the living God. Of a truth, O Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have destroyed nations, and the lands of them all. And they have cast their gods into the fire: for they were not gods, but the works of men's hands of wood and stone, and they destroyed them. Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know, that thou art the Lord the only God. And Isaias the son of Amos sent to Ezechias, saying: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I have heard the prayer thou hast made to me concerning Sennacherib king of the Assyrians. This is the word, that the Lord hath spoken of him: The virgin the daughter of Sion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn: the daughter of Jerusalem hath wagged her head behind thy back. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and that which shall be saved out of mount Sion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. Wherefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of the Assyrians: He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow into it, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a trench about it. By the way that he came, he shall return: and into this city he shall not come, saith the Lord. And I will protect this city, and will save it for my own sake, and for David my servant's sake. And it came to pass that night, that an angel of the Lord came, and slew in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand. And Sennacherib king of the Assyrians departing went away, and he returned and abode in Ninive.

Responsorial Psalm:  cf. Psalm 48 (47):9d; V. 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 10-11

R.  God hath founded it for ever.

V.  Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised

     in the city of our God,

     in his holy mountain.

     With the joy of the whole earth

V.  (I)s mount Sion founded,

     on the sides of the north, the city of the great king.

     In her houses shall God be known,

     when he shall protect her.

V.  We have received thy mercy, O God,

     in the midst of thy temple.

     According to thy name, O God, so also is thy praise

     unto the ends of the earth:

     thy right hand is full of justice.  

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 7:6, 12-14

Give not that which is holy to dogs; neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turning upon you, they tear you. All things therefore whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them. For this is the law and the prophets. Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

DR Squared: Optional Memorial Of Saint Paulinus Of Nola, Bishop

First Reading:  2 Corinthians 8:9-15

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that being rich he became poor, for your sakes; that through his poverty you might be rich. And herein I give my advice; for this is profitable for you, who have begun not only to do, but also to be willing, a year ago. Now therefore perform ye it also in deed; that as your mind is forward to be willing, so it may be also to perform, out of that which you have. For if the will be forward, it is accepted according to that which a man hath, not according to that which he hath not. For I mean not that others should be eased, and you burthened, but by an equality. In this present time let your abundance supply their want, that their abundance also may supply your want, that there may be an equality, As it is written: He that had much, had nothing over; and he that had little, had no want.

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 40 (39):8a, 9a; V. 2 and 4ab, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11

R.  Then said I, Behold I come. That I should do thy will:

V.  With expectation I have waited for the Lord,

     and he was attentive to me.

     And he put a new canticle into my mouth,

     a song to our God.

V.  Sacrifice and oblation thou didst not desire;

     but thou hast pierced ears for me.

     Burnt offering and sin offering thou didst not require:

     Then said I, Behold I come.

V.  In the head of the book it is written of me

     That I should do thy will: O my God, I have desired it,

     and thy law in the midst of my heart.

V.  I have declared thy justice in a great church,

     lo, I will not restrain my lips: O Lord, thou knowest it.

V.  I have not hid thy justice within my heart:

     I have declared thy truth and thy salvation.

     I have not concealed thy mercy and thy truth

     from a great council.

Gospel Reading:  Luke 12:32-34

Fear not, little flock, for it hath pleased your Father to give you a kingdom. Sell what you possess and give alms. Make to yourselves bags which grow not old, a treasure in heaven which faileth not: where no thief approacheth, nor moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

DR Squared: Optional Memorial Of Saint John Fisher, Bishop And Saint Thomas More, Martyrs

First Reading:  1 Peter 4:12-19

Dearly beloved, think not strange the burning heat which is to try you, as if some new thing happened to you; But if you partake of the sufferings of Christ, rejoice that when his glory shall be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you be reproached for the name of Christ, you shall be blessed: for that which is of the honour, glory, and power of God, and that which is his Spirit, resteth upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a railer, or a coveter of other men's things. But if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For the time is, that judgment should begin at the house of God. And if first at us, what shall be the end of them that believe not the gospel of God? And if the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them also that suffer according to the will of God, commend their souls in good deeds to the faithful Creator.

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 126 (125):5; V. 1bc-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6 (DR--1-2b, 2c-3, 4-5, 6-7)

R.  They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

V.  When the Lord brought back the captivity of Sion,

     we became like men comforted.

     Then was our mouth filled with gladness;

     and our tongue with joy.

V.  Then shall they say among the Gentiles:

     The Lord hath done great things for them.

     The Lord hath done great things for us:

     we are become joyful.

V.  Turn again our captivity, O Lord,

     as a stream in the south.

     They that sow in tears

     shall reap in joy.

V.  Going they went and wept,

     casting their seeds.

     But coming they shall come with joyfulness,

     carrying their sheaves.

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 10:34-39

Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth: I came not to send peace, but the sword. For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's enemies shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for me, shall find it.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

DR Squared: Monday Of The Twelfth Week In Ordinary Time (Year II)

First Reading:  2 Kings 17:5-8, 13-15a, 18

And he went through all the land: and going up to Samaria, he besieged it three years. And in the ninth year of Osee, the king of the Assyrians took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria: and he placed them in Hala and Habor by the river of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes. For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharao king of Egypt, and they worshipped strange gods. And they walked according to the way of the nations which the Lord had destroyed in the sight of the children of Israel and of the kings of Israel: because they had done in like manner. And the Lord testified to them in Israel and in Juda by the hand of all the prophets and seers, saying: Return from your wicked ways, and keep my precepts, and ceremonies, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers: and as I have sent to you in the hand of my servants the prophets. And they hearkened not, but hardened their necks like to the neck of their fathers, who would not obey the Lord their God. And they rejected his ordinances and the covenant that he made with their fathers, and the testimonies which he testified against them:  And the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from his sight, and there remained only the tribe of Juda.

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 60 (59):7; V. 3, 4-5, 12-13

R.  Save me with thy right hand, and hear me.

V.  O God, thou hast cast us off, and hast destroyed us;

     thou hast been angry, and hast had mercy on us.

V.  Thou hast moved the earth, and hast troubled it:

     heal thou the breaches thereof, for it has been moved.

     Thou hast shewn thy people hard things;

     thou hast made us drink wine of sorrow.

V.  Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off?

     and wilt not thou, O God, go out with our armies?

     Give us help from trouble:

     for vain is the salvation of man.

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 7:1-5

Judge not, that you may not be judged, For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why seest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye; and seest not the beam that is in thy own eye? Or how sayest thou to thy brother: Let me cast the mote out of thy eye; and behold a beam is in thy own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam in thy own eye, and then shalt thou see to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

The readings form the USCCB can be found here.

DR Squared: Twelfth Sunday In Ordinary Time (Year A)

First Reading:  Jeremiah 20:10-13

For I heard the reproaches of many, and terror on every side: Persecute him, and let us persecute him: from all the men that were my familiars, and continued at my side: if by any means he may be deceived, and we may prevail against him, and be revenged on him. But the Lord is with me as a strong warrior: therefore they that persecute me shall fall, and shall be weak: they shall be greatly confounded, because they have not understood the everlasting reproach, which never shall be effaced. And thou, O Lord of hosts, prover of the just, who seest the reins and the heart: let me see, I beseech thee, thy vengeance on them: for to thee I have laid open my cause. Sing ye to the Lord, praise the Lord: because he hath delivered the soul of the poor out of the hand of the wicked.

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35

R.  In the multitude of thy mercy hear me,

V.  Because for thy sake I have borne reproach;

     shame hath covered my face.

     I am become a stranger to my brethren,

     and an alien to the sons of my mother.

     For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up:

     and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

V.  But as for me, my prayer is to thee, O Lord;

     for the time of thy good pleasure, O God.

     In the multitude of thy mercy hear me,

     in the truth of thy salvation.

     Hear me, O Lord, for thy mercy is kind;

     look upon me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.

V,  Let the poor see and rejoice:

     seek ye God, and your soul shall live.

     For the Lord hath heard the poor:

     and hath not despised his prisoners.

     Let the heavens and the earth praise him;

     the sea, and every thing that creepeth therein.

Second Reading:  Romans 5:12-15

Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned. For until the law sin was in the world; but sin was not imputed, when the law was not. But death reigned from Adam unto Moses, even over them also who have not sinned after the similitude of the transgression of Adam, who is a figure of him who was to come. But not as the offence, so also the gift. For if by the offence of one, many died; much more the grace of God, and the gift, by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 10:26-33

Therefore fear them not. For nothing is covered that shall not be revealed: nor hid, that shall not be known. That which I tell you in the dark, speak ye in the light: and that which you hear in the ear, preach ye upon the housetops. And fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: better are you than many sparrows. Every one therefore that shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

DR Squared: Saturday Of The Eleventh Week In Ordinary Time (Year II)

First Reading:  2 Chronicles 24:17-25

And after the death of Joiada, the princes of Juda went in, and worshipped the king: and he was soothed by their services and hearkened to them. And they forsook the temple of the Lord the God of their fathers, and served groves and idols, and wrath came upon Juda and Jerusalem for this sin. And he sent prophets to them to bring them back to the Lord, and they would not give ear when they testified against them. The spirit of God then came upon Zacharias the son of Joiada the priest, and he stood in the sight of the people, and said to them: Thus saith the Lord God: Why transgress you the commandment of the Lord which will not be for your good, and have forsaken the Lord, to make him forsake you? And they gathered themselves together against him, and stoned him at the king's commandment in the court of the house of the Lord. And king Joas did not remember the kindness that Joiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. And when he died, he said: The Lord see, and require it. And when a year was come about, the army of Syria came up against him: and they came to Juda and Jerusalem, and killed all the princes of the people, and they sent all the spoils to the king of Damascus. And whereas there came a very small number of the Syrians, the Lord delivered into their hands an infinite multitude, because they had forsaken the Lord the God of their fathers: and on Joas they executed shameful judgments. And departing they left him in diseases: and his servants rose up against him, for revenge of the blood of the son of Joiada the priest, and they slew him in his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 89 (88):29a; V. 4-5, 29-30, 31-32, 33-34

R.  I will keep my mercy for him for ever:

V.  I have made a covenant with my elect:

     I have sworn to David my servant:

     Thy seed will I settle for ever.

     And I will build up thy throne unto generation and generation.

V.  I will keep my mercy for him for ever:

     and my covenant faithful to him.

     And I will make his seed to endure for evermore:

     and his throne as the days of heaven.

V.  And if his children forsake my law,

     and walk not in my judgments:

     If they profane my justices:

     and keep not my commandments:

V.  I will visit their iniquities with a rod:

     and their sins with stripes.

     But my mercy I will not take away from him:

     nor will I suffer my truth to fail.

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 6:24-34

No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat: and the body more than the raiment? Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they? And which of you by taking thought, can add to his stature by one cubit? And for raiment why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they labour not, neither do they spin. But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. And if the grass of the field, which is today, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, God doth so clothe: how much more you, O ye of little faith? Be not solicitous therefore, saying, What shall we eat: or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore solicitous for tomorrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

DR Squared: Optional Memorial Of Saint Romuald, Abbot

First Reading:  Philippians 3:8-14

Furthermore I count all things to be but loss for the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but as dung, that I may gain Christ:  And may be found in him, not having my justice, which is of the law, but that which is of the faith of Christ Jesus, which is of God, justice in faith:  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death, If by any means I may attain to the resurrection which is from the dead. Not as though I had already attained, or were already perfect; but I follow after, if I may by any means apprehend, wherein I am also apprehended by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do: forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark, to the prize of the supernal vocation of God in Christ Jesus.

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 131 (130):1bcde, 2, 3

R.  (NB:  There seems to be no corresponding verse.)

V.  Lord, my heart is not exalted:

     nor are my eyes lofty.

     Neither have I walked in great matters,

     nor in wonderful things above me.

V.  If I was not humbly minded,

     but exalted my soul:

     As a child that is weaned is towards his mother,

     so reward in my soul.

V.  Let Israel hope in the Lord,

     from henceforth now and for ever. 

Gospel Reading:  Luke 14:25-33

And there went great multitudes with him. And turning, he said to them:  If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not carry his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you having a mind to build a tower, doth not first sit down, and reckon the charges that are necessary, whether he have wherewithal to finish it:  Lest, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that see it begin to mock him, Saying: This man began to build, and was not able to finis  Or what king, about to go to make war against another king, doth not first sit down, and think whether he be able, with ten thousand, to meet him that, with twenty thousand, cometh against him? Or else, whilst the other is yet afar off, sending an embassy, he desireth conditions of peace. So likewise every one of you that doth not renounce all that he possesseth, cannot be my disciple.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

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Originally posted 6/19/2025.

DR Squared: Friday Of The Eleventh Week In Ordinary Time (Year II)

First Reading:  2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20

And Athalia the mother of Ochozias seeing that her son was dead, arose, and slew all the royal seed. But Josaba the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ochozias, took Joas the son of Ochozias, and stole him from among the king's sons that were slain, out of the bedchamber with his nurse: and hid him from the face of Athalia, so that he was not slain. And he was with her six years hid in the house of the Lord. And Athalia reigned over the land. And in the seventh year Joiada sent, and taking the centurions and the soldiers, brought them in to him into the temple of the Lord, and made a covenant with them: and taking an oath of them in the house of the Lord, shewed them the king's son:  And the centurions did according to all things that Joiada the priest had commanded them: and taking every one their men, that went in on the sabbath, with them that went out on the sabbath, came to Joiada the priest. And he gave them the spears, and the arms of king David, which were in the house of the Lord. And they stood having every one their weapons in their hands, from the right side of the temple, unto the left side of the altar, and of the temple, about the king. And he brought forth the king's son, and put the diadem upon him, and the testimony: and they made him king, and anointed him: and clapping their hands. they said, God save the king. And Athalia heard the noise of the people running: and going in to the people into the temple of the Lord, She saw the king standing upon a tribunal, as the manner was, and the singers, and the trumpets near him, and all the people of the land rejoicing, and sounding the trumpets: and she rent her garments, and cried: A conspiracy, a conspiracy. But Joiada commended the centurions that were over the army, and said to them: Have her forth without the precinct of the temple, and whosoever shall follow her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest had said: Let her not be slain in the temple of the Lord. And they laid hands on her: and thrust her out by the way by which the horses go in, by the palace, and she was slain there. And Joiada made a covenant between the Lord, and the king, and the people, that they should be the people of the Lord, and between the king and the people. And all the people of the land went into the temple of Baal, and broke down his altars, and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly: they slew also Mathan the priest of Baal before the altar. And the priest set guards in the house of the Lord. And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet: but Athalia was slain with the sword in the king's house.

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 132:11, 12, 13-14, 17-18

R.  For the Lord hath chosen Sion: he hath chosen it for his dwelling.

V.  The Lord hath sworn truth to David,

     and he will not make it void:

     of the fruit of thy womb

     I will set upon thy throne.

V.  If thy children will keep thy covenant,

     and these my testimonies which I shall teach them:

     Their children also for evermore

     shall sit upon thy throne.

V.  For the Lord hath chosen Sion:

     he hath chosen it for his dwelling.

     This is my rest for ever and ever:

     here will I dwell, for I have chosen it.

V.  There will I bring forth a horn to David:

     I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.

     His enemies I will clothe with confusion:

     but upon him will my sanctification flourish.

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 6:19-23

Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth: where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven: where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal. For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also. The light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome. But if thy eye be evil thy whole body shall be darksome. If then the light that is in thee, be darkness: the darkness itself how great shall it be!

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

DR Squared: Thursday Of The Eleventh Week In Ordinary Time (Year II)

First Reading:  Sirach 48:1-14

And Elias the prophet stood up, as a fire, and his word burnt like a torch. He brought a famine upon them, and they that provoked him in their envy, were reduced to a small number, for they could not endure the commandments of the Lord. By the word of the Lord he shut up the heaven, and he brought down fire from heaven thrice. Thus was Elias magnified in his wondrous works. And who can glory like to thee? Who raisedst up a dead man from below, from the lot of death, by the word of the Lord God. Who broughtest down kings to destruction, and brokest easily their power in pieces, and the glorious from their bed. Who heardest judgment in Sina, and in Horeb the judgments of vengeance. Who anointedst kings to penance, and madest prophets successors after thee. Who wast taken up in a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot of fiery horses. Who art registered in the judgments of times to appease the wrath of the Lord, to reconcile the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob. Blessed are they that saw thee, and were honoured with thy friendship. For we live only in our life, but after death our name shall not be such. Elias was indeed covered with the whirlwind, and his spirit was filled up in Eliseus: in his days he feared not the prince, and no man was more powerful than he. No word could overcome him, and after death his body prophesied.

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 97 (96):12a; V. 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7

R.  Rejoice, ye just, in the Lord:

V.  The Lord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice:

     let many islands be glad.

     Clouds and darkness are round about him:

     justice and judgment are the establishment of his throne.

V.  A fire shall go before him,

     and shall burn his enemies round about.

     His lightnings have shone forth to the world:

     the earth saw and trembled.

V.  The mountains melted like wax, at the presence of the Lord:

     at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.

     The heavens declared his justice:

     and all people saw his glory.

V.  Let them be all confounded that adore graven things,

     and that glory in their idols.

     Adore him, all you his angels:

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 6:7-15

And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. For they think that in their much speaking they may be heard. Be not you therefore like to them, for your Father knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask him. Thus therefore shall you pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our supersubstantial bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen. For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences. But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.