DR Squared: Optional Memorial Of Saint Camillus De Lellis, Priest [In the Dioceses of the United States]

First Reading:  1 John 3:14-18

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not, abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in himself. In this we have known the charity of God, because he hath laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. He that hath the substance of this world, and shall see his brother in need, and shall shut up his bowels from him: how doth the charity of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed, and in truth.

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 112 (111):1a; V. 1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7b-8, 9

R.  Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord:

V.  Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord:

he shall delight exceedingly in his commandments.

His seed shall be mighty upon earth:

the generation of the righteous shall be blessed.

V.  Glory and wealth shall be in his house:

and his justice remaineth for ever and ever.

To the righteous a light is risen up in darkness:

he is merciful, and compassionate and just.

V.  Acceptable is the man that sheweth mercy and lendeth:

he shall order his words with judgment:

Because he shall not be moved for ever.

The just shall be in everlasting remembrance:

V.  (H)e shall not fear the evil hearing.

His heart is ready to hope in the Lord:

His heart is strengthened,

he shall not be moved until he look over his enemies.

V.  He hath distributed,

he hath given to the poor:

his justice remaineth for ever and ever:

his horn shall be exalted in glory.

Gospel Reading:  John 15:9-17

As the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; as I also have kept my Father's commandments, and do abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be filled. This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do the things that I command you. I will not now call you servants: for the servant knoweth not what his lord doth. But I have called you friends: because all things whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known to you. You have not chosen me: but I have chosen you; and have appointed you, that you should go, and should bring forth fruit; and your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that you love one another.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

++++++++++

Originally posted 7/18/2025.

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

First Reading:  Micah 2:1-5

Woe to you that devise that which is unprofitable, and work evil in your beds: in the morning light they execute it, because their hand is against God. And they have coveted fields, and taken them by violence, and houses they have forcibly taken away: and oppressed a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. Therefore thus saith the Lord: Behold, I devise an evil against this family: from which you shall not withdraw your necks, and you shall not walk haughtily, for this is a very evil time. In that day a parable shall be taken up upon you, and a song shall be sung with melody by them that say: We are laid waste and spoiled: the portion of my people is changed: how shall he depart from me, whereas he is returning that will divide our land? Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast the cord of a lot in the assembly of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 10 (9):1-2, 3-4, 7-8 (DR--7-9a), 14 (NB:  Psalms 9 and 10 are found together in the DR; current translations separate them.)

R.  (F)orget not the poor.

V.  Why, O Lord, hast thou retired afar off?

     why dost thou slight us in our wants, in the time of trouble?

     Whilst the wicked man is proud, the poor is set on fire:

     they are caught in the counsels which they devise.

V.  For the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul:

     and the unjust man is blessed.

     The sinner hath provoked the Lord

     according to the multitude of his wrath he will not seek him:

V.  His mouth is full of cursing, and of bitterness, and of deceit:

     under his tongue are labour and sorrow.

     He sitteth in ambush with the rich in private places,

     that he may kill the innocent.

     His eyes are upon the poor man:

V.  Thou seest it, for thou considerest labour and sorrow:

     that thou mayst deliver them into thy hands.

     To thee is the poor man left:

     thou wilt be a helper to the orphan.  

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 12:14-21

And the Pharisees going out made a consultation against him, how they might destroy him. But Jesus knowing it, retired from thence: and many followed him, and he healed them all. And he charged them that they should not make him known. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaias the prophet, saying:  Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul hath been well pleased. I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not contend, nor cry out, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. The bruised reed he shall not break: and smoking flax he shall not extinguish: till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name the Gentiles shall hope.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

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

First Reading:  Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8

In those days Ezechias was sick even to death, and Isaias the son of Amos the prophet came unto him, and said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Take order with thy house, for thou shalt die, and not live. And Ezechias turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, And said: I beseech thee, O Lord, remember how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Ezechias wept with great weeping. And the word of the Lord came to Isaias, saying:  Go and say to Ezechias: Thus saith the Lord the God of David thy father: I have heard thy prayer, and I have seen thy tears: behold I will add to thy days fifteen years:  And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and I will protect it. Now Isaias had ordered that they should take a lump of figs, and lay it as it plaster upon the wound, and that he should be healed. And Ezechias had said: What shall be the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord? And this shall be a sign to thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this word which he hath spoken:  Behold I will bring again the shadow of the lines, by which it is now gone down in the sun dial of Achaz with the sun, ten lines backward. And the sun returned ten lines by the degrees by which it was gone down.

Responsorial Psalm:  Isaiah 38:17b; V. 10, 11, 12abcd, 16

R.  (B)ut thou hast delivered my soul that it should not perish,

V.  I said:

     In the midst of my days I shall go to the gates of hell:

     I sought for the residue of my years.

V.  I said: I shall not see the Lord God

     in the land of the living.

     I shall behold man no more,

     nor the inhabitant of rest.

V.  My generation is at an end,

     and it is rolled away from me, as a shepherd's tent.

     My life is cut off, as by a weaver:

     whilst I was yet but beginning, he cut me off:

V.  O Lord, if man's life be such,

     and the life of my spirit be in such things as these,

     thou shalt correct me, and make me to live.

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 12:1-8

At that time Jesus went through the corn on the sabbath: and his disciples being hungry, began to pluck the ears, and to eat. And the Pharisees seeing them, said to him: Behold thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days. But he said to them: Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and they that were with him:  How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the loaves of proposition, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for them that were with him, but for the priests only? Or have ye not read in the law, that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple break the sabbath, and are without blame? But I tell you that there is here a greater than the temple. And if you knew what this meaneth: I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: you would never have condemned the innocent. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

DR Squared: Optional Memorial Of Our Lady Of Mount Carmel

First Reading:  Zechariah 2:14-17 (DR--10-13)

Sing praise, and rejoice, O daughter of Sion: for behold I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee: saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and they shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee: and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me to thee. And the Lord shall possess Juda his portion in the sanctified land: and he shall yet choose Jerusalem. Let all flesh be silent at the presence of the Lord: for he is risen up out of his. holy habitation.

Responsorial Psalm:  Luke 1:49; V. 46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55

R.  Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name. 

OR 

R.  O Blessed Virgin Mary, you carried the Son of the eternal Father. 

V.  My soul doth magnify the Lord. 

     And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

V.  Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid;

     for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

     Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me;

     and holy is his name.

V.  And his mercy is from generation unto generations,

     to them that fear him.

     He hath shewed might in his arm:

     he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.

V.  He hath put down the mighty from their seat,

     and hath exalted the humble.

     He hath filled the hungry with good things;

     and the rich he hath sent empty away.

V.  He hath received Israel his servant,

     being mindful of his mercy:

     As he spoke to our fathers,

     to Abraham and to his seed for ever.

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 12:46-50

As he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him. And one said unto him: Behold thy mother and thy brethren stand without, seeking thee. But he answering him that told him, said: Who is my mother, and who are my brethren? And stretching forth his hand towards his disciples, he said: Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

++++++++++

Originally posted 7/16/2025.

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

First Reading:  Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19

The way of the just is right, the path of the just is right to walk in. And in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, we have patiently waited for thee: thy name, and thy remembrance are the desire of the soul. My soul hath desired thee in the night: yea, and with my spirit within me in the morning early I will watch to thee. When thou shalt do thy judgments on the earth, the inhabitants of the world shall learn justice. Lord, thou wilt give us peace: for thou hast wrought all our works for us. Lord, they have sought after thee in distress, in the tribulation of murmuring thy instruction was with them. As a woman with child, when she draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs: so are we become in thy presence, O Lord. We have conceived, and been as it were in labour, and have brought forth wind: we have not wrought salvation on the earth, therefore the inhabitants of the earth have not fallen. Thy dead men shall live, my slain shall rise again: awake, and give praise, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is the dew of the light: and the land of the giants thou shalt pull down into ruin.

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 102 (101):20b; V. 13-14ab and 15, 16-18, 19-21 (DR--13-15, 16-18, 

R.  (F)rom heaven the Lord hath looked upon the earth.

V.  But thou, O Lord, endurest for ever:

     and thy memorial to all generations.

     Thou shalt arise and have mercy on Sion:

     for it is time to have mercy on it, for the time is come.

     For the stones thereof have pleased thy servants:

     and they shall have pity on the earth thereof.

V.  And the Gentiles shall fear thy name, O Lord,

     and all the kings of the earth thy glory.

     For the Lord hath built up Sion:

     and he shall be seen in his glory.

     He hath had regard to the prayer of the humble:

     and he hath not despised their petition.

V.  Let these things be written unto another generation:

     and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord:

     Because he hath looked forth from his high sanctuary:

     from heaven the Lord hath looked upon the earth.

     That he might hear the groans of them that are in fetters:

     that he might release the children of the slain:

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 11:28-30

Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is sweet and my burden light.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

DR Squared: Memorial Of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop And Doctor Of The Church

First Reading:  Ephesians 3:14-19

For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  15 Of whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened by his Spirit with might unto the inward man, That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts; that being rooted and founded in charity, You may be able to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth:  To know also the charity of Christ, which surpasseth all knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fulness of God.

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 119 (118):12b; V. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

R.  O Lord: teach me thy justifications.

V.  By what doth a young man correct his way?

     by observing thy words. 

V.  With my whole heart have I sought after thee:

     let me not stray from thy commandments.

V.  Thy words have I hidden in my heart,

     that I may not sin against thee.

V.  Blessed art thou, O Lord:

     teach me thy justifications.

V. With my lips I have pronounced

     all the judgments of thy mouth.

V.  I have been delighted in the way of thy testimonies,

     as in all riches.

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 23:8-12

But be not you called Rabbi. For one is your master; and all you are brethren. And call none your father upon earth; for one is your father, who is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters; for one is your master, Christ. He that is the greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled: and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

++++++++++

Originally posted 7/15/2025.

DR Squared: Wednesday Of The Fifteenth Week In Ordinary Time (Year II)

First Reading:  Isaiah 10:5-7, 13-16

Woe to the Assyrian, he is the rod and the staff of my anger, and my indignation is in their hands. I will send him to a deceitful nation, and I will give him a charge against the people of my wrath, to take away the spoils, and to lay hold on the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. But he shall not take it so, and his heart shall not think so: but his heart shall be set to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few. For he hath said: By the strength of my own hand I have done it, and by my own wisdom I have understood: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have taken the spoils of the princes, and as a mighty man hath pulled down them that sat on high. And my hand hath found the strength of the people as a nest; and as eggs are gathered, that are left, so have I gathered all the earth: and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or made the least noise. Shall the axe boast itself against him that cutteth with it? or shall the saw exalt itself against him by whom it is drawn? as if a rod should lift itself up against him that lifteth it up, and a staff exalt itself, which is but wood. Therefore the sovereign Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall send leanness among his fat ones: and under his glory shall be kindled a burning, as it were the burning of a fire.

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 94 (93):14b; V. 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 14-15

R.  For the Lord will not cast off his people:

V.  Thy people, O Lord, they have brought low:

     and they have afflicted thy inheritance.

     They have slain the widow and the stranger:

     and they have murdered the fatherless.

V.  And they have said: The Lord shall not see:

     neither shall the God of Jacob understand.

     Understand, ye senseless among the people:

     and, you fools, be wise at last.

V.  He that planted the ear, shall he not hear?

     or he that formed the eye, doth he not consider?

     He that chastiseth nations, shall he not rebuke:

     he that teacheth man knowledge?

V.  For the Lord will not cast off his people:

     neither will he forsake his own inheritance.

     Until justice be turned into judgment:

     and they that are near it are all the upright in heart.

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 11:25-27

At that time Jesus answered and said: I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to the little ones. Yea, Father; for so hath it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me by my Father. And no one knoweth the Son, but the Father: neither doth any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal him.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

DR Squared: Memorial Of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin [In the Dioceses of the United States]

There are no assigned readings; they may be selected from the Common of Virgins (#731-736). This post will not have a Douay-Rhimes submission.

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

First Reading:  Isaiah 7:1-9

And it came to pass in the days of Achaz the son of Joathan, the son of Ozias, king of Juda, that Rasin king of Syria, and Phacee the son of Romelia king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem, to fight against it: but they could not prevail over it. And they told the house of David, saying: Syria hath rested upon Ephraim, and his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind. And the Lord said to Isaias: Go forth to meet Achaz, thou and Jasub thy son that is left, to the conduit of the upper pool, in the way of the fuller's field. And thou shalt say to him: See thou be quiet: fear not, and let not thy heart be afraid of the two tails of these fire brands, smoking with the wrath of the fury of Rasin king of Syria, and of the son of Romelia. Because Syria hath taken counsel against thee, unto the evil of Ephraim and the son of Romelia, saying:  Let us go up to Juda, and rouse it up, and draw it away to us, and make the son of Tabeel king in the midst thereof. Thus saith the Lord God: It shall not stand, and this shall not be. But the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rasin: and within threescore and five years, Ephraim shall cease to be a people:  And the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria the son of Romelia. If you will not believe, you shall not continue.

Responsorial Psalm: cf. Psalm 48 (47):9d; V. 2-3a, 3b-4, 5-6, 7-8

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.  For behold the kings of the earth assembled themselves:

     they gathered together.

     So they saw, and they wondered,

     they were troubled, they were moved:

V.  Trembling took hold of them.

     There were pains as of a woman in labour.

     With a vehement wind thou shalt break

     in pieces the ships of Tharsis.

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 11:20-24

Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein were done the most of his miracles, for that they had not done penance. Woe to thee, Corozain, woe to thee, Bethsaida: for if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in you, they had long ago done penance in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you. And thou Capharnaum, shalt thou be exalted up to heaven? thou shalt go down even unto hell. For if in Sodom had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in thee, perhaps it had remained unto this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.

DR Squared: Optional Memorial Of Saint Henry

First Reading:  Micah 6:6-8

What shall I offer to the Lord that is worthy? wherewith shall I kneel before the high God? shall I offer holocausts unto him, and calves of a year old? May the Lord be appeased with thousands of rams, or with many thousands of fat he goats? shall I give my firstborn for my wickedness, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? I will shew thee, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requireth of thee: Verily, to do judgment, and to love mercy, and to walk solicitous with thy God.

Responsorial Psalm:  V. Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6

R.  {Psalm 40 (39):5a}  Blessed is the man whose trust is in the name of the Lord;

OR

R.  {Psalm 1:2a}  But his will is in the law of the Lord,

OR

R.  {cf. Psalm 92 (91):13-14}  The just shall flourish like the palm tree:...in the courts of the house of our God.

V.  Blessed is the man who hath not walked

     in the counsel of the ungodly,

     nor stood in the way of sinners,

     nor sat in the chair of pestilence.

     But his will is in the law of the Lord,

     and on his law he shall meditate day and night.

V.  And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters,

     which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season.

     And his leaf shall not fall off:

     and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.

V.  Not so the wicked, not so:

     but like the dust, which the wind driveth from the face of the earth.  

     For the Lord knoweth the way of the just: 

     and the way of the wicked shall perish. 

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 7:21-27

Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity. Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock, And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock. And every one that heareth these my words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand, And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.

The readings from the USCCB can be found here.