Universal Roman Catholic Faith and Traditions

First Reading: Deuteronomy 26: 16 - 19 Psalm 119 Gospel: Matthew 5: 43 - 48 Holy Gospel According to Saint Matthew: You have heard that it was said: Love your neighbor and do not do good to your enemy. But this I tell you: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. For he makes his sun rise on both the wicked and the good, and he gives rain to both the just and the unjust. If you love those who love you, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much? For your part you shall be righteous and perfect in the way your heavenly Father is righteous and perfect. First Reading: On this day, Yahweh, your God, commands you to fulfill these norms and these commandments. Obey them now and put them into practice with all your heart and with all your soul. Today Yahweh has declar...

(Abstinence) First Reading: Ezekiel 18: 21 - 28 Psalm 130 Gospel: Matthew 5: 20 - 26 Holy Gospel According to Saint Matthew: I tell you, then, that if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to our people in the past: Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial. But now I tell you: whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial. Whoever insults a brother or sister deserves to be brought before the council; whoever calls a brother or a sister “Fool” deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell. So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God. Don’t forget this: be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are toget...

First Reading: Esther 12: 14 - 16, 23 - 25 Psalm 138 Gospel: Matthew 7: 7 - 12 Holy Gospel According to Saint Matthew: Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks. Would any of you give a stone to your son when he asks for bread? Or give him a snake, when he asks for a fish As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! So, do to others whatever you would that others do to you: there you have the Law and the Prophets. First Reading: Save us by your hand; help me who am alone and have none but you, O Lord. You know everything; you know how I hate honor if from the impious, how I loathe the bed of the uncircumcised and of any foreigner. You know I am here under constraint, that I loathe the diadem about my brow when I...

First Reading: Jonah 3: 1 - 10 Psalm 51 Gospel: Luke 11: 29 - 32 Holy Gospel According to Saint Luke: As the crowd increased, Jesus began to speak in this way, “People of the present time are evil people. They ask for a sign, but no sign will be given to them except the sign of Jonah.  As Jonah became a sign for the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be a sign for this generation. The Queen of the South will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and here there is greater than Solomon. The people of Nineveh will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for Jonah’s preaching made them turn from their sins, and here there is greater than Jonah. First Reading: The word of Yahweh came to Jonah a second time: “Go to Nineveh, the great city, and announce to them the message I give you.” In obedience to the word of Yahweh, Jonah we...

First Reading: Isaiah 55: 10 - 11 Psalm 34 Gospel: Matthew 6: 7 - 15 Holy Gospel According to Saint Matthew: When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do, for they hold that the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask him. This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, holy be your name, your kingdom come and your will be done,  on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts  just as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us. Do not bring us to the test but deliver us from the evil one. If you forgive others their wrongs, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you either. First Reading: As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return  till they have watered the earth, making it yield seed for the sowe...

First Reading: Leviticus 19: 1 - 2, 11 - 18 Psalm 19 Gospel: Matthew 25: 31 - 46 Holy Gospel According to Saint Matthew: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on the throne of his Glory. All the nations will be brought before him, and as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, so will he do with them, placing the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. The King will say to those on his right: ‘Come, blessed of my Father! Take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me into your house. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to see me.’ Then the good people will ask him: ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food; thirsty and give you drink, or a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in pris...

First Sunday of Lent First Reading: Deuteronomy 26: 4 - 10 Psalm 91 Second Reading: Romans 10: 8 - 13 Gospel: Luke 4: 1 - 13 Holy Gospel According to Saint Luke: Jesus was now full of Holy Spirit. As he returned from the Jordan, the Spirit led him into the desert where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. He did not eat anything during that time, and in the end he was hungry. The devil then said to him, “If you are son of God, tell this stone to turn into bread.” But Jesus answered, “Scripture says: People cannot live on bread alone.” Then the devil took him up to a high place and showed him in a flash all the nations of the world. And he said to Jesus, “I can give you power over all the nations and their wealth will be yours, for power and wealth have been delivered to me and I give them to whom I wish. All this will be yours provided you worship me.” But Jesus replied, “Scripture says: You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him alone.” Then the devil took...