first will be last

http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/14_09_21.mp3

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 is 55:6-9

Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked his thoughts;
let him turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so high are my ways above your ways
and my thoughts above your thoughts.

Responsorial Psalm ps 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18

R/ (18a) The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
R/ The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R/ The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R/ The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

Reading 2 phil 1:20c-24, 27a

Brothers and sisters:
Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.
If I go on living in the flesh,
that means fruitful labor for me.
And I do not know which I shall choose.
I am caught between the two.
I long to depart this life and be with Christ,
for that is far better.
Yet that I remain in the flesh
is more necessary for your benefit.

Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Gospel mt 20:1-16a

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
the landowner found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
When those who had started about five o’clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
‘These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
He said to one of them in reply,
‘My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?’
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

seed

Memorial of Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs
Lectionary: 448

Reading 11 COR 15:35-37, 42-49

Brothers and sisters:
Someone may say, “How are the dead raised? 
With what kind of body will they come back?”

You fool!
What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies.
And what you sow is not the body that is to be
but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind.

So also is the resurrection of the dead.
It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible.
It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious.
It is sown weak; it is raised powerful.
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one.

So, too, it is written,
“The first man, Adam, became a living being,”
the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
But the spiritual was not first;
rather the natural and then the spiritual.
The first man was from the earth, earthly;
the second man, from heaven.
As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly,
and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly.
Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

Responsorial Psalm PS 56:10C-12, 13-14

R. (14) I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.
Now I know that God is with me.
In God, in whose promise I glory,
in God I trust without fear;
what can flesh do against me?
R. I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.
I am bound, O God, by vows to you;
your thank offerings I will fulfill.
For you have rescued me from death,
my feet, too, from stumbling;
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.
R. I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.

Gospel LK 8:4-15

When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another
journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable. 
“A sower went out to sow his seed.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled,
and the birds of the sky ate it up.
Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew,
it withered for lack of moisture.
Some seed fell among thorns,
and the thorns grew with it and choked it.
And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew,
it produced fruit a hundredfold.”
After saying this, he called out,
“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

Then his disciples asked him
what the meaning of this parable might be.
He answered,
“Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God
has been granted to you;
but to the rest, they are made known through parables
so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.

“This is the meaning of the parable. 
The seed is the word of God.
Those on the path are the ones who have heard,
but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts
that they may not believe and be saved.
Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear,
receive the word with joy, but they have no root;
they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation.
As for the seed that fell among thorns,
they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along,
they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, 
and they fail to produce mature fruit.
But as for the seed that fell on rich soil,
they are the ones who, when they have heard the word,
embrace it with a generous and good heart,
and bear fruit through perseverance.”

resurrection

Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 447

Reading 11 COR 15:12-20

Brothers and sisters:
If Christ is preached as raised from the dead,
how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
If there is no resurrection of the dead,
then neither has Christ been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching;
empty, too, your faith.
Then we are also false witnesses to God,
because we testified against God that he raised Christ,
whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised,
and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain;
you are still in your sins.
Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If for this life only we have hoped in Christ,
we are the most pitiable people of all.

But now Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Responsorial Psalm PS 17:1BCD, 6-7, 8B AND 15

R. (15b) Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Hear, O LORD, a just suit;
attend to my outcry;
hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit. 
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; 
incline your ear to me; hear my word.
Show your wondrous mercies,
O savior of those who flee 
from their foes to refuge at your right hand.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings,
But I in justice shall behold your face;
on waking, I shall be content in your presence.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.

Gospel LK 8:1-3

Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another,
preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.
Accompanying him were the Twelve
and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities,
Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza,
Susanna, and many others
who provided for them out of their resources.

sinners

Thursday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 cor 15:1-11 I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the Apostles. Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. For I am the least of the Apostles, not fit to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me. Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed. Responsorial Psalm ps 118:1b-2, 16ab-17, 28 R. (1) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Let the house of Israel say, “His mercy endures forever.” R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. “The right hand of the LORD is exalted; the right hand of the LORD has struck with power.” I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. You are my God, and I give thanks to you; O my God, I extol you. R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. Gospel lk 7:36-50 A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty. Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?” Simon said in reply, “The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.” He said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment. So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The others at table said to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” But he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

marketplace

Wednesday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Cor 12: 31-13: 13  Brothers and sisters: . Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts . Shall But I still show you a more excellent way If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, . I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal And if I Have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge, if I have all faith so as to move mountains, . but do not have love, I am nothing If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so That I May boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek STI own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices With the truth. It bears all things, Believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. haver prophecies, they 'will be brought` to nothing, if tongues, they 'will cease; . if knowledge, it will be brought` to nothing For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but When the perfect you eat, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child, when I 'Became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; . Shall I then know fully, as I am fully Known So faith, hope, love REMAIN, in Original three, but the greatest of These is love. Responsorial Psalm ps 33: 2-3, 4-5, 12 and 22  R. (12) . Blessed the people the Lord has Chosen to be His Own Give thanks to the LORD on the harp; . stringed lyre With the ten chant His praises Sing to him a new song; pluck the strings skillfully, With shouts of . gladness R. . Blessed the people the Lord has Chosen to be His Own For upright is the word of the LORD, . and All His works are trustworthy He loves justice and right, of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full. R . Blessed the people the Lord has Chosen to be His Own. Blessed the nation Whose God is the LORD, the people I've Chosen for His own inheritance. May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us Who Have put our hope in you. R. Blessed the people the Lord has Chosen to be His own.  Gospel lk 7: 31-35  Jesus said to the crowds: ? "To what shall I compare the people of This Generation ? What are they like They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, 'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. dirge We sang to, but you did not weep. ' For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, 'He is possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said , 'Look, I is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. ' But wisdom is vindicated by all her children. "

Nain

Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs Reading 1 1 Cor 12: 12-14, 27-31a  Brothers and sisters: As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, . Also so Christ For in one Spirit we where all Baptized into one Body, Whether Jews or Greeks , slaves or free persons, and we where all Given to drink of one Spirit. Now the body is not a single part, but many. Now you are Christ's Body, and individually parts of it. Some people God has Designated in the Church to be, first, Apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers, then, mighty deeds, then gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues. Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. R. We are His people: the sheep of His flock.  Gospel lk 7: 11-17  Jesus JourneyEd to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd Accompanied him. As I drew near to the gate of the city, a man who died was being HAD Carried out, the only son of His mother, and she was a . widow . A large crowd from the city was with her ​​When the Lord saw her, I was moved with pity for her and said to her, "Do not weep." He stepped forward and touched the coffin, at this the bearers halted, and I said, "Young man, I tell you, Arise!" The dead man sat up and Began to speak, and Jesus gave him to His Mother. Seized Fear them all, and they 'glorified God, exclaiming, "A great prophet has arisen in our midst, " and "God has visited His people." This report acerca him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.

sorrow

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
Lectionary: 443/639

Reading 1 1 COR 11: 17-26 33

Brothers and sisters:
In Giving this instruction, I do not praise the fact
. That your meetings are doing more harm than good
First of all, I hear that when you 'meet as a Church
there are divisions Among You,
and to a degree I believe it,
there Have to be factions Among You
in order That Also Those Who are approved Among You
. May Become Known
When you meet in one place, then,
it is not to eat the Lord's supper,
for in eating, each one goes ahead with His own supper,
and one goes hungry while another gets drunk.
Do you have currently houses in Which you can eat and drink?
Or do you show contempt for the Church of God
and make Those Who have nothing feel ashamed?
What can I say to you? Shall I praise you?
In This matter I do not praise you. For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, That the Lord Jesus, on the night I was handed over, took bread and, after He Had Given thanks , broke it and said, "This is my Body That is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. " In the same way Also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my Blood. Do this , as Often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. " For as Often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until I eat. THEREFORE, my brothers and sisters, when you 'come together to eat, wait for one another.

Responsorial Psalm 40 PS: 7-8A, 8B-9, 10, 17 

R. (1 Cor 11: 26b) . Proclaim the death of the Lord until I eat again Sacrifice or oblation you Wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me. Burnt offerings or offerings without Sought not you, then I said, " Behold I come. " R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until you have comes again. "In the written scroll it is prescribed for me, To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is Within my heart! " R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until I eat again. Announced I your justice in the vast assembly; . I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until I eat again . May all who seek you exult and be glad in you And Those Who May love your salvation ever say, "The LORD be glorified." R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until I eat again. 

Sequence (Optional) - Stabat Mater
At the cross her station keeping,
Stood the mournful Mother weeping,
Close to Jesus to the last. Through her ​​heart, His sorrow sharing, All His bitter anguish bearing, Now at length the sword HAD passed. Oh, how sad and sore distressed Was That Mother highly blessed Of the sole begotten One! Christ above in torment hangs, She beneath beholds the pangs Of her dying, glorious Son. Is there one who would not weep, 'Whelmed in miseries so deep, Christ's dear Mother to behold? Can the human heart refrain From partaking in her pain, In That mother's pain untold? Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled, She beheld her tender Child, all with bloody scourges rent. For the sins of His own nation Saw him hang in desolation Till His I sent forth spirit. O sweet Mother! font of love, Touch my spirit from above, . Make my heart with yours accord Make me feel as You have felt, Make my soul to glow and melt . With the love of Christ, my Lord Holy Mother, pierce me through, In my heart each wound renew Of my Savior crucified. Let me share with you His pain, Who for all our sins was slain, Who for me in torments died. Let me mingle tears with you, Mourning him who mourned for me, All the days That . I may live By the cross with you to stay, There with you to weep and pray, . Is all I ask of you to give ! Virgin of all virgins blest Listen to my fond request: . Let me share your grief divine Let me to my latest breath, In my body bear the death Of That dying Son of yours.

Gospel 

JN 19: 25-27 

Standing by the cross of Jesus Were His mother
and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple there Whom I have loved
I have said to His mother, "Woman, behold, your are. "
Then I said to the disciple,
"Behold, your mother."
And from the hour That Into His disciple took her home.

Or LK 2: 33-35 

Jesus' father and mother Were amazed at what was said about him,
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother,
"Behold, This Child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign That will be contradicted
and you yourself a sword will pierce
so That the thoughts of many hearts May be revealed. "