Mass Readings
Catholic Ireland
Liturgical Readings for : Saturday, 30th September, 2023Léachtaí Gaeilge
Next Sunday's Readings
Saturday of the Twenty -Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1
Memorial of St Jerome, priest and doctor of the Church
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of Zechariah 2:5-9. 14-15
I am coming to dwell in the middle of you.
Raising my eyes, I saw a vision. It was this: there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. I asked him, ‘Where are you going?‘
He said, ‘To measure Jerusalem, to find out her breadth and her length‘.
And then, while the angel who was talking to me stood still, another angel came forward to meet him. He said to him,
‘Run, and tell that young man this,
“Jerusalem is to remain unwalled, because of the great number of men and cattle there will be in her. But I – it is the Lord who speaks – I will be a wall of fire for her all round her, and I will be her glory in the midst of her.”‘
Sing, rejoice, daughter of Zion; for I am coming to dwell in the middle of you –
it is the Lord who speaks.
Many nations will join the Lord, on that day; they will become his people.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Jer 31
Response The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
1. O nations, hear the word of the Lord, proclaim it to the far-off coasts.
Say: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.’ Response
2. For the Lord has ransomed Jacob, has saved him from an overpowering hand.
They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion, they will stream to the blessings of the Lord. Response
3. Then the young girls will rejoice and will dance, the men, young and old, will be glad.
I will turn their mourning into joy, I will console them, give gladness for grief. Response
Gospel Acclamation Acts 16: 14
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
Or 2 Tim 1: 10
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Our saviour Christ Jesus abolished death,
and he has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good News.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 9:43-45 Glory to you, O Lord.
The Son of Man is going to be handed over. They were afraid to ask him about what he had just said.
At a time when everyone was full of admiration for all Jesus did,
he said to his disciples,
‘For your part, you must have these words constantly in your mind:
The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men’.
But they did not understand him when he said this; it was hidden from them so that they should not see the meaning of it, and they were afraid to ask him about what he had just said.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel Reflection Saturday, Twenty Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Luke 9:43-45
According to today’s gospel reading, at the very time when people were full of admiration for Jesus he announces that he will be handed over into the power of men. Jesus did not get carried away by people’s admiration for him; he knew that his mission would make him powerful enemies who would seek to have him put to death. Just when all was full of light and promise, Jesus introduces a darker prospect. His disciples’ would have been delighted with the admiration Jesus was receiving, but according to the gospel reading they could not come to terms with the darker prospect he was putting before them. ‘They did not understand what he said… and they were afraid to ask him’. We all find the darker side of life more difficult to deal with. When all seems to be going in our favour, we are delighted.
When all seems to be going against us we can get despondent. Yet, it is especially in those darker moments that the Lord is with us to sustain us. That was the Lord’s message to his people in the first reading, ‘I will be a wall of fire for her all round her’. The Lord promises to be a protective wall of fire for his people. That same note is struck in today’s responsorial psalm, ‘The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock’. In the darker moments of life, we can trust the Lord to sustain us. When we sense our own weakness and vulnerability, the Lord is always there as our refuge and strength. It is very often the darker experiences of life that open us up more fully to the sustaining and life-giving presence of the Lord to us.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from Reflections on the Weekday Readings 2022-2023: Your word is a lamp for my feet and light for my path by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications 2022, c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
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