Readings at Mass, Thursday 14 July 2016
15th week in Ordinary Time
First reading
Isaiah 26:7-9,12,16-19
The path of the upright man is straight,
you smooth the way of the upright.
Following the path of your judgments,
we hoped in you, O Lord,
your name, your memory are all my soul desires.
At night my soul longs for you
and my spirit in me seeks for you;
when your judgments appear on earth
the inhabitants of the world learn the meaning of integrity.
O Lord, you are giving us peace,
since you treat us
as our deeds deserve.
Distressed, we search for you, O Lord;
the misery of oppression was your punishment for us.
As a woman with child near her time
writhes and cries out in her pangs,
so are we, O Lord, in your presence:
we have conceived, we writhe
as if we were giving birth;
we have not given the spirit of salvation to the earth,
no more inhabitants of the world are born.
Your dead will come to life,
their corpses will rise;
awake, exult,
all you who lie in the dust,
for your dew is a radiant dew
and the land of ghosts will give birth.
V. The word of the Lord.
R. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 101:13-21
(R.) The Lord looked down from heaven to the earth.
You, O Lord, will endure for ever
and your name from age to age.
You will arise and have mercy on Zion:
for this is the time to have mercy,
for your servants love her very stones,
are moved with pity even for her dust.
(R.) The Lord looked down from heaven to the earth.
The nations shall fear the name of the Lord
and all the earth’s kings your glory,
when the Lord shall build up Zion again
and appear in all his glory.
Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless;
he will not despise their prayers.
(R.) The Lord looked down from heaven to the earth.
Let this be written for ages to come
that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord;
for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high.
He looked down from heaven to the earth
that he might hear the groans of the prisoners
and free those condemned to die.
(R.) The Lord looked down from heaven to the earth.
Gospel Acclamation
cf.Ps129:5
Alleluia, alleluia!
My soul is waiting for the Lord,
I count on his word.
Alleluia!
Gospel
Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus exclaimed, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’
V. The Gospel of the Lord.
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Copyright © 1996-2013 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). Used with permission of A.P. Watt Ltd. All rights reserved.