Sunday, September 15, 2024
Liturgical Season: 
VII The Season of Sleebo
Special Significance: 
I Sunday after Sleebo
The Mother of Sorrows

Lk 17:20-35

The Coming of the Kingdom of God. 20* Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he said in reply, “The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed,i 21* and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’j For behold, the kingdom of God is among you.”

The Day of the Son of Man. 22Then he said to his disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, there he is,’ [or] ‘Look, here he is.’ Do not go off, do not run in pursuit.k 24For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be [in his day].l 25But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.m 26As it was in the days of Noah,n so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; 27they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28o Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; 29on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. 30So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31p On that day, a person who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise a person in the field must not return to what was left behind.q 32Remember the wife of Lot. 33Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.r 34I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. 35s And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left.”

Gn 42:1-8

The Brothers’ First Journey to Egypt.* 1When Jacob learned that grain rations were for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons: “Why do you keep looking at one another?” 2He went on, “I hear that grain is for sale in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, that we may stay alive and not die.”a 3So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought some disaster might befall him. 5And so the sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, since there was famine in the land of Canaan.b

6Joseph, as governor of the country, was the one who sold grain to all the people of the land. When Joseph’s brothers came, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.c 7He recognized them as soon as he saw them. But he concealed his own identity from them and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked them. They answered, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”

8When Joseph recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him,

Hos 5:1-7

1Hear this, priests,

Pay attention, house of Israel,

Household of the king, give ear!a

For you are responsible for judgment.*

But you have been a snare at Mizpah,*

a net spread upon Tabor,

2a pit dug deep in Shittim.

Now I will discipline them all.

3I know Ephraim,

and Israel is not hidden from me:

Now, Ephraim, you have practiced prostitution,

Israel is defiled.

4Their deeds do not allow them

to return to their God;b

For the spirit of prostitution is in them,

and they do not know the LORD.

5The arrogance of Israel bears witness against him;

Israel and Ephraim stumble because of their iniquity,

and Judah stumbles with them.

6With their flocks and herds they will go

to seek the LORD, but will not find him;c

he has withdrawn from them.

7They have betrayed the LORD,

for they have borne illegitimate children;

Now the new moon* will devour them

together with their fields.

Dn 4:1-9

Nebuchadnezzar’s Madness. 1I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, content and prosperous. 2I had a terrifying dream as I lay in bed, and the images and my visions frightened me. 3So I issued a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me to give the interpretation of the dream. 4When the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners had come in, I related the dream before them; but none of them could tell me its meaning. 5Finally there came before me Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god,* and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods.a I repeated the dream to him: 6“Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery is too difficult for you; this is the dream that I saw, tell me its meaning.

7“These were the visions I saw while in bed: I saw a tree of great height at the center of the earth. 8It was large and strong, with its top touching the heavens, and it could be seen to the ends of the earth. 9Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, providing food for all. Under it the wild beasts found shade, in its branches the birds of the air nested; all flesh ate of it.

Is 57:14-21

14And I say:

Build up, build up, prepare the way,

remove every obstacle from my people’s way.* d

15* For thus says the high and lofty One,

the One who dwells forever, whose name is holy:

I dwell in a high and holy place,

but also with the contrite and lowly of spirit,

To revive the spirit of the lowly,

to revive the heart of the crushed.

16For I will not accuse forever,

nor always be angry;

For without me their spirit fails,

the life breath that I have given.e

17Because of their wicked avarice I grew angry;

I struck them, hiding myself from them in wrath.

But they turned back, following the way

of their own heart.f

18I saw their ways,

but I will heal them.

I will lead them and restore full comfort to them

and to those who mourn for them,g

19creating words of comfort.*

Peace! Peace to those who are far and near,

says the LORD; and I will heal them.

20But the wicked are like the tossing sea

which cannot be still,

Its waters cast up mire and mud.h

21There is no peace for the wicked!

says my God.i

Acts 3:21-26

21whom heaven must receive until the times of universal restoration* of which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old. 22For Moses said:*

‘A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you

from among your own kinsmen;

to him you shall listen in all that he may say to you.l

23Everyone who does not listen to that prophet

will be cut off from the people.’m

24Moreover, all the prophets who spoke, from Samuel and those afterwards, also announced these days. 25You are the children of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors when he said to Abraham, ‘In your offspring all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’n 26For you first, God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.”o

1 Cor 2:10-15

10f this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God. 11Among human beings, who knows what pertains to a person except the spirit of the person that is within? Similarly, no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God. 12We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. 13And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms.*

14Now the natural person* does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God, for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it, because it is judged spiritually. 15The spiritual person, however, can judge everything but is not subject to judgment* by anyone.

Mk 13:28-37

The Lesson of the Fig Tree. 28m “Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 29In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. 30Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Need for Watchfulness. 32“But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33n Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. 34It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.o 35Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. 36May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. 37What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

2 Cor 11:16-22

Paul’s Boast: His Labors. 16* I repeat, no one should consider me foolish;* but if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.* 17What I am saying I am not saying according to the Lord but as in foolishness, in this boastful state. 18Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. 19For you gladly put up with fools, since you are wise yourselves. 20* For you put up with it if someone enslaves you, or devours you, or gets the better of you, or puts on airs, or slaps you in the face. 21To my shame I say that we were too weak!*

But what anyone dares to boast of (I am speaking in foolishness) I also dare. 22* Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.k

Lk 2:25-35

25Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel,* and the holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord. 27He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, 28he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

29“Now, Master, you may let your servant go

in peace, according to your word,

30for my eyes have seen your salvation,j

31which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,

32a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and glory for your people Israel.”k

33The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; 34and 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 contradictedl 35(and you yourself a sword will pierce)* so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”