2025-09-28 | St. Mary, Queen of Peace Syro-Malankara Catholic Eparchy in USA and Canada

Mt 15:1-9

The Tradition of the Elders.^* 1^a Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2^b “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?^* They do not wash [their] hands when they eat a meal.” 3He said to them in reply, “And why do you break the commandment of God^* for the sake of your tradition? 4^c For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’ 5^* But you say, ‘Whoever says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is dedicated to God,” 6need not honor his father.’ You have nullified the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said:

8^d ‘This people honors me with their lips,^*

but their hearts are far from me;

9^e in vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines human precepts.’”

Gn 42:9-17

9he was reminded of the dreams he had about them. He said to them: “You are spies.^d You have come to see the weak points^* of the land.” 10“No, my lord,” they replied. “On the contrary, your servants have come to buy food. 11All of us are sons of the same man. We are honest men; your servants have never been spies.” 12But he answered them: “Not so! It is the weak points of the land that you have come to see.” 13“We your servants,” they said, “are twelve brothers, sons of a certain man in Canaan; but the youngest one is at present with our father, and the other one is no more.”^e 14“It is just as I said,” Joseph persisted; “you are spies. 15This is how you shall be tested: I swear by the life of Pharaoh that you shall not leave here unless your youngest brother comes here. 16So send one of your number to get your brother, while the rest of you stay here under arrest. Thus will your words be tested for their truth; if they are untrue, as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17With that, he locked them up in the guardhouse for three days.

1 Kgs 3:5-9

5In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said: Whatever you ask I shall give you. 6Solomon answered: “You have shown great kindness to your servant, David my father, because he walked before you with fidelity, justice, and an upright heart; and you have continued this great kindness toward him today, giving him a son to sit upon his throne. 7Now, LORD, my God, you have made me, your servant, king to succeed David my father; but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act— 8I, your servant, among the people you have chosen, a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted. 9Give your servant, therefore, a listening heart to judge your people and to distinguish between good and evil. For who is able to give judgment for this vast people of yours?”

Wis 6:1-9

1Hear, therefore, kings, and understand;^a

learn, you magistrates^* of the earth’s expanse!

2Give ear, you who have power over multitudes

and lord it over throngs of peoples!

3Because authority was given you by the Lord

and sovereignty by the Most High,

who shall probe your works and scrutinize your counsels!^b

4Because, though you were ministers of his kingdom, you did not judge rightly,

and did not keep the law,^*

nor walk according to the will of God,

5Terribly and swiftly he shall come against you,

because severe judgment awaits the exalted—

6For the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy^c

but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test.

7For the Ruler of all shows no partiality,

nor does he fear greatness,^d

Because he himself made the great as well as the small,

and provides for all alike;

8but for those in power a rigorous scrutiny impends.

9To you, therefore, O princes, are my words addressed^e

that you may learn wisdom and that you may not fall away.

Is 48:12-16

12Listen to me, Jacob,

Israel, whom I called!

I, it is I who am the first,

and am I the last.^d

13Yes, my hand laid the foundations of the earth;

my right hand spread out the heavens.

When I summon them,

they stand forth at once.^e

14All of you assemble and listen:

Who among you declared these things?

The one the LORD loves^* shall do his will

against Babylon and the offspring of Chaldea.

15I myself have spoken, I have summoned him,

I have brought him, and his way succeeds!

16Come near to me and hear this!

From the beginning I did not speak in secret;

At the time it happens, I am there:

“Now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his spirit.”^*

Acts 5:17-32

Trial Before the Sanhedrin.^* 17Then the high priest rose up and all his companions, that is, the party of the Sadducees, and, filled with jealousy,^e 18laid hands upon the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, led them out, and said,^f 20“Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life.” 21When they heard this, they went to the temple early in the morning and taught. When the high priest and his companions arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin, the full senate of the Israelites, and sent to the jail to have them brought in. 22But the court officers who went did not find them in the prison, so they came back and reported, 23“We found the jail securely locked and the guards stationed outside the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24When they heard this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss about them, as to what this would come to. 25Then someone came in and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area and are teaching the people.” 26Then the captain and the court officers went and brought them in, but without force, because they were afraid of being stoned by the people.^g

27When they had brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, the high priest questioned them, 28“We gave you strict orders [did we not?] to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.”^h 29But Peter and the apostles said in reply, “We must obey God rather than men.ⁱ 30^* The God of our ancestors raised Jesus,^j though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. 31God exalted him at his right hand^* as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.^k 32We are witnesses of these things, as is the holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey him.”^l

1 Cor 3:1-9

1^* Brothers, I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people,^* as infants in Christ. 2I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. Indeed, you are still not able, even now,^a 3for you are still of the flesh. While there is jealousy and rivalry among you,^* are you not of the flesh and behaving in an ordinary human way?^b 4Whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?^c

The Role of God’s Ministers.^* 5What is Apollos, after all, and what is Paul? Ministers^* through whom you became believers, just as the Lord assigned each one. 6I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.^d 7Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. 8The one who plants and the one who waters are equal, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor. 9For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.^e

Mt 16:5-12

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 5^d In coming to the other side of the sea,^* the disciples had forgotten to bring bread. 6^e Jesus said to them, “Look out, and beware of the leaven^* of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7^* They concluded among themselves, saying, “It is because we have brought no bread.” 8When Jesus became aware of this he said, “You of little faith, why do you conclude among yourselves that it is because you have no bread? 9^f Do you not yet understand, and do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many wicker baskets you took up? 10^g Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? 11How do you not comprehend that I was not speaking to you about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12Then they understood^* that he was not telling them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Jn 10:11-18

11I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.^c 12A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them.^d 13This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.^e 16I have other sheep^* that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.^f 17This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.^g 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.^* This command I have received from my Father.”^h

Jn 14:1-6

Last Supper Discourses. 1^* “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith^* in God; have faith also in me. 2In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3^* And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.^a 4Where [I] am going you know the way.”^* 5Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” 6Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth^* and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.^b

Jn 15:9-17

9As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.^f 10If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.^g

11“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.^h 12This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.ⁱ 13^* No one has greater love than this,^j to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends,^* because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.^k 16It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.^l 17This I command you: love one another.^m

Heb 13:7-16

7Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.^f

9Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teaching.^* It is good to have our hearts strengthened by grace and not by foods, which do not benefit those who live by them.^g 10We have an altar^* from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11The bodies of the animals whose blood the high priest brings into the sanctuary as a sin offering are burned outside the camp.^h 12Therefore, Jesus also suffered outside the gate, to consecrate the people by his own blood.ⁱ 13Let us then go to him outside the camp, bearing the reproach that he bore. 14For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come.^j 15Through him [then] let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.^k 16Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind.^l

Mt 24:45-51

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Servant.^* 45^u “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time?^* 46Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. 47Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. 48^* But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’ 49and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, 50the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour 51^v and will punish him severely^* and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

St. Mary, Queen of Peace Syro-Malankara Catholic Eparchy in USA and Canada