Sunday, June 5, 2016
Liturgical Season: 
V The Season of Pentecost
Special Significance: 
III Sunday after Pentecost
St. Boniface

Mt 14:13-21

The Return of the Twelve and the Feeding of the Five Thousand.* 13g When Jesus heard of it, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. 14When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. 15When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16[Jesus] said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” 17But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” 18Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” 19and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking* the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. 20They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over*—twelve wicker baskets full. 21Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

Gn 42:1-17

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, 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.

Jer 3:6-13

Judah and Israel. 6The LORD said to me in the days of King Josiah: Do you see what rebellious Israel has done? She has gone up every high mountain, and under every green tree she has played the prostitute.d 7And I thought: After she has done all this, she will return to me. But she did not return. Then, even though that traitor her sister Judah, saw 8that, in response to all the adulteries rebel Israel had committed, I sent her away and gave her a bill of divorce, nevertheless Judah, the traitor, her sister, was not frightened; she too went off and played the prostitute.e 9With her casual prostitution, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and wood.f 10In spite of all this, Judah, the traitor, her sister, did not return to me wholeheartedly, but insincerely—oracle of the LORD.

Restoration of Israel. 11Then the LORD said to me: Rebel Israel is more just than traitor Judah.g 12Go, proclaim these words toward the north, and say:

Return, rebel Israel—oracle of the LORD—

I will not remain angry with you;

For I am merciful, oracle of the LORD,

I will not keep my anger forever.h

13Only admit your guilt:

how you have rebelled against the LORD, your God,

How you ran here and there to strangers

under every green tree

and would not listen to my voice—oracle of the LORD.i

Dn 6:1-10

1And Darius the Mede* succeeded to the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.

The Lions’ Den. 2Darius decided to appoint over his entire kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps. 3These were accountable to three ministers, one of whom was Daniel; the satraps reported to them, so that the king should suffer no loss. 4Daniel outshone all the ministers and satraps because an extraordinary spirit was in him, and the king considered setting him over the entire kingdom. 5Then the ministers and satraps tried to find grounds for accusation against Daniel regarding the kingdom. But they could not accuse him of any corruption. Because he was trustworthy, no fault or corruption was to be found in him. 6Then these men said to themselves, “We shall find no grounds for accusation against this Daniel except in connection with the law of his God.” 7So these ministers and satraps stormed in to the king and said to him, “King Darius, live forever! 8* a All the ministers of the kingdom, the prefects, satraps, counselors, and governors agree that the following prohibition ought to be put in force by royal decree: for thirty days, whoever makes a petition to anyone, divine or human, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions. 9Now, O king, let the prohibition be issued over your signature, immutable and irrevocable* according to the law of the Medes and Persians.” 10So King Darius signed the prohibition into law.

Ps 80:1-3

1For the leader; according to “Lilies.” Eduth.* A psalm of Asaph.

2O Shepherd of Israel, lend an ear,

you who guide Joseph like a flock!

Seated upon the cherubim, shine fortha

3upon Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.

Stir up your power, and come to save us.

Acts 2:37-42

37Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers?”t 38Peter [said] to them, “Repent and be baptized,* every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.u 39For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.”v 40He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”w 41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.x

Communal Life.* 42y They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.z

1 Cor 9:13-18

Reason for Not Using His Rights. Yet we have not used this right.* On the contrary, we endure everything so as not to place an obstacle to the gospel of Christ. 13* Do you not know that those who perform the temple services eat [what] belongs to the temple, and those who minister at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings?h 14In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel.i

15* I have not used any of these rights, however, nor do I write this that it be done so in my case. I would rather die. Certainly no one is going to nullify my boast.j 16If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!k 17If I do so willingly, I have a recompense, but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.l 18What then is my recompense? That, when I preach, I offer the gospel free of charge so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.m

Jn 6:56-63

56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.b 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” 59These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

The Words of Eternal Life.* 60Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” 61Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? 62What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?* 63It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh* is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.