Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Liturgical Season: 
Special Significance: 
Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul
13 Days' Nombu (Apostles) ends
Holy Qurbono for the People
Establishment of St. Mary's Malankara Major Seminary
Anniversary of the Episcopal Ordination of Bps. Yoohanon Mar Chrysostom & Joshua Mar Ignathios
Feast of Bishop Vincent Mar Paulos

Mt 16:13-23

Peter’s Confession About Jesus.* 13h When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi* he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14i They replied, “Some say John the Baptist,* others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16* j Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood* has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. 18k And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,* and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. 19l I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.* Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20* m Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.

The First Prediction of the Passion.* 21n From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he* must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.o 22* Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” 23p He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Gn 7:6-16

The Great Flood. 6Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came upon the earth. 7Together with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, Noah went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.c 8Of the clean animals and the unclean, of the birds, and of everything that crawls on the ground, 9two by two, male and female came to Noah into the ark, just as God had commanded him.d 10When the seven days were over, the waters of the flood came upon the earth.

11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month: on that day

All the fountains of the great abyss* burst forth,

and the floodgates of the sky were opened.

12For forty days and forty nights heavy rain poured down on the earth.

13On the very same day, Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of Noah’s sons had entered the ark, 14together with every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal, every kind of crawling thing that crawls on the earth, and every kind of bird. 15Pairs of all creatures in which there was the breath of life came to Noah into the ark. 16Those that entered were male and female; of all creatures they came, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

Jer 31:1-9

1At that time—oracle of the LORD

I will be the God of all the families of Israel,

and they shall be my people.a

2* Thus says the LORD:

The people who escaped the sword

find favor in the wilderness.

As Israel comes forward to receive rest,

3from afar the LORD appears:

With age-old love I have loved you;

so I have kept my mercy toward you.b

4Again I will build you, and you shall stay built,

virgin Israel;

Carrying your festive tambourines,

you shall go forth dancing with merrymakers.

5You shall again plant vineyards

on the mountains of Samaria;

those who plant them shall enjoy their fruits.c

6Yes, a day will come when the watchmen

call out on Mount Ephraim:

“Come, let us go up to Zion,

to the LORD, our God.”d

7For thus says the LORD:

Shout with joy for Jacob,

exult at the head of the nations;

proclaim your praise and say:

The LORD has saved his people,

the remnant of Israel.e

8Look! I will bring them back

from the land of the north;

I will gather them from the ends of the earth,

the blind and the lame in their midst,

Pregnant women, together with those in labor—

an immense throng—they shall return.f

9With weeping they shall come,

but with compassion I will guide them;

I will lead them to streams of water,

on a level road, without stumbling.

For I am a father to Israel,

Ephraim is my firstborn.g

Prv 13:1-4

1A wise son loves correction,

but the scoffer heeds no rebuke.*

2From the fruit of the mouth one enjoys good things,a

but from the throat of the treacherous comes violence.*

3Those who guard their mouths preserve themselves;*

those who open wide their lips bring ruin.b

4The appetite of the sluggard craves but has nothing,

but the appetite of the diligent is amply satisfied.

Is 43:1-7

1But now, thus says the LORD,

who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel:

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name: you are mine.

2When you pass through waters, I will be with you;

through rivers, you shall not be swept away.

When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned,

nor will flames consume you.

3For I, the LORD, am your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your savior.

I give Egypt as ransom for you,

Ethiopia and Seba* in exchange for you.

4Because you are precious in my eyes

and honored, and I love you,

I give people in return for you

and nations in exchange for your life.a

5Fear not, for I am with you;

from the east I will bring back your offspring,

from the west I will gather you.

6I will say to the north: Give them up!

and to the south: Do not hold them!

Bring back my sons from afar,

and my daughters from the ends of the earth:b

7All who are called by my name

I created for my glory;

I formed them, made them.

Acts 12:6-19

6On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter, secured by double chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison. 7Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, “Get up quickly.” The chains fell from his wrists. 8The angel said to him, “Put on your belt and your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” 9So he followed him out, not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10They passed the first guard, then the second, and came to the iron gate leading out to the city, which opened for them by itself. They emerged and made their way down an alley, and suddenly the angel left him. 11Then Peter recovered his senses and said, “Now I know for certain that [the] Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.” 12When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who is called Mark, where there were many people gathered in prayer.b 13When he knocked on the gateway door, a maid named Rhoda came to answer it. 14She was so overjoyed when she recognized Peter’s voice that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. 15They told her, “You are out of your mind,” but she insisted that it was so. But they kept saying, “It is his angel.” 16But Peter continued to knock, and when they opened it, they saw him and were astounded. 17He motioned to them with his hand to be quiet and explained [to them] how the Lord had led him out of the prison, and said, “Report this to James* and the brothers.” Then he left and went to another place. 18At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.c 19Herod, after instituting a search but not finding him, ordered the guards tried and executed. Then he left Judea to spend some time in Caesarea.

2 Tm 4:6-10

Reward for Fidelity. 6* e For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7* I have competed well; I have finished the race;f I have kept the faith. 8* From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day,g and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.

Paul’s Loneliness. 9* Try to join me soon, 10for Demas, enamored of the present world, deserted me and went to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia,* and Titus to Dalmatia.h

Jn 21:15-19

Jesus and Peter.* 15When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,* “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”* He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep.i 18* Amen, amen, I say to you,j when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”k