Thursday, January 25, 2018
Liturgical Season: 
II The Season of Yaldo-Denho
Special Significance: 
Ends of the three days Nombu
Conversion of St. Paul
Church Unity Octave ends
Erection of the Eparchies of Pathanamthitta and Puttur (2010)

Lk 12:54-59

Signs of the Times.y 54He also said to the crowds, “When you see [a] cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain—and so it does; 55and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot—and so it is. 56You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Settlement with an Opponent.z 57“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. 59I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”*

Gn 18:22-33

22As the men turned and walked on toward Sodom, Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 23Then Abraham drew near and said: “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24Suppose there were fifty righteous people in the city; would you really sweep away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people within it? 25Far be it from you to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! Far be it from you! Should not the judge of all the world do what is just?”g 26The LORD replied: If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake. 27Abraham spoke up again: “See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am only dust and ashes!h 28What if there are five less than fifty righteous people? Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?” I will not destroy it, he answered, if I find forty-five there. 29But Abraham persisted, saying, “What if only forty are found there?” He replied: I will refrain from doing it for the sake of the forty. 30Then he said, “Do not let my Lord be angry if I go on. What if only thirty are found there?” He replied: I will refrain from doing it if I can find thirty there. 31Abraham went on, “Since I have thus presumed to speak to my Lord, what if there are no more than twenty?” I will not destroy it, he answered, for the sake of the twenty. 32But he persisted: “Please, do not let my Lord be angry if I speak up this last time. What if ten are found there?” For the sake of the ten, he replied, I will not destroy it.i

33The LORD departed as soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returned home.

Jos 7:6-13

6Joshua, together with the elders of Israel, tore their garments and fell face down before the ark of the LORD until evening; and they threw dust on their heads. 7“Alas, Lord GOD,” Joshua prayed, “why did you ever allow this people to cross over the Jordan, delivering us into the power of the Amorites, that they might destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell on the other side of the Jordan. 8Please, Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back to its enemies? 9When the Canaanites and the other inhabitants of the land hear of it, they will close in around us and efface our name from the earth. What will you do for your great name?”c

10The LORD replied to Joshua: Stand up. Why are you lying there? 11d Israel has sinned: they have transgressed the covenant* which I enjoined on them. They have taken goods subject to the ban. They have stolen and lied, placing the goods in their baggage. 12If the Israelites cannot stand up to their enemies, but must turn their back to them, it is because they are under the ban. I will not continue to be with you unless you remove that which is banned from among you. 13Get up, sanctify the people.e Tell them, “Sanctify yourselves before tomorrow, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: That which is banned is in your midst, Israel. You cannot stand up to your enemies until you remove it from among you.

Jon 4:1-11

Jonah’s Anger and God’s Reproof. 1But this greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry.* 2He prayed to the LORD, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I fled at first toward Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, repenting of punishment.* a 3So now, LORD, please take my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.”b 4But the LORD asked, “Are you right to be angry?”*

5Jonah then left the city for a place to the east of it, where he built himself a hut and waited* under it in the shade, to see what would happen to the city. 6Then the LORD God provided a gourd plant.* And when it grew up over Jonah’s head, giving shade that relieved him of any discomfort, Jonah was greatly delighted with the plant. 7But the next morning at dawn God provided a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8And when the sun arose, God provided a scorching east wind; and the sun beat upon Jonah’s head till he became faint. Then he wished for death, saying, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

9But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry over the gourd plant?” Jonah answered, “I have a right to be angry—angry enough to die.” 10Then the LORD said, “You are concerned* over the gourd plant which cost you no effort and which you did not grow; it came up in one night and in one night it perished. 11And should I not be concerned over the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot know their right hand from their left, not to mention all the animals?”*

Ps 13:1-6

1For the leader. A psalm of David.

2How long, LORD? Will you utterly forget me?

How long will you hide your face from me?a

3How long must I carry sorrow in my soul,

grief in my heart day after day?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

4Look upon me, answer me, LORD, my God!

Give light to my eyes lest I sleep in death,

5Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed,”

lest my foes rejoice at my downfall.b

6But I trust in your mercy.

Grant my heart joy in your salvation,

I will sing to the LORD,

for he has dealt bountifully with me!c

1 Thes 5:12-22

Church Order. 12We ask you, brothers, to respect those who are laboring among you and who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you, 13and to show esteem for them with special love on account of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.

14We urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, cheer the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient with all. 15See that no one returns evil for evil; rather, always seek what is good [both] for each other and for all.g 16Rejoice always. 17Pray without ceasing. 18In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.h 19* Do not quench the Spirit. 20Do not despise prophetic utterances. 21Test everything; retain what is good. 22Refrain from every kind of evil.

Gal 1:13-24

13* For you heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it,i 14and progressed in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my race, since I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions.j 15But when [God], who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleasedk 16to reveal his Son to me,l so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult flesh and blood,* 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; rather, I went into Arabia* and then returned to Damascus.

18* Then after three years* I went up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas and remained with him for fifteen days.m 19But I did not see any other of the apostles,n only James the brother of the Lord.* 20(As to what I am writing to you, behold, before God, I am not lying.)o 21Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.p 22And I was unknown personally to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; 23they only kept hearing that “the one who once was persecuting us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”q 24So they glorified God because of me.

Mk 16:15-18

15i He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. 18They will pick up serpents [with their hands], and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”j