11 april

HE EPISTLE (For Sunday of the Prodigal Son)

The Reading from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. (6:12-20)

Brethren, all things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything. Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food; but God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two shall become one flesh.” But he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him. Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

THE GOSPEL (For Sunday of the Prodigal Son)

The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (15:11-32)

The Lord spoke this parable: “There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.’ And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to make merry. Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

THE EPISTLE (For St. Philip)

The Reading from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. (4:9-16)

Brethren, God has exhibited us Apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the off-scouring of all things. I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.

THE GOSPEL (For the Eighth Sunday of Luke)

The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (10:25-37)

At that time, a lawyer stood up to put Jesus to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read?” And the lawyer answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And Jesus said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” But the lawyer, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” The lawyer said, “The one who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

3RD SUNDAY OF LENT – 3RD APRPIL

1^st Reading: A reading from the first book of Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13

David is anointed king of Israel.

The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen myself a king among his sons.’ When Samuel arrived, he caught sight of Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed one stands there before him,’ but the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height for I have rejected him; God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.’ Jesse presented his seven sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ He then asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ He answered, ‘There is still one left, the youngest; he is out looking after the sheep.’

Then Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send for him; we will not sit down to eat until he comes.’ Jesse had him sent for, a boy of flesh complexion, with fine eyes and pleasant bearing. The Lord said, ‘Come, anoint him, for this is the one.’ At this Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him where he stood with his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord seized on David and stayed with him from that day on.

This is the word of the Lord.

2^nd Reading: A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians 5:8-14

Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you.

You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light, for the

effects of light are seen in complete goodness and right living and truth. Try to discover what the

Lord wants of you, having nothing to do with the futile works of darkness but exposing them by

contrast. The things which are done in secret are things that people are ashamed even to speak

of; but anything illuminated turns into light. That is why it is said:

Wake up from your sleep, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

This is the word of the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation: Praise him…..

Gospel: A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 9:1-41

The blind mall went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.

As Jesus went along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked

him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, for him to have been born blind?' 'Neither he

nor his parents sinned,' Jesus answered 'he was born blind so that the works of God might be

displayed in him.

'As long as the day lasts I must carry out the work of the one who sent me; the night will soon be

here when no one can work. As long as I am in the world I am the light of the world.'

Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of

the blind man and said to him, 'Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam' (a name that means 'sent')

So the blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.

His neighbours and people who earlier had seen him begging said, 'Isn't this the man who used

to sit and beg?' Some said, 'Yes, it is the same one.' Others said, 'No, he only looks like him.'

The man himself said, 'I am the man.' So they said to him, 'Then how do your eyes come to be

open?' 'The man called Jesus' he answered 'made a paste, daubed my eyes with it and said to

me, "Go and wash at Siloam"; so I went, and when I washed I could see.' They asked, 'Where is

he?' 'I don't know' he answered.

They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. lt had been a Sabbath day when

Jesus made the paste and opened the man's eyes, so when the Pharisees asked him how he

had come to see, he said, 'He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see.' Then

some of the Pharisees said, 'This man cannot be from God: he does not keep the Sabbath.'

Others said, 'How could a sinner produce signs like this?' And there was disagreement among

them, So they spoke to the blind man again, 'What have you to say about him yourself, now that

he has opened your eyes?' 'He is a prophet' replied the man .

However, the Jews would not believe that the man had been blind and had gained his sight,

without first sending for his parents and asking them, 'Is this man really your son who you say

was born blind? If so how is it that he is now able to see?' His parents answered, 'We know he

is our son and we know he was born blind, but we don't know how it is that he can see now, or

who opened his eyes. He is old enough: let him speak for himself.' His parents spoke like this

out of fear of the Jews, who had already agreed to expel from the synagogue anyone who

should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ. This was why his parents said, 'He is old enough; ask

him.'

So the Jews again sent for the man and said to him, 'Give glory to God! For our part, we know

that this man is a sinner.' The man answered, '1 don't know if he is a sinner; I only know that I

was blind and now I can see.'

They said to him, 'What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?' He replied, '1 have told you once and you wouldn't listen. Why do you want to hear it all again? Do you want to become his disciples too?' At this they hurled abuse at him: 'You can be his disciple,' they said 'we are disciples of Moses: we know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we don't know where he comes from.' The man replied, 'Now here is an astonishing thing! He has opened my eyes and you don't know where he comes from! We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but God does listen to men who are devout and do his will. Ever since the world began it is unheard of for anyone to open the eyes of a man who was born blind; if this man were not from God, he couldn't do a thing.' "Are you trying to teach us: they replied 'and you a sinner through and through, since you were born!' And they drove him away.

Jesus heard they had driven him away, and when he found him he said to him, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?' 'Sir,' the man replied 'tell me who he is so that I may believe in him.' Jesus said, 'You are looking at him; he is speaking to you.' The man said, 'Lord, I believe', and worshipped him. Jesus said:

'It is for judgement that I have come into this world, so that those without sight may see and those with sight turn blind.' Hearing this, some Pharisees who were present said to him, 'We are not blind, surely?' Jesus replied: 'Blind? If you were, you would not be guilty, but since you say, "We see", your guilt remains.'

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Credo: Profession of Faith

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen

And unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of

the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of

one Being with the Father. Through Him all things were made, for us men and for our

salvation, He came down from heaven: (all bow) by the power of the Holy Spirit, He became

incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

For our sake, He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried. On the third day He rose again in accordance with the scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His Kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come,

AMEN.