Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 106[a]
Israel’s Confession of Sin and God’s Mercy
1 Alleluia.
Give thanks[b] to the Lord, for he is good;
his kindness endures forever.
2 Who can possibly recount the mighty acts of the Lord
and fully proclaim his praise?[c]
3 Blessed[d] are those who do what is right
and practice justice constantly.
4 Remember me, O Lord, out of the love you have for your people;
come to me with your salvation.[e]
5 Let me delight in the success of your chosen ones,
share in the joy of your nation,
and glory in your heritage.
6 [f]Like our ancestors, we[g] have sinned;
we have gone astray and done evil.
7 When our ancestors were in Egypt,
they failed to be mindful of your wonders;
they did not remember your many kindnesses
and rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake[h]
so that he might make known his mighty power.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
he led them through the depths as through a wilderness.
10 He saved them from those who hated them;
from the hand of the enemy he delivered them.
11 The waters closed over their adversaries;
not a single one of them survived.
12 Then they believed his words
and sang his praises.[i]
13 [j]But they soon forgot what he had done
and had no confidence in his plan.
14 In the wilderness they yielded to their cravings;
in the wasteland they put God to the test.
15 He gave them everything they wanted
but struck them with a consuming disease.
16 [k]In the camp they grew envious of Moses
and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord.
17 The earth parted and swallowed Dathan
and closed over the company of Abiram.
18 Fire blazed all through them,
and the wicked were consumed in flames.
19 [l]They constructed a calf at Horeb
and worshiped this molten image.
20 They exchanged their Glory[m]
for an image of a bull that eats grass.
21 They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wonders in the land of Ham,[n]
and awesome deeds at the Red Sea.
23 He was contemplating their destruction,
but Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach[o] before him
to keep his wrath from destroying them.
24 [p]Then they derided the land of delights,[q]
for they had no faith in his word.
25 They grumbled in their tents
and refused to obey the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore, he swore with uplifted hand
to strike them down in the wilderness
27 and disperse their descendants among the nations,
scattering them in foreign lands.
28 [r]They joined in worshiping Baal of Peor
and ate food sacrificed to lifeless gods.
29 They provoked the Lord to anger by their evil deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment,
and the plague came to an end.
31 This was credited to him as righteousness[s]
for all the generations to come.
32 [t]At the waters of Meribah[u] they angered the Lord,
and Moses endured difficulties because of them.
33 For they rebelled against the Spirit of God,
and rash words issued from Moses’ lips.[v]
34 [w]They did not exterminate the peoples
as the Lord had commanded them to do.
35 Rather, they mingled with the nations
and adopted their practices.
36 They worshiped their idols,
which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed to false gods[x]
their sons and their daughters.
38 They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
polluting the land with their blood.
39 Thus, they defiled themselves by their actions
and prostituted themselves by their conduct.[y]
40 [z]Then the anger of the Lord flared up against his people,
and he abhorred his own heritage.
41 He handed them over to the nations,
and their foes became their rulers.
42 Their enemies oppressed them
and kept them in subjection to their power.
43 Time and again he came to their rescue,
but they rebelled against his counsel
and sank low because of their sin.
44 Even so, he took pity on their distress
when he heard their cries.
45 He called to mind his covenant[aa] with them,
and he relented because of his great mercy.
46 He aroused compassion for them
on the part of all their captors.
47 Save us, O Lord, our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
so that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in praising[ab] you.
48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.[ac]
Let all the people say, “Amen.”
Alleluia.[ad]
Chapter 10
Be Faithful to the Lord
1 Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime.
It is the Lord who makes the storm clouds.
He will send forth the showers of rain
and grass in the fields for everyone.
2 For the household gods utter nonsense,
and diviners are misled by false signs.
The dreams they relate are deceitful,
offering empty consolation.
That is why the people
wander about like sheep;
they are in distress
for lack of a shepherd.
I Will Reunite and Save
3 My anger has been set ablaze by the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders of the flock.
For the Lord of hosts cares for his flock,
the house of Judah,
and will make it his royal warhorse.
4 From Judah will emerge the cornerstone,
from it the tent peg,
from it the bow ready for battle,
from it all the commanders.
5 Together they will be like warriors
trampling the mud of the streets in battle.
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
and they will rout even those on horseback.
6 I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back
because I have taken pity on them,
and they will be
as though I had never cast them off;
for I am the Lord, their God,
and I will answer them.
7 Then the people of Ephraim will be like warriors,
and their hearts will be cheered as if by wine.
Their children will see it and rejoice;
their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will signal them to gather together,
for I have redeemed them;
they will be as numerous
as they were before.
9 I scattered them among the nations,
yet in far-off countries they will remember me;
they will rear their children and return.
10 I will bring them home from the land of Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will lead them into Gilead and into Lebanon,
until there is no more room to accommodate them.
11 They will pass through the Sea of Egypt,
and the waves of the sea will be subdued,
while the depths of the Nile will be dried up.
The pride of Assyria will be cast down,
and the scepter of Egypt will be taken away.
12 I will make them strong in the Lord,
and they will march in my name,
says the Lord.
Chapter 6
The Law of Christ.[a] 1 Brethren, if anyone is detected committing a transgression, you who are spiritual must set him right in a spirit of gentleness. Meanwhile, you should take care so that you yourselves are not tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
3 If anyone thinks he is something when in fact he is nothing, he is only deceiving himself. 4 Each person must examine his own work. Then he will have reason to boast with regard to himself alone and not in comparison with someone else. 5 For everyone has his own burden to bear.
6 Anyone who is being taught should give his teacher a share in all his possessions. 7 Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A person will reap only what he sows. 8 The one who sows in his flesh will reap a harvest of corruption, but the one who sows in the Spirit will reap from the Spirit the reward of eternal life.
9 Let us never grow weary in doing what is right, for if we do not give up, we will reap our harvest in due time. 10 Therefore, while we have the opportunity, let us labor for the good of all, but especially for those members of the household of the faith.
15 Jesus Blesses the Children.[a] People were bringing even infants to Jesus so that he might touch them. When the disciples observed this, they rebuked them. 16 However, Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them. For it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 17 Amen, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
18 The Rich Young Man.[b]A certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother.’ ”
21 The man replied, “I have kept all these since I was a child.” 22 On hearing this, Jesus said to him, “You need to do one further thing. Sell everything you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard this, he became sad, because he was very rich.
24 Danger of Riches. Jesus looked at him and said, “How difficult it is for those who are rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard this asked, “Then who can be saved?” 27 He replied, “What is impossible for men is possible for God.”
28 The Reward of Renunciation. Peter said to him, “We have given up our homes to follow you.” 29 Jesus replied, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 who will not receive many times as much in this age, and eternal life in the age to come.”
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.