Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
23 O children of Zion, be glad,
and rejoice in the Lord, your God.
For he has given you food in good measure
by sending you rain,
the autumn and spring rains as before.
24 The threshing floors will be full of grain,
and the vats will overflow with wine and oil.
25 I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopping, the destroying, and the cutting locust,
my great army which I sent against you.
26 You will eat until you are satisfied,
and you will praise the name of the Lord, your God,
for he has dealt wondrously with you,
and my people will never again be put to shame.
27 And you shall know
that I am in the midst of Israel.
I am the Lord, your God, and there is no other;
my people shall never again be put to shame.
Psalm 65[a]
Thanksgiving for Divine Blessings
1 For the director.[b] A psalm of David. A song.
2 It is fitting to offer praise to you,[c]
O God, in Zion.
To you our vows must be fulfilled,
3 for you answer our prayers.
To you all flesh must come,[d]
4 burdened by its sinful deeds.
Too heavy for us are our sins,
and only you can blot them out.[e]
5 Blessed[f] is the one whom you choose
and invite to dwell in your courts.
We will be filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.
6 Through your awesome deeds[g] of righteousness,
you respond to us, O God, our Savior;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the far-off islands.
7 Clothed in your great power,
you hold the mountains in place.[h]
8 You quiet the roaring of the seas,
the turbulence of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.[i]
9 Those who dwell at the ends of the earth
are awestruck by your wonders.[j]
You call forth songs of joy
from sunrise and sunset.
10 You care for the earth and water it,
making it most fertile.
The streams of God[k] are filled with water
to provide grain for its people.
Thus, you prepare the earth for growth:
11 you water its furrows
and level its ridges;
you soften it with showers
and bless its yield.[l]
12 You crown the year with your bounty,[m]
and your tracks dispense fertility.
13 The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
and the hills are covered with rejoicing.
14 The meadows are clothed with flocks,
and the valleys are decked out with grain;
in their joy they shout and sing together.[n]
The Triumphs of a Man of God[a]
Reward for Fidelity. 6 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. 8 Now waiting for me is the crown[b] of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day—and not only to me, but to all those who have eagerly longed for his appearance.
16 At the first hearing of my case, no one came to court to support me. Every one of them deserted me. May it not be held against them! 17 But the Lord stood at my side[a] and gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.
Thus was I rescued from the lion’s jaws. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.[b]
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.[a] 9 He also told the following parable to some people who prided themselves about their own righteousness and regarded others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and said this prayer to himself: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and pay tithes on all my income.’
13 “The tax collector, however, stood some distance away and would not even raise his eyes to heaven. Rather, he kept beating his breast as he said, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ 14 This man, I tell you, returned to his home justified, whereas the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.