); Wisdom 4:7-15 (The righteous are rewarded); Acts 7:59—8:8 (Stephen is stoned to death) (New Catholic Bible)
Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 148[a]
Song of the Universe
1 [b]Alleluia.
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
offer praise to him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
offer praise to him, all his hosts![c]
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
offer praise to him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,[d]
and you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name[e] of the Lord,
for it was at his command that they were created.
6 He established them in place forever and ever;
he issued a law that will never pass away.[f]
7 [g]Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and ocean depths,
8 fire and hail, snow and clouds,
storm winds that carry out his word,[h]
9 all mountains and hills,
all fruit trees and cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,
creeping creatures and flying birds,[i]
11 kings of the earth and all nations,
princes and all rulers on the earth,
12 young men and women,
the elderly, as well as children.[j]
13 [k]Let them all praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty is above the earth and the heavens.[l]
14 He has raised high a horn[m] for his people,
to the glory of all his saints,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Alleluia.
Better To Die Young than To Die in Wickedness[a]
7 But the righteous man, even if he dies prematurely, will be at rest.[b]
8 For the honor that comes with age is not due to the length of life
or determined by the number of years.
9 Gray hairs for anyone consists in understanding,
and ripe old age consists in a blameless life.
10 [c]He has sought to please God, so God has loved him;
while living among sinners, he has been taken up.
11 He has been snatched away so that evil would not pervert his understanding
or guile deceive his soul.
12 For the spell of wickedness beclouds what is good,
and the swirl of desire corrupts the simple heart.
13 Having achieved perfection in a short time,
he attained a lengthy span of years.
14 Since his soul was pleasing to the Lord,
he quickly removed him from the midst of wickedness.
People observed this yet failed to comprehend,
nor did they reflect on this fact,
15 that grace and mercy are reserved for God’s holy ones
and he shows concern for his elect.[d]
59 While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed aloud, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out in a clear voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And with these words he fell asleep.
Chapter 8
The Church Becomes Open to the Gentiles.[a] 1 Saul approved of his death. That day marked the beginning of a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, and everyone except the apostles scattered to the country districts of Judea and Samaria. 2 Stephen was buried by devout men who made loud lamentations over him. 3 Saul, meanwhile, began to inflict great harm on the Church. He entered house after house, dragging off men and women and sending them to prison. 4 Now those who had been scattered went from place to place proclaiming the word.
The Mission in Judea and Samaria
Springtime in Samaria.[b] 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and began proclaiming the Christ to them. 6 The crowds welcomed the message proclaimed by Philip because they had heard and seen the signs he was doing. 7 For unclean spirits emerged with loud shrieks from many people who were possessed, and many others who were paralyzed or crippled were cured. 8 Thus, there was great joy in that city.
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