First
Reading
A
reading from the book of Genesis 1:26-28.31
God
said, " Let us make man in our own
image, in the likeness of ourselves, and
let them be masters of the fish of the
sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle,
all the wild beasts and all the reptiles
that crawl upon the earth,"
God
created man in the image of himself,
in the image of God he created him,
male and female he created them.
God
blessed them, saying to them, " Be
fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and
conquer it. Be masters of the fish of
the sea, the birds of heaven and all living
animals on the earth." God saw all
he had made, and indeed it was very good.
This
is the word of the Lord.
Responsorial
Psalm Ps 32:12,18.20-22.R. v.5
Response:
The Lord fills the earth with his love.
1
They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as his own.
The Lord looks in those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love. R
2
Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
In him do our hearts find joy.
We trust in his holy name. R
3
May your love be upon us, O Lord,
as we place all our hope in you. R
A
reading from the book of Genesis 2:18-24
The
Lord God said, ‘It is not good that
the man should be alone. I will make him
a helpmate.’ So from the soil the
Lord God fashioned all the wild beasts
and all the birds of heaven. These he
brought to the man to see what he would
call them; each one was to bear the name
the man would give. The man gave names
to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven
and all the wild beasts. But no helpmate
suitable for man was found for him, so
the Lord God made the man fall into a
deep sleep. And while he slept, he took
one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh.
The Lord God built the rib he had taken
from the man into a woman, and brought
her to the man. The man exclaimed: ‘This
at last is bone from my bones, and flesh
from my flesh! This is to be called woman,
for this was taken from man.' This is
why a man leaves his father and mother
and joins himself to his wife, and they
become one body.
This
is the word of the Lord.
Responsorial
Psalm Ps 148
R
Praise the name of the Lord.
Or
R. Alleluia!
1.
Praise the Lord from the heavens,
praise him in the heights.
Praise him, all his angels,
praise him, all his host. R
2.
Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, shining stars.
Praise him, highest heavens
and the waters above the heavens. R
3.
All the mountains and hills,
all fruit trees and cedars,
beasts, wild and tame,
reptiles and birds on the wing. R
4.
All earth's kings and peoples,
earth's princes and rulers:
young men and maidens,
old men together with children R
5.
Let them praise the name of the Lord
for he alone is exalted.
The splendour of his name
reaches beyond heaven and earth. R
A
reading from the book of Genesis
Abraham's
servant said to Laban, 'I blessed the
Lord, God of my master Abraham, who had
so graciously led me to choose the
daughter of my master's brother for his
son. Now tell me whether you are prepared
to show kindness and goodness to my master;
if not, say so, and I shall know what
to do.'
Laban and Bethuel replied, 'This is from
the Lord; it is not in our
power to say yes or no to you. Rebekah
is there for you. Take her
and go; and let her become the wife of
your master’s son, as the Lord has
decreed.' They called Rebekah and asked
her, 'Do you want to leave with this man?'
'I do,' she replied. Accordingly they
let their sister Rebekah go, with her
nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men.
They blessed Rebekah in these words:
'Sister of ours, increase
May your descendants gain possession
of the gates of their enemies!'
Rebekah and her servants stood up, mounted
the camels, and followed the man. The
servant took Rebekah and departed.
Isaac, who lived in the Negeb, had meanwhile
come into the
wilderness of the well of Lahai Roi. Now
Isaac went walking in the
fields as evening fell, and looking up
saw camels approaching. And
Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac. She jumped
from her came,
and asked the servant, 'Who is that man
walking through the fields to meet us?'
The servant replied, 'That is my master';
then she took her veil and hid her face.
The servant told Isaac the whole story,
and Isaac led Rebekah into his tent and
made her his wife; and he loved her. And
so Isaac was consoled for the loss of
his mother.
This is the word of the Lord.
Responsorial
Psalm Ps 144
R
How good is the Lord to all.
1 The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures. R
2
All your creatures shall thank you, O
Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
The eyes of all creatures look to you
and you give them their food in due time.
R
3
The Lord is just in all his ways
and loving in all his deeds.
He is close to all who call him,
who call on him from their hearts. R
A
reading from the book of Tobit
Raguel kissed Tobias and wept. Then finding
words, he said,'Bles-
sings on you child! You are the son of
a noble father. How sad it is
t that someone so virtuous and full of
good deeds should have gone
blind!' He fell on the neck of his kinsman
Tobias and wept. And his
wife Edna wept for him, and so did his
daughter Sarah. Raguel killed
a sheep from the flock, and they gave
Tobias and Raphael a warm-
hearted welcome.
They washed and bathed and sat sown to
table. Then Tobias said
to Raphael, 'Brother Azarias, will you
ask Raguel to give me my sister
Sarah? Raguel overheard the words and
said to the young man, 'Eat
and drink, and make the most of your evening;
no one else has the
right to take my daughter Sarah - no one
but you, my brother. In any
case, I, for my own part, am not at liberty
to give her to any one else,
since you are her next of kin. However,
my boy, I must be frank with
you: I have tried to find a husband for
her seven times among our
kinsmen, and all of them have died the
first evening, on going to her
room. But for the present, my boy, eat
and drink; the Lord will grant
you his grace and peace.' Tobias spoke
out, 'I will not hear of eating
and drinking till you have come to a decision
about me'. Raguel
answered, 'Very well. Since as prescribed
by the book of Moses, she is
given to you, heaven itself decrees she
shall be yours I shall therefore
entrust your sister to you. From now you
are her brother and she is
your sister. She is given to you from
today for ever. The Lord of
heaven favour you tonight, my child, and
grant you his grace and
peace.' Raguel called for his daughter
Sarah, took her by the hand and
gave her to Tobias with these words, 'I
entrust her to you; the law and
the ruling recorded in the Book of Moses
assign her to you as your
wife. Take her; take her home to your
father's house with a good
conscience. The God of heaven grant you
a good journey in peace.'
Then he turned her to her mother and asked
her to fetch him writing
paper. He drew up the marriage contract,
how he gave his daughter as
bride to Tobias according to the Law of
Moses.
After this they began to eat and drink.
This is the word of the Lord.
Responsorial
Psalm Ps 32
R
The Lord fills the earth with his love.
1
They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as his own.
The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love. R
2
Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
In him do our hearts find joy.
We trust in his holy name. R
3
May your love be upon us, O Lord,
as we place all our hope in you. R
A
reading from the book of Tobit
On the evening of their marriage, Tobias
said to Sarah, "You and I
must pray and petition our Lord to win
his grace and protection.' They
began praying for protection, and this
is how he began:
'You are blessed, O God of our fathers;
blessed too is your name
for ever and ever.
Let the heavens bless you
and all the things you have made
for evermore.
It was you that created Adam,
you who created Eve his wife
to be his help and support;
and from these two the human race was
born.
It was you that said,
" It is not good that man should
be alone;
let us make him a helpmate like himself."
And so I do not take my sister
for any lustful motive;
I do it in singleness of heart.
Be kind enough to have pity on her and
on me
and bring us to old age together.'
And together they said, 'Amen, Amen'.
This is the word of the Lord.
Responsorial
Psalm Ps 102
R
The Lord is compassion and love.
or
R
The love of the Lord is everlasting
upon those who hold him in fear.
1 My soul gives thanks to the Lord,
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul , give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings. R
2
The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
As a father has compassion on his sons,
the Lord has pity on those who fear. R
3
The love of the Lord is everlasting
upon those who hold him in fear;
his justice reaches out to children's
children
when they keep his covenant in truth.
R
A
reading from the Song of Songs
I hear my Beloved
See how he comes
leaping on the mountains
bounding over the hills.
My Beloved is like a gazelle,
like a young stag.
See where he stands
behind our wall.
He looks at the window,
he peers through the lattice.
My Beloved lifts up his voice,
he says to me,
"Come then my love,
my lovely one come.
My dove , hiding in the clefts of the
rock.
In the coverts of the cliff,
show me your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet
and your face is beautiful.'
My beloved is mine and I am his.
Set me like a seal on your heart,
like a seal on your arm.
For love is strong as Death,
jealousy relentless as Sheol.
The flash of it is a flash of fire,
a flame of the Lord himself.
Love no flood can quench,
no torrents drown.
This is the word of the Lord.
Responsorial
Psalm Ps 127
R
O blessed are those who fear the Lord!
or
R
Indeed thus shall be blessed
the man who fears the Lord.
1 O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall
eat.
You will be happy and prosper. R
2
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
around your table. R
3
Indeed thus shall be blessed
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life! R
A
reading from the book of Ecclesiasticus
Happy the husband of a really good wife;
the number of his days will be doubled.
A perfect wife is the joy of her husband,
he will live out the years of his life
in peace.
A good wife is the best of portions,
reserved for those who fear the Lord;
rich or poor, they will be glad of heart;
cheerful of face, whatever the season.
The grace of a wife will charm her husband,
her accomplishments will make him stronger.
A silent wife is a gift from the Lord,
no price can be put on a well trained
character.
A modest wife is a boon twice over,
a chaste character cannot be weighed on
scales.
Like the sun rising over the mountains
of the Lord
is the beauty of a good wife in a well
kept house.
This is the word of the Lord.
Resposorial
Psalm Ps 33
R I will bless the Lord at all times.
or
R
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
1
I will bless the Lord at all times,
his praise always on my lips;
in the Lord my soul shall make its boast.
The humble shall hear and be glad. R
2
Glorify the Lord with me.
Together let us praise his name.
I sought the Lord and he answered me;
from all my terrors he set me free. R
3
Look towards him and be radiant;
let your faces not be abashed.
This poor man called; the Lord heard him
and rescued him from all his distress.
R
4
The angel of the Lord is encamped
around those who revere him, to rescue
them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
He is happy who seeks refuge in him. R
A reading from the prophet Jeremiah
See, the days are coming - it is the Lord
who speaks - when I will
make a new covenant with the House of
Israel and the House of
Judah, but not a covenant like the one
I made with their ancestors on
the day I took them by the hand to bring
them out of the land of Egypt.
No, this is the covenant I will make with
the House of Israel when
those days arrive - it is the Lord who
speaks. Deep within them I will
plant my Law, writing it on their hearts.
Then I will be their God and
they shall be my people. There will be
no further need for neighbour to
try to teach neighbour, or brother to
say to brother, 'Learn to know the
Lord!' No, they will all know me, the
least no less than the greatest -
it is the Lord who speaks.
This is the word of the Lord.
Responsorial
Psalm Ps 111
R
Happy the man who takes delight
in the Lords commands.
or
R
Alleluia!
1
Happy the man who fears the Lord,
who takes delight in his commands.
His sons will be powerful on earth;
the children of the upright are blessed.
R
2
Riches and wealth are in his house;
his justice stands firm for ever.
He is a light in the darkness for the
upright:
he is generous, merciful and just. R
3
The good man takes pity and lends,
he conducts his affairs with honour.
The just man will never waver:
he will be remembered for ever. R
4
He has no fear of evil news;
with afirm heart he trusts in the Lord.
With a steadfast heart he will not fear;
he will see the downfall of his foes.
R
5
Open - handed, he gives to the poor;
his justice stands firm for ever.
His head will be raised in glory. R
A
reading from the book of the Apocalypse
I, John, seemed to hear the great sound
of a huge crowd in heaven,
singing, 'Alleluia! Victory and glory
and power to our God!"
Then a voice came from the throne; it
said, ' Praise our God, you
servants of his and all who, great or
small revere him'. And I seemed
to hear the voices of a huge crowd, like
the sound of the ocean or the
great roar of thunder, answering, 'Alleluia!
The reign of the Lord our
God Almighty has begun; let us be glad
and joyful and give praise to
God, because this is the time for the
marriage of the Lamb. His bride
is ready, and she has been able to dress
herself in dazzling white
linen, because her linen is made of the
good deeds of the saints.' The
angel said, 'Write this: Happy are those
who are invited to the
wedding feast of the Lamb.'
This is the word of the Lord.
Responsorial
Psalm Ps 148
R
Praise the name of the Lord.
or
R
Alleluia!
1
Praise the Lord from the heavens,
praise in the heights.
Praise him, all his angels,
praise him, all his host. R
2
Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, shining stars.
Praise him, highest heavens
and the waters above the heavens. R
3
All the mountains and hills,
all fruit trees and cedars,
beasts, wild and tame,
reptiles and birds on the wing. R
4
All earth's kings and peoples,
earth's princes and rulers:
young men and maidens,
old men together with children.
5
Let them praise the name of the Lord
for he alone is exalted.
The splendour of his name
reaches beyond heaven and earth. R