HOLY MASS TODAY – CATHOLIC MASS 18TH AUGUST 2023

Ordinary Weekday

First Reading: Joshua 24: 1-13
1 And Josue gathered together all the tribes of Israel in Sichem, and called for the ancients, and the princes, and the judges, and the masters: and they stood in the sight of the Lord:

2 And he spoke thus to the people: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt of old on the other side of the river, Thare the father of Abraham, and Nachor: and they served strange gods.

3 And I took your father Abraham from the borders of Mesopotamia: and brought him into the land of Chanaan: and I multiplied his seed,

4 And gave him Isaac: and to him again I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave to Esau mount Seir for his possession: but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.

5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt with many signs and wonders.

6 And I brought you and your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea: and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen, as far as the Red Sea.

7 And the children of Israel cried to the Lord: and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them. Your eyes saw all that I did in Egypt, and you dwelt in the wilderness a long time:

8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorrhite, who dwelt beyond the Jordan. And when they fought against you, I delivered them into your hands, and you possessed their land, and slew them.

9 And Balac son of Sephor king of Moab arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and called for Balaam son of Beor, to curse you:

10 And I would not hear him, but on the contrary I blessed you by him, and I delivered you out of his hand.

11 And you passed over the Jordan, and you came to Jericho. And the men of that city fought against you, the Amorrhite, and the Pherezite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Gergesite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite: and I delivered them into your hands.

12 And I sent before you hornets: and I drove them out from their places, the two kings of the Amorrhites, not with thy sword nor with thy bow.

13 And I gave you a land, in which you had not laboured, and cities to dwell in which you built not, vineyards and oliveyards, which you planted not.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 136: 1-3, 16-18, 21-22 and 24
R. His mercy endures forever.

1 Praise the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

2 Praise ye the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.

3 Praise ye the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

R. His mercy endures forever.

16 Who led his people through the desert: for his mercy endureth for ever.

17 Who smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever.

18 And slew strong kings: for his mercy endureth for ever.

R. His mercy endures forever.

21 And he gave their land for an inheritance: for his mercy endureth for ever.

22 For an inheritance to his servant Israel: for his mercy endureth for ever.

24 And he redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever.

R. His mercy endures forever.
Alleluia: First Thessalonians 2: 13
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

13 Receive the word of god, not as the word of men, but, as it truly is, the word of God.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Matthew 19: 3-12
3 And there came to him the Pharisees tempting him, and saying: Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

4 Who answering, said to them: Have ye not read, that he who made man from the beginning, Made them male and female? And he said:

5 For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be in one flesh.

6 Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.

7 They say to him: Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorce, and to put away?

8 He saith to them: Because Moses by reason of the hardness of your heart permitted you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

9 And I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery.

10 His disciples say unto him: If the case of a man with his wife be so, it is not expedient to marry.

11 Who said to them: All men take not this word, but they to whom it is given.

12 For there are eunuchs, who were born so from their mother’s womb: and there are eunuchs, who were made so by men: and there are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. He that can take, let him take it.