Daily Mass Readings

First Reading

Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14

²Children, hear the judgment of your father, and so do that you may be saved.

³For God hath made the father honourable to the children: and seeking the judgment of the mothers, hath confirmed it upon the children.

⁴He that loveth God, shall obtain pardon for his sins by prayer, and shall refrain himself from them, and shall be heard in the prayer of days.

⁵And he that honoureth his mother is as one that layeth up a treasure.

⁶He that honoureth his father shall have joy in his own children, and in the day of his prayer he shall be heard.

¹²Glory not in the dishonour of thy father: for his shame is no glory to thee.

¹³For the glory of a man is from the honour of his father, and a father without honour is the disgrace of the son.

¹⁴Son, support the old age of thy father, and grieve him not in his life;

Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (Catholic canon)

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5.

¹Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.

²For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

³Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

⁴Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.

⁵The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.

Text shown in KJV (public domain).

Second Reading

Colossians 3:12-21

¹²Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

¹³Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

¹⁴And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

¹⁵And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

¹⁷And what soever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

¹⁸Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

¹⁹Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

²⁰Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

²¹Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

Text shown in KJV (public domain).

Gospel

Luke 2:22-40

²²And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;

²³(As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)

²⁴And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

²⁵And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

²⁶And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

²⁷And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

²⁸Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

²⁹Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

³⁰For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

³¹Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

³²A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

³³And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

³⁴And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

³⁵(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

³⁶And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

³⁷And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

³⁸And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

³⁹And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.

⁴⁰And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

Text shown in KJV (public domain).

The readings proclaimed at Mass in the United States follow the NABRE Lectionary. Read today's official text at USCCB →

Verse text shown from public-domain translations (KJV; Douay-Rheims chain for deuterocanonical books). The text proclaimed at Mass in the United States is the NABRE Lectionary — read it at the USCCB link.