Reading I Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25 Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish,had recourse to the LORD.She lay prostrate upon the ground, together with her handmaids,from morning until evening, and said:“God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you.Help me, who am alone and have no help but you,for I am taking…
Reading 1 Jonah 3:1-10 The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:“Set out for the great city of Nineveh,and announce to it the message that I will tell you.”So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,according to the LORD’s bidding.Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;it took three days to go through…
ROME (CNS) — The Jubilee Year, the death of Pope Francis and the unexpected election of a U.S. pope boosted the number of U.S. visitors seeking free tickets to Vatican events in 2025, said the Bishops’ Office for U.S. Visitors to the Vatican. The peak moments with the highest visitor volume were in October and…
Reading 1 Isaiah 55:10-11 Thus says the LORD:Just as from the heavensthe rain and snow come downAnd do not return theretill they have watered the earth,making it fertile and fruitful,Giving seed to the one who sowsand bread to the one who eats,So shall my word bethat goes forth from my mouth;It shall not return to…
Reading 1 Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 The LORD said to Moses,“Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them:Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. “You shall not steal.You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another.You shall not swear falsely by my name,thus profaning the name of…
Reading 1 Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7 The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the groundand blew into his nostrils the breath of life,and so man became a living being. Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,and placed there the man whom he had formed.Out of the ground the…