St. John of the Cross, Priest, Doctor of the Church (Memorial)

December 14, 2021

Saints

Daily Readings:

First Option

  • First Reading

    Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13

    1Woe to her that is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city! 2She listens to no voice, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the LORD, she does not draw near to her God. 9"Yea, at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord. 10From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering. 11"On that day you shall not be put to shame because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me; for then I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones, and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain. 12For I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD, 13those who are left in Israel; they shall do no wrong and utter no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue. For they shall pasture and lie down, and none shall make them afraid."

  • Responsorial Psalm

    Psalms 34:2-3, 6-7, 17-19, 23

    1I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and be glad. 5Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed. 6This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 16The face of the LORD is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. 22The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

  • Gospel

    Matthew 21:28-32

    28"What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, `Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' 29And he answered, `I will not'; but afterward he repented and went. 30And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, `I go, sir,' but did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him; and even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him.

Second Option

  • First Reading

    1 Corinthians 2:1-10

    1When I came to you, brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. 2For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling; 4and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 6Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification. 8None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him," 10God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

  • Responsorial Psalm

    Psalms 37:3-6, 30-31

    3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security. 4Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. 6He will bring forth your vindication as the light, and your right as the noonday. 30The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. 31The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.

  • Gospel

    Luke 14:25-33

    25Now great multitudes accompanied him; and he turned and said to them, 26"If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30saying, `This man began to build, and was not able to finish.' 31Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace. 33So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.