Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Violet. Year: C(I).

First reading
Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28

‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him.’

Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colours. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, ‘Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.’

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.’ But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, ‘Let us not take his life.’ And Reuben said to them, ‘Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him’ — that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colours that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.’ And his brothers listened to him. Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

How to listen

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 105(104):16-17. 18-19. 20-21. ℟5a

Remember the wonders the Lord has done.

God called down a famine on the land;

he broke their staff of bread.

He had sent a man ahead of them,

Joseph, sold as a slave.

Remember the wonders the Lord has done.

His feet were weighed down in chains,

his neck was bound with iron,

until what he said came to pass,

and the word of the Lord proved him true.

Remember the wonders the Lord has done.

Then the king sent orders and released him;

the ruler of the peoples set him free.

He made him master of his house

and ruler of all his possessions.

Remember the wonders the Lord has done.

Gospel Acclamation	John 3:16

Glory to you, O Christ, Wisdom of God the Father.

For God so loved the world,

that he gave his Only Begotten Son,

that whoever believes in him should have eternal life.

Glory to you, O Christ, Wisdom of God the Father.

Gospel
Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him.’

At that time: Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence round it and dug a wine press in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than at first. And they did the same to them. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.” And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’

They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.’

Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes”? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.’

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

Universalis podcast: The week ahead – from 23 to 29 March

The Liturgy of the Hours: how to do psalms, and the origin of the psalm-prayers. How to get the psalm-prayers in Universalis. The Annunciation; the namelessness of God; St Etheldreda’s and the tax-collectors. An example of justice. (18 minutes)
Episode notes.

Christian Art

Each day, The Christian Art website gives a picture and reflection on the Gospel of the day.

The readings on this page are from the English Standard Version, which is used at Mass in Great Britain. The Jerusalem Bible (which is used at Mass in much of the English-speaking world) will appear instead if you set this page to use a calendar from outside Great Britain. The New American Bible readings, which are used at Mass in the United States, are available in the Universalis apps, programs and downloads.

You can also view this page with the New Testament in Greek and English.