Daily Catholic Gospel by Tabella

Jesus said to his disciples:“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock,for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.Sell your belongings and give alms.Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out,an inexhaustible treasure in heaventhat no thief can reach nor moth destroy.For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.“Gird your loins and light your lampsand be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding,ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.Blessed are those servantswhom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.  Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.And should he come in the second or third watchand find them prepared in this way,blessed are those servants.Be sure of this:if the master of the house had known the hourwhen the thief was coming,he would not have let his house be broken into.You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,the Son of Man will come.”Then Peter said,“Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”And the Lord replied,“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent stewardwhom the master will put in charge of his servantsto distribute the food allowance at the proper time?Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servantin charge of all his property.But if that servant says to himself,‘My master is delayed in coming,'and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,to eat and drink and get drunk,then that servant's master will comeon an unexpected day and at an unknown hourand will punish the servant severelyand assign him a place with the unfaithful.That servant who knew his master's willbut did not make preparations nor act in accord with his willshall be beaten severely;and the servant who was ignorant of his master's willbut acted in a way deserving of a severe beatingshall be beaten only lightly.Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said,"Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely;often he falls into fire, and often into water.I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him."Jesus said in reply,"O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you?How long will I endure you?Bring the boy here to me."Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him,and from that hour the boy was cured.Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said,"Why could we not drive it out?"He said to them, "Because of your little faith.Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed,you will say to this mountain,'Move from here to there,' and it will move.Nothing will be impossible for you."

Jesus said to his disciples,"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,take up his cross, and follow me.For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.What profit would there be for one to gain the whole worldand forfeit his life?Or what can one give in exchange for his life?For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory,and then he will repay each according to his conduct.Amen, I say to you, there are some standing herewho will not taste deathuntil they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom."

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippiand he asked his disciples,“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”Simon Peter said in reply,“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.And so I say to you, you are Peter,and upon this rock I will build my Church,and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”Then he strictly ordered his disciplesto tell no one that he was the Christ.From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciplesthat he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatlyfrom the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,and be killed and on the third day be raised.Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,“God forbid, Lord!  No such thing shall ever happen to you.”He turned and said to Peter,“Get behind me, Satan!  You are an obstacle to me.You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up a mountain to pray.While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here;let us make three tents,one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”But he did not know what he was saying.While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.

Jesus made the disciples get into a boatand precede him to the other side of the sea,while he dismissed the crowds.After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.When it was evening he was there alone.Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.During the fourth watch of the night,he came toward them, walking on the sea.When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”Peter said to him in reply,“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”He said, “Come.”Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”After they got into the boat, the wind died down.Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,“Truly, you are the Son of God.”After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret.When the men of that place recognized him,they sent word to all the surrounding country.People brought to him all those who were sickand begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak,and as many as touched it were healed.

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,"This is a deserted place and it is already late;dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villagesand buy food for themselves."He said to them, "There is no need for them to go away;give them some food yourselves."But they said to him,"Five loaves and two fish are all we have here."Then he said, "Bring them here to me,"and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,he said the blessing, broke the loaves,and gave them to the disciples,who in turn gave them to the crowds.They all ate and were satisfied,and they picked up the fragments left over–twelve wicker baskets full.Those who ate were about five thousand men,not counting women and children.

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”He replied to him,“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”Then he said to the crowd,“Take care to guard against all greed,for though one may be rich,one's life does not consist of possessions.”Then he told them a parable.“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,for I do not have space to store my harvest?'And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.There I shall store all my grain and other goodsand I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,you have so many good things stored up for many years,rest, eat, drink, be merry!”'But God said to him,‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?'Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselvesbut are not rich in what matters to God.”

Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesusand said to his servants, "This man is John the Baptist.He has been raised from the dead;that is why mighty powers are at work in him."Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prisonon account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip,for John had said to him,"It is not lawful for you to have her."Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people,for they regarded him as a prophet.But at a birthday celebration for Herod,the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guestsand delighted Herod so muchthat he swore to give her whatever she might ask for.Prompted by her mother, she said,"Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist."The king was distressed,but because of his oaths and the guests who were present,he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison.His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl,who took it to her mother.His disciples came and took away the corpseand buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.They were astonished and said,"Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?Is he not the carpenter's son?Is not his mother named Maryand his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?Are not his sisters all with us?Where did this man get all this?"And they took offense at him.But Jesus said to them,"A prophet is not without honor except in his native placeand in his own house."And he did not work many mighty deeds therebecause of their lack of faith.

Jesus said to the disciples:"The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,which collects fish of every kind.When it is full they haul it ashoreand sit down to put what is good into buckets.What is bad they throw away.Thus it will be at the end of the age.The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteousand throw them into the fiery furnace,where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.""Do you understand all these things?"They answered, "Yes."And he replied,"Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heavenis like the head of a household who brings from his storeroomboth the new and the old."When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

Jesus said to his disciples:"The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,which a person finds and hides again,and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchantsearching for fine pearls.When he finds a pearl of great price,he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."

Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Maryto comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died].When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,she went to meet him;but Mary sat at home.Martha said to Jesus,“Lord, if you had been here,my brother would not have died.But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,God will give you.”Jesus said to her,“Your brother will rise.”Martha said to him,“I know he will rise,in the resurrection on the last day.”Jesus told her,“I am the resurrection and the life;whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.Do you believe this?”She said to him, “Yes, Lord.I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,the one who is coming into the world.”

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.“The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seedthat a person took and sowed in a field.It is the smallest of all the seeds,yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.It becomes a large bush,and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.”He spoke to them another parable.“The Kingdom of heaven is like yeastthat a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flouruntil the whole batch was leavened.”All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.He spoke to them only in parables,to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:I will open my mouth in parables,I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,one of his disciples said to him,"Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."He said to them, "When you pray, say:Father, hallowed be your name,your kingdom come.Give us each day our daily breadand forgive us our sinsfor we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,and do not subject us to the final test."And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friendto whom he goes at midnight and says,'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journeyand I have nothing to offer him,'and he says in reply from within,'Do not bother me; the door has already been lockedand my children and I are already in bed.I cannot get up to give you anything.'I tell you,if he does not get up to give the visitor the loavesbecause of their friendship,he will get up to give him whatever he needsbecause of his persistence."And I tell you, ask and you will receive;seek and you will find;knock and the door will be opened to you.For everyone who asks, receives;and the one who seeks, finds;and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.What father among you would hand his son a snakewhen he asks for a fish?Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?If you then, who are wicked,know how to give good gifts to your children,how much more will the Father in heavengive the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a manwho sowed good seed in his field.While everyone was asleep his enemy cameand sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.The slaves of the householder came to him and said,‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?Where have the weeds come from?'He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.'His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?'He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weedsyou might uproot the wheat along with them.Let them grow together until harvest;then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;but gather the wheat into my barn.”'”

The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sonsand did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.He said to her,"What do you wish?"She answered him,"Command that these two sons of mine sit,one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom."Jesus said in reply,"You do not know what you are asking.Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?"They said to him, "We can."He replied,"My chalice you will indeed drink,but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to givebut is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."When the ten heard this,they became indignant at the two brothers.But Jesus summoned them and said,"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,and the great ones make their authority over them felt.But it shall not be so among you.Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be servedbut to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

The disciples approached Jesus and said,"Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?"He said to them in reply,"Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heavenhas been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.This is why I speak to them in parables, becausethey look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:You shall indeed hear but not understand,you shall indeed look but never see.Gross is the heart of this people,they will hardly hear with their ears,they have closed their eyes,lest they see with their eyesand hear with their earsand understand with their hearts and be convertedand I heal them."But blessed are your eyes, because they see,and your ears, because they hear.Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous peoplelonged to see what you see but did not see it,and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.Such large crowds gathered around himthat he got into a boat and sat down,and the whole crowd stood along the shore.And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:“A sower went out to sow.And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,and birds came and ate it up.Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,and when the sun rose it was scorched,and it withered for lack of roots.Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

On the first day of the week,Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning,while it was still dark,and saw the stone removed from the tomb.So she ran and went to Simon Peterand to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,"They have taken the Lord from the tomb,and we don't know where they put him."Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping.And as she wept, she bent over into the tomband saw two angels in white sitting there,one at the head and one at the feetwhere the Body of Jesus had been.And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?"She said to them, "They have taken my Lord,and I don't know where they laid him."When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,but did not know it was Jesus.Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?Whom are you looking for?"She thought it was the gardener and said to him,"Sir, if you carried him away,tell me where you laid him,and I will take him."Jesus said to her, "Mary!"She turned and said to him in Hebrew,"Rabbouni," which means Teacher.Jesus said to her,"Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.But go to my brothers and tell them,'I am going to my Father and your Father,to my God and your God.'"Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples,"I have seen the Lord,"and then reported what he told her.

Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,"Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you."He said to them in reply,"An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,but no sign will be given itexcept the sign of Jonah the prophet.Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights,so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earththree days and three nights.At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generationand condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah;and there is something greater than Jonah here.At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generationand condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earthto hear the wisdom of Solomon;and there is something greater than Solomon here."

Jesus entered a villagewhere a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.She had a sister named Marywho sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,"Lord, do you not carethat my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?Tell her to help me."The Lord said to her in reply,"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.There is need of only one thing.Mary has chosen the better partand it will not be taken from her."

The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesusto put him to death.When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place.Many people followed him, and he cured them all,but he warned them not to make him known.This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet:    Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,        my beloved in whom I delight;    I shall place my Spirit upon him,        and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.    He will not contend or cry out,        nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.    A bruised reed he will not break,        a smoldering wick he will not quench,    until he brings justice to victory.        And in his name the Gentiles will hope.

Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.His disciples were hungryand began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,"See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath."He said to them, "Have you not read what David didwhen he and his companions were hungry,how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,which neither he nor his companionsbut only the priests could lawfully eat?Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbaththe priests serving in the temple violate the sabbathand are innocent?I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,you would not have condemned these innocent men.For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath."

Jesus said:"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,for I am meek and humble of heart;and you will find rest for yourselves.For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

At that time Jesus exclaimed:"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,for although you have hidden these thingsfrom the wise and the learnedyou have revealed them to the childlike.Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.All things have been handed over to me by my Father.No one knows the Son except the Father,and no one knows the Father except the Sonand anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."

Jesus began to reproach the townswhere most of his mighty deeds had been done,since they had not repented."Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!For if the mighty deeds done in your midsthad been done in Tyre and Sidon,they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.But I tell you, it will be more tolerablefor Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.And as for you, Capernaum:Will you be exalted to heaven?You will go down to the netherworld.For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,it would have remained until this day.But I tell you, it will be more tolerablefor the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."

Jesus said to his Apostles:"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.I have come to bring not peace but the sword.For I have come to seta man against his father,a daughter against her mother,and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;and one's enemies will be those of his household."Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;and whoever does not take up his crossand follow after me is not worthy of me.Whoever finds his life will lose it,and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."Whoever receives you receives me,and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophetwill receive a prophet's reward,and whoever receives a righteous manbecause he is righteouswill receive a righteous man's reward.And whoever gives only a cup of cold waterto one of these little ones to drinkbecause he is a disciple–amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward."When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,"Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law?How do you read it?"He said in reply,"You shall love the Lord, your God,with all your heart,with all your being,with all your strength,and with all your mind,and your neighbor as yourself."He replied to him, "You have answered correctly;do this and you will live."But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,"And who is my neighbor?"Jesus replied,"A man fell victim to robbersas he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.A priest happened to be going down that road,but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.Likewise a Levite came to the place,and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.But a Samaritan traveler who came upon himwas moved with compassion at the sight.He approached the victim,poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.Then he lifted him up on his own animal,took him to an inn, and cared for him.The next day he took out two silver coinsand gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,'Take care of him.If you spend more than what I have given you,I shall repay you on my way back.'Which of these three, in your opinion,was neighbor to the robbers' victim?"He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy."Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

Jesus said to his Apostles: “No disciple is above his teacher,no slave above his master.It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher,for the slave that he become like his master.If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,how much more those of his household!“Therefore do not be afraid of them.Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,nor secret that will not be known.What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;rather, be afraid of the one who can destroyboth soul and body in Gehenna.Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge.Even all the hairs of your head are counted.So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.Everyone who acknowledges me before othersI will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.But whoever denies me before others,I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

Jesus said to his Apostles:"Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves;so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.But beware of men,for they will hand you over to courtsand scourge you in their synagogues,and you will be led before governors and kings for my sakeas a witness before them and the pagans.When they hand you over,do not worry about how you are to speakor what you are to say.You will be given at that moment what you are to say.For it will not be you who speakbut the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.Brother will hand over brother to death,and the father his child;children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.You will be hated by all because of my name,but whoever endures to the end will be saved.When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israelbefore the Son of Man comes."

Jesus said to his Apostles:"As you go, make this proclamation:'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'Cure the sick, raise the dead,cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts;no sack for the journey, or a second tunic,or sandals, or walking stick.The laborer deserves his keep.Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it,and stay there until you leave.As you enter a house, wish it peace.If the house is worthy,let your peace come upon it;if not, let your peace return to you.Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerablefor the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgmentthan for that town."

Jesus summoned his Twelve disciplesand gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them outand to cure every disease and every illness.The names of the Twelve Apostles are these:first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;Philip and Bartholomew,Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariotwho betrayed Jesus.Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,"Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"

A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus,and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke.The crowds were amazed and said,“Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”But the Pharisees said,“He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,teaching in their synagogues,proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,and curing every disease and illness.At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for thembecause they were troubled and abandoned,like sheep without a shepherd.Then he said to his disciples,“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;so ask the master of the harvestto send out laborers for his harvest.”

While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward,knelt down before him, and said,""My daughter has just died.But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.""Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind himand touched the tassel on his cloak.She said to herself, ""If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.""Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,""Courage, daughter!  Your faith has saved you.""And from that hour the woman was cured.When Jesus arrived at the official's houseand saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,he said, ""Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.""And they ridiculed him.When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,and the little girl arose.And news of this spread throughout all that land.

At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two otherswhom he sent ahead of him in pairsto every town and place he intended to visit.He said to them,"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;so ask the master of the harvestto send out laborers for his harvest.Go on your way;behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;and greet no one along the way.Into whatever house you enter, first say,'Peace to this household.'If a peaceful person lives there,your peace will rest on him;but if not, it will return to you.Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,for the laborer deserves his payment.Do not move about from one house to another.Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,eat what is set before you,cure the sick in it and say to them,'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'"Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you,go out into the streets and say,'The dust of your town that clings to our feet,even that we shake off against you.'

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,"Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,but your disciples do not fast?"Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mournas long as the bridegroom is with them?The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,and then they will fast.No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.People do not put new wine into old wineskins.Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,was not with them when Jesus came.So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord."But Thomas said to them,"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his handsand put my finger into the nailmarksand put my hand into his side, I will not believe."Now a week later his disciples were again insideand Thomas was with them.Jesus came, although the doors were locked,and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands,and bring your hand and put it into my side,and do not be unbelieving, but believe."Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes,two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him.They were so savage that no one could travel by that road.They cried out, "What have you to do with us, Son of God?Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?"Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding.The demons pleaded with him,"If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine."And he said to them, "Go then!"They came out and entered the swine,and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the seawhere they drowned.The swineherds ran away,and when they came to the town they reported everything,including what had happened to the demoniacs.Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus,and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.

As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,so that the boat was being swamped by waves;but he was asleep.They came and woke him, saying,"Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?"Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,and there was great calm.The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this,whom even the winds and the sea obey?"

When Jesus saw a crowd around him,he gave orders to cross to the other shore.A scribe approached and said to him,“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”Another of his disciples said to him,“Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”But Jesus answered him, “Follow me,and let the dead bury their dead.”

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippihe asked his disciples,“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”Simon Peter said in reply,“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.And so I say to you, you are Peter,and upon this rock I will build my Church,and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

When Jesus entered Capernaum,a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,"Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully."He said to him, "I will come and cure him."The centurion said in reply,"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;only say the word and my servant will be healed.For I too am a man subject to authority,with soldiers subject to me.And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes;and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes;and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,"Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacobat the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven,but the children of the Kingdomwill be driven out into the outer darkness,where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."And Jesus said to the centurion,"You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you."And at that very hour his servant was healed.Jesus entered the house of Peter,and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.He touched her hand, the fever left her,and she rose and waited on him.When it was evening, they brought him manywho were possessed by demons,and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick,to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet:He took away our infirmitiesand bore our diseases.

Jesus addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes:"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of themwould not leave the ninety-nine in the desertand go after the lost one until he finds it?And when he does find it,he sets it on his shoulders with great joyand, upon his arrival home,he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,     'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'I tell you, in just the same waythere will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repentsthan over ninety-nine righteous peoplewho have no need of repentance."

Jesus said to his disciples:"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,'will enter the Kingdom of heaven,but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.Many will say to me on that day,'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?Did we not drive out demons in your name?Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?'Then I will declare to them solemnly,'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'"Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on themwill be like a wise man who built his house on rock.The rain fell, the floods came,and the winds blew and buffeted the house.But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.And everyone who listens to these words of minebut does not act on themwill be like a fool who built his house on sand.The rain fell, the floods came,and the winds blew and buffeted the house.And it collapsed and was completely ruined."When Jesus finished these words,the crowds were astonished at his teaching,for he taught them as one having authority,and not as their scribes.

Jesus said to his disciples:“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing,but underneath are ravenous wolves.By their fruits you will know them.Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?Just so, every good tree bears good fruit,and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut downand thrown into the fire.So by their fruits you will know them.”

In the days of Herod, King of Judea,there was a priest named Zechariahof the priestly division of Abijah;his wife was from the daughters of Aaron,and her name was Elizabeth.Both were righteous in the eyes of God,observing all the commandmentsand ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barrenand both were advanced in years.Once when he was servingas priest in his division's turn before God,according to the practice of the priestly service,he was chosen by lotto enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense.Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outsideat the hour of the incense offering,the angel of the Lord appeared to him,standing at the right of the altar of incense.Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah,because your prayer has been heard.Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,and you shall name him John.And you will have joy and gladness,and many will rejoice at his birth,for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.John will drink neither wine nor strong drink.He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb,and he will turn many of the children of Israelto the Lord their God.He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijahto turn their hearts toward their childrenand the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”

Jesus said to his disciples:"Stop judging, that you may not be judged.For as you judge, so will you be judged,and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye,but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?How can you say to your brother,'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,'while the wooden beam is in your eye?You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;then you will see clearlyto remove the splinter from your brother's eye."

Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God,and he healed those who needed to be cured.As the day was drawing to a close,the Twelve approached him and said,"Dismiss the crowdso that they can go to the surrounding villages and farmsand find lodging and provisions;for we are in a deserted place here."He said to them, "Give them some food yourselves."They replied, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have,unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people."Now the men there numbered about five thousand.Then he said to his disciples,"Have them sit down in groups of about fifty."They did so and made them all sit down.Then taking the five loaves and the two fish,and looking up to heaven,he said the blessing over them, broke them,and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.They all ate and were satisfied.And when the leftover fragments were picked up,they filled twelve wicker baskets.

Jesus said to his disciples:“No one can serve two masters.He will either hate one and love the other,or be devoted to one and despise the other.You cannot serve God and mammon.“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,what you will eat or drink,or about your body, what you will wear.Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?Look at the birds in the sky;they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,yet your heavenly Father feeds them.Are not you more important than they?Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?Why are you anxious about clothes?Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.They do not work or spin.But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendorwas clothed like one of them.If God so clothes the grass of the field,which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?'or ‘What are we to drink?' or ‘What are we to wear?'All these things the pagans seek.Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,and all these things will be given you besides.Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

Jesus said to his disciples:“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.But store up treasures in heaven,where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.“The lamp of the body is the eye.If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”