First reading
Wisdom 18:6–9
You made us glorious by calling us to you.
Responsorial psalm
Psalm 32(33):1, 12, 18–20, 22
R. Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Second reading
Hebrews 11:1–2, 8–19
Abraham looked forward to a city founded, designed and built by God.
Gospel acclamation
Matthew 24:42a, 44
Be watchful and ready: You know not when the Son of Man is coming.
Gospel
Luke 12:32–48
You too must stand ready.
Images from the Word
- Treasure
- Waiting
- Great deal
- Expectation
- By faith
Liturgical notes
In texts that are to be spoken in a loud and clear voice, whether by the priest or the deacon, or by the lector, or by all, the tone of voice should correspond to the genre of the text itself, that is, depending upon whether it is a reading, a prayer, a commentary, an acclamation, or a sung text; the tone should also be suited to the form of celebration and to the solemnity of the gathering.
—General Instruction of the Roman Missal, §38
The ministry of the Word is much more than public reading. Different genres of readings require different voices. Readers are not simply reading words but are proclaiming the love contained in the Word of God by their ‘care, preparation, devout attention and meditative silence’, as called for by Saint John Paul II.
‘Be pleased, O Lord, to accept the offerings of your Church, for in your mercy you have given them to be offered and by your power you transform them into the mystery of our salvation.’
—prayer over the offerings