Genesis 1:1—2:2
1In the beginning, God created heaven and earth. 2But the earth was empty and unoccupied, and darknesses were over the face of the abyss; and so the Spirit of God was brought over the waters.
Psalm 103
1To David himself. Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are exceedingly great. You have clothed yourself with confession and beauty; 2you are dressed with light like a garment, while you stretch out heaven like a tent. 3You cover its heights with water. You set the clouds as your stairs. You walk upon the wings of the winds. 4You make your Angels a breath of life, and your ministers a burning fire. 5You founded the earth upon its stable base. It will not be bent from age to age. 6The abyss, like a garment, is its clothing. The waters will remain standing above the mountains. 7At your rebuke, they will flee. At the voice of your thunder, they will dread. 8The mountains ascend, and the plains descend, to the place which you have founded for them. 9You have set a limit that they will not cross. And they will not return to cover the earth. 10You spring forth fountains in steep valleys. The waters will cross through the midst of the mountains. 11All the wild beasts of the field will drink. The wild donkeys will anticipate in their thirst. 12Above them, the flying things of the air will dwell. From the midst of the rocks, they will utter voices. 13You irrigate the mountains from your heights. The earth will be satiated from the fruit of your works, 14producing grass for cattle and herbs for the service of men. So may you draw bread from the earth, 15and wine, in order to cheer the heart of man. Then he may gladden his face with oil, and bread will confirm the heart of man. 16The trees of the field will be saturated, along with the cedars of Lebanon, which he planted. 17There, the sparrows will make their nests. The leader of them is the house of the heron. 18The heights of the hills are for the deer; the rock is a refuge for the hedgehog. 19He has made the moon for seasons; the sun knows its setting. 20You appointed darkness, and it has become night; all the beasts of the forest will cross through it. 21The young lions will roar, while searching for and seizing their meal from God. 22The sun arose, and they were gathered together; and in their dens, they will lie down together. 23Man will go forth to his work and to his activities, until the evening. 24How great are your works, O Lord! You have made all things in wisdom. The earth has been filled with your possessions. 25This sea is great and its hands are spacious. There are creeping things without number: the small animals with the great. 26There, the ships will pass by this sea-serpent that you have formed to mock them. 27All these expect you to give them food in due time. 28What you give to them, they will gather. When you open your hand, they will all be filled with goodness. 29But if you turn your face away, they will be disturbed. You will take away their breath, and they will fail, and they will return to their dust. 30You will send forth your Spirit, and they will be created. And you will renew the face of the earth. 31May the glory of the Lord be for all ages. The Lord will rejoice in his works. 32He considers the earth, and he makes it tremble. He touches the mountains, and they smoke. 33I will sing to the Lord with my life. I will sing psalms to my God, as long as I am. 34May my speech be pleasing to him. Truly, I will take delight in the Lord. 35Let sinners fade away from the earth, along with the unjust, so that they may not be. Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Genesis 22:1-18
1After these things occurred, God tested Abraham, and he said to him, “Abraham, Abraham.” And he answered, “Here I am.” 2He said to him: “Take your only begotten son Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of vision. And there you shall offer him as a holocaust upon one of the mountains, which I will show to you.” 3And so Abraham, getting up in the night, harnessed his donkey, taking with him two youths, and his son Isaac. And when he had cut wood for the holocaust, he traveled toward the place, as God had instructed him. 4Then, on the third day, lifting up his eyes, he saw the place at a distance. 5And he said to his servants: “Wait here with the donkey. I and the boy will hurry further ahead to that place. After we have worshipped, will return to you.” 6He also took the wood for the holocaust, and he imposed it upon his son Isaac. And he himself carried in his hands fire and a sword. And as the two continued on together, 7Isaac said to his father, “My father.” And he answered, “What do you want, son?” “Behold,” he said, “fire and wood. Where is the victim for the holocaust?” 8But Abraham said, “God himself will provide the victim for the holocaust, my son.” Thus they continued on together. 9And they came to the place that God had shown to him. There he built an altar, and he set the wood in order upon it. And when he had bound his son Isaac, he laid him on the altar upon the pile of wood. 10And he reached out his hand and took hold of the sword, in order to sacrifice his son. 11And behold, an Angel of the Lord called out from heaven, saying, “Abraham, Abraham.” And he answered, “Here I am.” 12And he said to him, “Do not extend your hand over the boy, and do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, since you have not spared your only begotten son for my sake.” 13Abraham lifted up his eyes, and he saw behind his back a ram among the thorns, caught by the horns, which he took and offered as a holocaust, instead of his son. 14And he called the name of that place: ‘The Lord Sees.’ Thus, even to this day, it is said: ‘On the mountain, the Lord will see.’ 15Then the Angel of the Lord called out to Abraham a second time from heaven, saying: 16“By my own self, I have sworn, says the Lord. Because you have done this thing, and have not spared your only begotten son for my sake, 17I will bless you, and I will multiply your offspring like the stars of heaven, and like the sand which is on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gates of their enemies. 18And in your offspring, all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you obeyed my voice.”
Psalm 15
5The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup. It is you who will restore my inheritance to me. 6The lots have fallen upon me with clarity. And, indeed, my inheritance has been very clear to me. 7I will bless the Lord, who has bestowed understanding upon me. Moreover, my temperament has also corrected me, even through the night. 8I have made provision for the Lord always in my sight. For he is at my right hand, so that I may not be disturbed. 9Because of this, my heart has been joyful, and my tongue has exulted. Moreover, even my body will rest in hope. 10For you will not abandon my soul to Hell, nor will you allow your holy one to see corruption. 11You have made known to me the ways of life; you will fill me with joy by your countenance. At your right hand are delights, even to the end.
Exodus 14:15—15:1
Psalm 15
1Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and they said: “Let us sing to the Lord, for he has been gloriously magnified: the horse and the rider he has cast into the sea. 2The Lord is my strength and my praise, and he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I shall glorify him. He is the God of my father, and I shall exalt him. 3The Lord is like a fighting man. Almighty is his name. 4The chariots of Pharaoh, and his army, he has cast into the sea; his elect leaders have been submerged in the Red Sea. 5The abyss has covered them. They descended into the depths like a stone. 6Your right hand, O Lord, has been magnified in strength. Your right hand, O Lord, has struck down the enemy. 7And in the multitude of your glory you have put down your adversaries. You sent out your wrath, which devoured them like stubble. 8And by the breath of your fury, the waters were gathered together. The flowing waves stood still. The abyss was gathered into the midst of the sea. 9The enemy said: ‘I will pursue and overtake them. I will divide the spoils. My soul will be filled. I will unsheathe my sword. My hand will put them to death.’ 10Your breath blew, and the sea covered them. They were submerged like lead into the mighty waters. 11Who is like you in strength, O Lord? Who is like you: magnificent in sanctity, terrible and yet praiseworthy, accomplishing miracles? 12You extended your hand, and the earth devoured them. 13In your mercy, you have been a leader to the people whom you have redeemed. And in your strength, you have carried them to your holy dwelling place. 14Peoples rose up and became angry. Sorrows took hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. 15Then the leaders of Edom were stirred up, and trembling took hold of the robust of Moab. All the inhabitants of Canaan were petrified. 16Let fear and dread fall upon them, by the magnitude of your arm. Let them become immobilized like stone, until your people cross through, O Lord, until this, your people whom you possess, cross through. 17You shall lead them in and plant them, on the mountain of your inheritance, in your most firm dwelling place, which you have formed, O Lord, your sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have made firm. 18The Lord will reign in eternity and beyond.
Isaiah 54:5-14
5For the One who made you will rule over you. The Lord of hosts is his name. And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, will be called the God of all the earth. 6For the Lord has called you, like a woman forsaken and mourning in spirit, and like a wife rejected in her youth, said your God. 7For a brief moment, I have forsaken you, and with great pities, I will gather you. 8In a moment of indignation, I have hidden my face from you, for a little while. But with everlasting mercy, I have taken pity on you, said your Redeemer, the Lord. 9For me, it is just as in the days of Noah, to whom I swore that I would no longer bring in the waters of Noah over the earth. Thus have I sworn not to be angry with you, and not to rebuke you. 10For the mountains will be moved, and the hills will tremble. But my mercy will not depart from you, and the covenant of my peace will not be shaken, said the Lord, who has compassion on you. 11O poor little ones, convulsed by the tempest, away from any consolation! Behold, I will set your stones in order, and I will lay your foundation with sapphires, 12and I will make your ramparts out of jasper, and your gates out of sculpted stones, and all your borders out of desirable stones. 13All your children will be taught by the Lord. And great will be the peace of your children. 14And you will be founded in justice. Depart far from oppression, for you will not be afraid. And depart from terror, for it will not approach you.
Psalm 29
2I will extol you, Lord, for you have sustained me, and you have not allowed my enemies to delight over me. 3O Lord my God, I have cried out to you, and you have healed me. 4Lord, you led my soul away from Hell. You have saved me from those who descend into the pit. 5Sing a psalm to the Lord, you his saints, and confess with remembrance of his holiness. 6For wrath is in his indignation, and life is in his will. Toward evening, weeping will linger, and toward morning, gladness. 7But I have said in my abundance: “I will never be disturbed.” 8O Lord, in your will, you made virtue preferable to beauty for me. You turned your face away from me, and I became disturbed. 9To you, Lord, I will cry out. And I will make supplication to my God. 10What use would there be in my blood, if I descend into corruption? Will dust confess to you or announce your truth? 11The Lord has heard, and he has been merciful to me. The Lord has become my helper. 12You have turned my mourning into gladness for me. You have cut off my sackcloth, and you have surrounded me with joy. 13So then, may my glory sing to you, and may I not regret it. O Lord, my God, I will confess to you for eternity.
Isaiah 55:1-11
1All you who thirst, come to the waters. And you who have no money: hurry, buy and eat. Approach, buy wine and milk, without money and without barter. 2Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and expend your labor for what does not satisfy? Listen very closely to me, and eat what is good, and then your soul will be delighted by a full measure. 3Incline your ear and draw near to me. Listen, and your soul will live. And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, by the faithful mercies of David. 4Behold, I have presented him as a witness to the people, as a commander and instructor to the nations. 5Behold, you will call to a nation that you did not know. And nations that did not know you will rush to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel. For he has glorified you. 6Seek the Lord, while he is able to be found. Call upon him, while he is near. 7Let the impious one abandon his way, and the iniquitous man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and he will take pity on him, and to our God, for he is great in forgiveness. 8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways, says the Lord. 9For just as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so also are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts. 10And in the same manner as rain and snow descend from heaven, and no longer return there, but soak the earth, and water it, and cause it to bloom and to provide seed to the sower and bread to the hungry, 11so also will my word be, which will go forth from my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish whatever I will, and it will prosper in the tasks for which I sent it.
Psalm 12
2Behold, God is my savior, I will act faithfully, and I will not be afraid. For the Lord is my strength and my praise, and he has become my salvation.” 3You will draw water with gladness from the fountains of the Savior. 4And you will say in that day: “Confess the Lord, and invoke his name! Make his plans known among the peoples! Remember that his name is exalted! 5Sing to the Lord, for he has acted magnificently! Announce it to the whole world! 6Exult and give praise, O habitation of Zion! For the Great One, the Holy One of Israel, is in your midst!”
Baruch 3:9-15, 32—4:4
Psalm 18
8The law of the Lord is immaculate, converting souls. The testimony of the Lord is faithful, providing wisdom to little ones. 9The justice of the Lord is right, rejoicing hearts. The precepts of the Lord are brilliant, enlightening the eyes. 10The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring for all generations. The judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves: 11desirable beyond gold and many precious stones, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.
Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28
16And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 17“Son of man, the house of Israel lived on their own soil, and they defiled it with their ways and with their intentions. Their way, in my sight, became like the uncleanness of a menstruous woman. 18And so I poured out my indignation upon them, because of the blood which they shed upon the land, and because they defiled it with their idols. 19And I dispersed them among the Gentiles, and they have been scattered among the lands. I have judged them according to their ways and their plans. 20And when they walked among the Gentiles, to whom they had entered, they defiled my holy name, though it was being said about them: ‘This is the people of the Lord,’ and ‘They went forth from his land.’ 21But I have spared my holy name, which the house of Israel has defiled among the Gentiles, to whom they entered. 22For this reason, you shall say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: I will act, not for your sake, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have defiled among the Gentiles, to whom you entered. 23And I will sanctify my great name, which was defiled among the Gentiles, which you have defiled in their midst. So may the Gentiles know that I am the Lord, says the Lord of hosts, when I will have been sanctified in you, before their eyes. 24Certainly, I will take you away from the Gentiles, and I will gather you together from all the lands, and I will lead you into your own land. 25And I will pour clean water over you, and you shall be cleansed from all your filth, and I will cleanse you from all your idols. 26And I will give to you a new heart, and I will place in you a new spirit. And I will take away the heart of stone from your body, and I will give to you a heart of flesh. 27And I will place my Spirit in your midst. And I will act so that you may walk in my precepts and keep my judgments, and so that you may fulfill them. 28And you shall live in the land that I gave to your fathers. And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Psalm 41
3My soul has thirsted for the strong living God. When will I draw close and appear before the face of God? 4My tears have been my bread, day and night. Meanwhile, it is said to me daily: “Where is your God?” 5These things I have remembered; and my soul within me, I have poured out. For I will cross into the place of the wonderful tabernacle, all the way to the house of God, with a voice of exultation and confession, the sound of feasting.
Romans 6:3-11
3Do you not know that those of us who have been baptized in Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death? 4For through baptism we have been buried with him into death, so that, in the manner that Christ rose from the dead, by the glory of the Father, so may we also walk in the newness of life. 5For if we have been planted together, in the likeness of his death, so shall we also be, in the likeness of his resurrection. 6For we know this: that our former selves have been crucified together with him, so that the body which is of sin may be destroyed, and moreover, so that we may no longer serve sin. 7For he who has died has been justified from sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live together with Christ. 9For we know that Christ, in rising up from the dead, can no longer die: death no longer has dominion over him. 10For in as much as he died for sin, he died once. But in as much as he lives, he lives for God. 11And so, you should consider yourselves to be certainly dead to sin, and to be living for God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Psalm 117
1Alleluia. Confess to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy is forever. 2Let Israel now say: For he is good, for his mercy is forever. 3Let the house of Aaron now say: For his mercy is forever. 4Let those who fear the Lord now say: For his mercy is forever. 5In my tribulation, I called upon the Lord. And the Lord heeded me with generosity. 6The Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man can do to me. 7The Lord is my helper. And I will look down upon my enemies. 8It is good to trust in the Lord, rather than to trust in man. 9It is good to hope in the Lord, rather than to hope in leaders. 10All the nations have surrounded me. And, in the name of the Lord, I have been avenged over them. 11Surrounding me, they closed in on me. And, in the name of the Lord, I have been avenged over them. 12They surrounded me like a swarm, and they burned like fire among the thorns. And, in the name of the Lord, I have been avenged over them. 13Having been pushed, I was overturned so as to fall. But the Lord took me up. 14The Lord is my strength and my praise. And he has become my salvation. 15A voice of exultation and salvation is in the tabernacles of the just. 16The right hand of the Lord has wrought virtue. The right hand of the Lord has exalted me. The right hand of the Lord has wrought virtue. 17I will not die, but I will live. And I will declare the works of the Lord. 18When chastising, the Lord chastised me. But he has not delivered me over to death. 19Open the gates of justice to me. I will enter them, and I will confess to the Lord. 20This is the gate of the Lord. The just will enter by it. 21I will confess to you because you have heard me. And you have become my salvation. 22The stone which the builders have rejected, this has become the head of the corner. 23By the Lord has this been done, and it is a wonder before our eyes.
Mark 16:1-7
1And when the Sabbath had passed, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices, so that when they arrived they could anoint Jesus. 2And very early in the morning, on the first of the Sabbaths, they went to the tomb, the sun having now risen. 3And they said to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us, away from the entrance of the tomb?” 4And looking, they saw that the stone was rolled back. For certainly it was very large. 5And upon entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, covered with a white robe, and they were astonished. 6And he said to them, “Do not become frightened. You are seeking Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified One. He has risen. He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you into Galilee. There you shall see him, just as he told you.”