Responsorial Psalm

℟. (cf. 1a, 7b) Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
  or:
℟. Alleluia.

Praise, you servants of the LORD,
   praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
   both now and forever.

℟. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
  or:
℟. Alleluia.

High above all nations is the LORD;
   above the heavens is his glory.
Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high
   and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?

℟. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
  or:
℟. Alleluia.

He raises up the lowly from the dust;
   from the dunghill he lifts up the poor
to seat them with princes,
   with the princes of his own people.

℟. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
  or:
℟. Alleluia.

2nd Reading

1 Tm 2:1-8

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy

Beloved:
First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,
   petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,
   for kings and for all in authority,
   that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life
   in all devotion and dignity.
This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
   who wills everyone to be saved
   and to come to knowledge of the truth.
      For there is one God.
      There is also one mediator between God and men,
      the man Christ Jesus,
      who gave himself as ransom for all.
This was the testimony at the proper time.
For this I was appointed preacher and apostle
   —I am speaking the truth, I am not lying—,
   teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray,
   lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Though our Lord Jesus Christ was rich, he became poor,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Gospel

Lk 16:1-13 or 16:10-13

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Jesus said to his disciples,
“A rich man had a steward
   who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
   ‘What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
   because you can no longer be my steward.’
The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do,
   now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
   when I am removed from the stewardship,
   they may welcome me into their homes.’
He called in his master’s debtors one by one.
To the first he said,
   ‘How much do you owe my master?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’
Then to another the steward said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’
He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’
The steward said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note;
   write one for eighty.’
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
“For the children of this world
   are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
   than are the children of light.
I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,
   so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
   is also trustworthy in great ones;
   and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
   is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
   who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
   who will give you what is yours?
No servant 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 both God and mammon.”

Or [Shorter Form]:

Jesus said to his disciples:
The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
   is also trustworthy in great ones;
   and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
   is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
   who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
   who will give you what is yours?
No servant 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 both God and mammon.”

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Then he kisses the book, saying quietly:

Through the words of the Gospel
may our sins be wiped away.

The Creed is said.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.

Nicene Creed

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.

God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of
the Virgin Mary, and became man.

For our sake he was crucified
under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right
hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the
Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son
is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in One, Holy,
Catholic and Apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism
for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to
the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come.

Amen.

Gospel Canticle

Ant. The greatest among you will be your servant, says the Lord, for I will lift up in glory the man who humbles himself.

Canticle of Zechariah
Luke 1:68-79
The Messiah and his forerunner

Blessed + be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old †
  that he would save us from our enemies, *
  from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight
   all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.


Ant. The greatest among you will be your servant, says the Lord, for I will lift up in glory the man who humbles himself.