Saturday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time (II)

Official Translation

Reading 1 – James 3.1-10

Let not many of you
be teachers, my brothers,
knowing that we will
receive heavier judgment.
For in many things
we all stumble.
If anyone does not stumble in word,
he is a perfect man,
able to bridle the whole body also.

Indeed, we put bits
into the horses’ mouths
so that they may obey us,
and we guide their whole body.
Ships also, though they are so big
and are driven by fierce winds,
are yet guided by a very small rudder,
wherever the pilot desires.
So the tongue is also a small body part,
which boasts great things.

Consider how a small fire can
set a large forest ablaze!
And the tongue is a fire.
The world of iniquity
among our body parts
is the tongue.
It defiles the whole body,
and sets on fire the circle of creation
and is itself set on fire by Gehenna.

For every kind of animal,
bird, creeping thing,
and sea creatures,
are tamed and have been tamed by humanity.
But no human can tame their tongue.
It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
In it we bless the Lord and Father,
and in it we curse humans,
who are made in the image of God.
Out of the same mouth
comes blessing and cursing.
My brothers and sister,
these things should not to be so.

Responsorial – Psalm 12.2-3, 4-5, 7-8 Resp. 8a

R. You will preserve us, Lord.

Help,Lord; for the godly man ceases.
For the faithful fail from among the children of men.
Everyone lies to his neighbor.
They speak with flattering lips, and with a double heart.

R. You will preserve us, Lord.

May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts,
those who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail.
Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us?”

R. You will preserve us, Lord.

The Lord’s words are flawless words,
as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times.
You will keep them, O Lord.
You will preserve them from this generation forever.

R. You will preserve us, Lord.

Gospel – Mark 9:2-13

Jesus took with him
Peter, James, and John,
and brought them up onto
a high mountain
privately by themselves,
and he was transfigured in front of them.

His clothing became glistening,
exceedingly white, like snow,
such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
Elijah and Moses appeared to them,
and they were talking with Jesus.
Peter answered Jesus,
“Rabbi, it is good for us to be here.
Let us make three tents:
one for you,
one for Moses,
and one for Elijah.”
For he did not know what to say,
for they were very afraid.

A cloud came, overshadowing them,
and a voice came out of the cloud,
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Suddenly looking around,
they saw no one with them anymore,
except Jesus only.

As they were coming
down from the mountain,
he commanded them
that they should tell no one
what things they had seen,
until after the Son of Human
had risen from the dead.
They kept this saying to themselves,
wondering what rising from the dead meant.

They asked him, saying,
“Why do the scribes say
that Elijah must come first?”
He said to them, “Elijah indeed comes first,
and restores all things.
How is it written about the Son of Human,
that he should suffer many things
and be despised?
But I tell you that Elijah has come,
and they have also done to him
whatever they wanted to,
even as it is written about him.”