Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time (I)

Official Translation

Reading 1 – Sirach 2.1-11

My son, if you come forward to serve the Lord,
stand in justice and fear and prepare yourself for trials.
Set your heart right and be steadfast.
Incline your ear and receive the word of understanding.
Do not be hasty in time of calamity.
Wait for God and cling to him and do not depart,
that you may be honored at the end of your life.

Accept whatever befalls you,
when sorrowful, be steadfast,
and in changes that humble you be patient.
For gold and silver are tested in the fire,
and worthy men in the furnace of humiliation.
Trust in him, and he will help you;
make your ways straight, and hope in him.
keep his fear and grow old therein.

You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; and turn not aside, lest you fall.
You who fear the Lord, trust in him, and your reward will not fail;
you who fear the Lord, hope for good things, for everlasting joy and mercy.
Consider the ancient generations and see:
who ever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame?
Or who ever persevered in the fear of the Lord and was forsaken?
Or who ever called upon him and was overlooked?
For the Lord is compassionate and merciful;
he forgives sins and saves in time of affliction.
He is a protector to all who seek him in truth.

Responsorial – Psalm 37.3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40 Resp. 5ac

R. Commit your way to the Lord, and he will act.

Trust in the Lord, and do good.
Dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

R. Commit your way to the Lord, and he will act.

The Lord knows the days of the perfect.
Their inheritance shall be forever.
They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil.
In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

R. Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.

Depart from evil, and do good.
Live securely forever.
For the Lord loves justice,
and does not forsake his saints.

R. Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.

The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord.
He is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
The Lord helps them, and rescues them.
He rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
Because they have taken refuge in him.

R. Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.

Gospel – Mark 9.30-37

Jesus and his disciples went away from there and passed through Galilee.
He did not want anyone to know it.
For he was teaching his disciples and said to them,
“The Son of Human is being handed over into the hands of humans,
and they will kill him,
and when he is killed, on the third day he will rise again.”

They did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
He came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them,
“What were you arguing among yourselves on the way?”
But they were silent, for they had disputed one with another on the way
about who was the greatest.
He sat down, and called the Twelve; and he said to them,
“If anyone wants to be first, they shall be last of all, and servant of all.”
He took an infant and stood him in their midst.
Taking him in his arms, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one such infant in my name,
receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”