Second Reading

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans

With God on our side who can be against us? Since God did not spare
his own Son, but gave him to benefit us all, we may be certain,
after such a gift, that he will not refuse anything he can give. Could
anyone accuse those that God has chosen? When God acquits, could
anyone condemn? Could Christ Jesus? No! He not only died for us - he
rose from the dead, and there at God's right hand he stands and pleads
for us.

Nothing therefore can come between us and the love of Christ,
even if we are troubled or worried or being persecuted, or lacking food
or clothes, or being threatened or even attacked. These are the trials
through which we triumph,.by the power of him who loved us.

For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince,
nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or
depth, nor any created thing, can ever come between us and the love of
God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is the word of the Lord.

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans

Think of God's mercy, my brothers, and worship him, I beg you, in a
way that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your living bodies
as a holy sacrafice, truly pleasing to God. Do not model yourselves on
the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change,
modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will
of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the
perfect thing to do.

Do not let your love be a pretence, but sincerely prefer good to evil.
Love each other as much as brothers and sisters should, and have a profound
respect for each other. Work for the Lord with untiring effort and with
great earnestness of spirit. If you have hope, this will make you
cheerful. Do not give up if trials come; and keep on praying. If any of
the saints are in need you must share with them; and you should
make hospitality you special care.

Bless those who persecute you: never curse them, bless them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice and be sad with those in sorrow, Treat
everyone with equal kindness; never be condescending but make real
friends with the poor. Do not allow yourself to become self-satisfied.
Never repay evil with evil but let everyone see that you are interested
only in the highest ideals. Do all you can to live at peace with
everyone.

This is the word of the Lord.

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians.

The body is not meant for fornication; it is for the Lord, and the Lord
for the body. God, who raised the Lord from the dead, will by his power
raise us up too.

You know, surely, that your bodies are members making up the
body of Christ. But anyone who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with
him.

Keep away from fornication. All the other sins are committed
outside the body; but to fornicate is to sin against your own body. Your
body, you know, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you since
you received him from God. You are not your own property: you have
been bought and paid for. That is why you should use your body for
the glory of God.

This is the word of the Lord.

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians.

Be ambitious for the higher gifts. And I am going to show you a way that is better than any of them. If I have all the eloquence of men or angels, but speak without love, I am simply a gong booming of a cymbal clashing. If I have the gift of prophecy, understanding all the mysteries there are, and knowing everything, and if I have faith in all its fullness, to move mountains, but without love, then I am nothing at all. If I give away all that I possess, piece by piece, and even if I let them take my body to burn it, but am without love, it will do me no good whatever. Love is always patient and kind; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. Love does not come to an end.

This is the word of the Lord.

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Ephesians

Follow Christ by loving as he loved you, giving himself up in our
place. Give way to one another in obedience to Christ. Wives should
regard their husbands as they regard the Lord, since as Christ is head
of the Church and saves the whole body, so is a husband the head of
his wife; and as the Church submits to Christ, so should wives to their
husbands, in everything. Husbands should love their wives just as
Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for her to make her
holy. He made her clean by washing her in water with a form of
words, so that when he took her to himself she would be glorious, with
no speck or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and faultless. In
the same way, husbands must love their wives as they love their own
bodies; for a man to love his wife is for him to love himself. A man
never hates his own body, but he feeds it and looks after it; and that is
the way Christ treats the Church, because it is his body - and we are
its living parts. For this reason, a man must leave his father and
mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one body.
This mystery has many implications; but I am saying it applies to
Christ and the Church. To sum up; you too, each one of you, must love
his wife as he loves himself; and let every wife respect her husband.

This is the word of the Lord.

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Colossians

You are God's chosen race, his saints; he loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same.
Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful. Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God and never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

This is the word of the Lord.

A reading from the first letter of St Peter

Wives should be obedient to their husbands. Then, if there are some
husbands who have not obeyed the word, they may find themselves
won over, without a word spoken, by the way their wives
behave, when they see how faithful and conscientious they are. Do not
dress up for show: doing up your hair, wearing gold bracelets and fine
clothes; all this should be inside, in a person's heart, imperishable: the
ornament of a sweet and gentle disposition - this is what is precious in
the sight of God. That was how the holy women of the past dressed
themselves attractively - they hoped in God and were tender and
obedient to their husbands; like Sarah, who was obedient to Abraham,
and called him her lord. You are now her children, as long as you live
good lives and do not give way to fear or worry.
In the same way, husbands must always treat their wives with
consideration in their life together, respecting a woman as one who,
though she may be the weaker partner, is equally an heir to the life of
grace. This will stop anything from coming in the way of your prayers.
Finally: you should all agree among yourselves and be sympathetic;
love the brothers, have compassion and be self - effacing. Never
pay back one wrong with another one; instead, pay back with a
blessing. That is what you are called to do, so that you inherit a
blessing yourself.

This is the word of the Lord.

A reading from the first letter of St John

My children,
our love is not to be just words or mere talk,
but something real and active
only by this can we be certain
that we are children of the truth
and be able to quieten our conscience in his presence,
what ever accusations it may raise against us,
because God is greater than our conscience and he knows everything.
My dear people,
if we cannot be condemned by our own conscience,
we need not be afraid in God's presence
and whatever we ask him,
we shall receive,
because we keep his commandments
and live the kind of life that he wants.
His commandments are these:
that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ
and that we love one another
as he told us to.
Whoever keeps his commandments
lives in God and God lives in us
by the Spirit that he has given us.

This is the word of the Lord.

A reading from the first letter of St John

My dear people,
let us love one another
since love comes from God
and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Anyone who fails to love can never have known God,
because God is love.
God's love for us was revealed
when God sent into the world his only Son
so that we could have life through him;
this is the love I mean:
not our love for God
but God's love for us when he sent his Son
to be tbe sacrifice that takes our sins away.
My dear People ,
since God has loved us so much,
we too should love one another
God will live in us
and his love will be complete in us.

This is the word of the Lord.