First Reading Suggestions

A reading from the Book of Job 19:23-27

Oh, would that my words were written down!

Would that they were inscribed in a record:

That with an iron chisel and with lead they were cut in the rock forever!

But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives, and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust;

And from my flesh I shall see God;

my inmost being is consumed with longing. Whom I myself shall see:

my own eyes, not another's, shall behold him.

The word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.

A time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant. A time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to tear down, and a time to build. A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;

a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces. A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away. A time to rend, and a time to sew;

a time to be silent, and a time to speak. A time to love, and a time to hate;

a time of war, and a time of peace.

What advantage has the worker from his toil?

I have considered the task

which God has appointed for men to be busied about.

He has made everything appropriate to its time,

and has put the timeless into their hearts,

without men's ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done.

The word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of Wisdom 3:1-9

The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.

They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an

affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction.

But they are in peace.

For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality;

Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,

because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them,

and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall

shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; They shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and

the LORD shall be their King forever.

Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love:

Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with the elect.

The word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of Wisdom 4:7-14

But the just man, though he die early, shall be at rest.

For the age that is honorable comes not with the passing of time,

nor can it be measured in terms of years.

Rather, understanding is the hoary crown for men, and an unsullied life, the attainment of old age.

He who pleased God was loved;

he who lived among sinners was transported- Snatched away, lest wickedness pervert his mind or

deceit beguile his soul;

For the witchery of paltry things obscures what is right and the whirl of desire transforms the

innocent mind.

Having become perfect in a short while, he reached the fullness of a long career; for his soul was

pleasing to the LORD,

therefore he sped him out of the midst of wickedness. But the people saw and did not understand,

nor did they take this into account.

The word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 25:6-9

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples

a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.

On this mountain

he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations;

he will destroy death forever.

The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces;

The reproach of his people

he will remove from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken.

On that day it will be said:

"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the LORD for whom we looked;

let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"

The word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 35:3-6, 10

Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak,

Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not!

Here is your God, he comes with vindication;

With divine recompense he comes to save you.

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,

the ears of the deaf be cleared; Then will the lame leap like a stag,

then the tongue of the dumb will sing.

Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return and enter Zion

singing, crowned with everlasting joy;

They will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee.

The word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 60:1-6

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines,

all gather and come to you: your sons come from afar,

and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.

The word of the Lord.

A Reading from the Book of Psalms

I lift up my eyes to the hills - from where will my help come?

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.

He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all ·evil; He will keep your life.

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this

time on and forevermore.

The Word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes 3: 1-11, 14-15

There is an appointed time for everything,

and a time for every affair under the heavens.

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant,

and a time to uproot the plant.

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down,

and a time to build.

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn,

and a time to dance.

A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to

embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.

A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep,

and a time to cast away.

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent,

and a time to speak.

A time to love, and a time to hate;

a time of war, and a time of peace.

What advantage has the worker from his toil? I have considered the

task which God has appointed for men to be busied about. He has

made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into

their hearts, without men's every discovering, from beginning to end,

the work which God has done.

I recognized that whatever God does will endure forever; there is no

adding to it, or taking from It. Thus has God done that he may be

revered. What now is has already been; what is to be, already is; and

God restores what would otherwise be displaced.

The Word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of Lamentations 3:17-26

My soul is deprived of peace,

I have forgotten what happiness is;

I tell myself my future is lost,

all that I hoped for from the Lord.

The thought of my homeless poverty

is wormwood and gall;

Remembering it over and over,

leaves my soul downcast within me.

But I will call this to mind,

as my reason to have hope:

The favors of the Lord are not exhausted,

his mercies are not spent;

They are renewed each morning,

so great is his faithfulness.

My portion is the Lord, says my soul;

therefore will I hope in him.

Good is the Lord to one who waits for him,

to the soul that seeks him;

It is good to hope in silence

for the saving help of the Lord.

The Word of the Lord.

A reading from the prophet Isaiah 49:1-6

Hear me, O coastlands, listen, O distant peoples.

The LORD called me from birth,

from my mother's womb he gave me my name.

He made of me a sharp-edged sword

and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.

He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me,

Israel, through whom I show my glory. Though I thought I had toiled in vain,

and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, yet my reward is with the LORD,

my recompense is with my God.

For now the LORD has spoken

who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought back to him

and Israel gathered to him;

and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength!

It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob,

and restore the survivors of Israel;

I will make you a light to the nations,

that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

The word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of Wisdom 4:7-15

The just man, though he die early,

shall be at rest.

For the age that is honorable comes not

with the passing of time,

nor can it be· measured in terms of years.

Rather, understanding is the hoary crown for men,

and an unsullied life, the attainment of old age.

He who pleased God was loved;

he who lived among sinners was transported -

Snatched away, lest wickedness pervert his mind

or deceit beguile his soul;

For the witchery of paltry things obscures what is right

and the whirl of desire transforms the innocent mind.

Having become perfect in a short while,

he reached the fullness of a long career;

for his soul was pleasing to the Lord,

therefore he sped him out of the midst of wickedness.

But the people saw and did not understand,

nor did they take this into account.

The Word of the Lord.

A reading from the second Book of Maccabees 12:43-46

Judas, the ruler of Israel,

Took up a collection among all his soldiers,

Amounting to two thousand silver drachmas,

Which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for and expiatory

Sacrifice.

In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way,

Inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view;

For if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again,

It would have been useless and foolish to pray for them

In death.

But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward

That awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness,

It was a holy and pious thought.

Thus he made atonement for the dead

That they might be freed from this sin.

The word of the Lord.

A Reading from the Book of the Prophet Daniel 12:1-3

In those days, I, Daniel, mourned

and I heard this word of the Lord:

At that time there shall arise

Michael, the great prince,

guardian of your people;

It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress

since nations began until that time.

At that time your people shall escape,

everyone who is found written in the book.

Many of those who sleep

in the dust of the earth shall awake;

Some shall live forever,

others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.

But the wise shall shine brightly

like the splendor of the firmament,

And those who lead the many to justice

shall be like the stars forever.

The Word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14

God sets a father in honor over his children;

a mother's authority he confirms over her sons. Whoever honors his father atones for sins,

and preserves himself from them.

When he prays, he is heard;

he stores up riches who reveres his mother. Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children,

and, when he prays, is heard.

Whoever reveres his father will live a long life;

he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother. My son, take care of your father when he is

old; grieve him not as long as he lives.

Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him; revile him not all the days of his life; kindness to

a father will not be forgotten.

The word of the Lord.

A Reading from the Book of the prophet Isaiah

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

The Word of the Lord

During the Easter Season, one of these readings may be chosen to be read as the First Reading instead of one of the readings from the Old Testament.

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 10:30-43

Peter proceeded to speak, saying:

"In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.

Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly

is acceptable to him.

You know the word that he sent to the children of Israel

As he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all,

What has happened all over Judea,

Beginning in Galilee after the baptism

That John preached,

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth

With the Holy Spirit and power.

He went about doing good

And healing all those oppressed by the Devil,

For God was with him.

We are witnesses of all that he did

Both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.

They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.

This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible,

Not to all the people, but to us,

The witnesses chosen by God in advance,

Who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

He commissioned us to preach to the people

And testify that he is the one appointed by God

As judge of the living and the dead.

To him all the prophets bear witness,

That everyone who believes in him

Will receive forgiveness of sins through his name."

The word of the Lord.

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 10:34, 42-43

Peter proceeded to speak, saying: "In truth, I see that God shows no partiality

Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is

acceptable to him.

You know the word that he sent to the children of Israel

As he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one

appointed by God

As judge of the living and the dead.

To him all the prophets bear witness,

That everyone who believes in him

Will receive forgiveness of sins through his name."

The word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of Revelation 14:13

I, John, heard a voice from heaven say, "Write this:

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," said the

Spirit, "let them find rest from their labors, for their works accompany

them."

The word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of Revelation 20:11-21:1

I, John, saw a large white throne and the one who was sitting on it.

The earth and the sky fled from his presence and there was no place for them.

I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before the throne,

And scrolls were opened.

Then another scroll was opened, the book of life.

The dead were judged according to their deeds,

By what was written in the scrolls.

The sea gave up its dead;

Then Death and Hades gave up their dead.

All the dead were judged according to their deeds.

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the pool of fire.

(This pool of fire is the second death.)

Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was

thrown into the pool of fire.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.

The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea

was no more.

The word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of Revelation 21:1-5a, 6b-7

I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.

The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea

was no more.

I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven

from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud

voice from the throne saying, "Behold, God's dwelling is with the

human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and

God himself will always be with them as their God. He will wipe every

tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning,

wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away."

The One who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new. I

am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty

I will give a gift from the spring of life-giving water. The victor will

inherit these gifts, and I shall be his God, and he will be my son."

·The word of the Lord.