Mass Readings for Deaconate Ordination October 25, 2008

These are the reading which Bishop Lennon chose for our Diaconate Ordination Mass:

1st (Old Testament) Reading: Numbers 3:5-9

Now the LORD said to Moses:
"Summon the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest, as his assistants. They shall discharge his obligations and those of the whole community before the meeting tent by serving at the Dwelling. They shall have custody of all the furnishings of the meeting tent and discharge the duties of the Israelites in the service of the Dwelling. You shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been set aside from among the Israelites as dedicated to me.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all you lands;
worship the LORD with cries of gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
Know that the LORD is God,
our maker to whom we belong,
whose people we are, God's well-tended flock.
Enter the temple gates with praise,
its courts with thanksgiving.
Give thanks to God, bless his name;
good indeed is the LORD,
Whose love endures forever,
whose faithfulness lasts through every age.


2nd (New Testament) Reading: I Peter 4:7b-11

Be serious and sober for prayers.
Above all, let your love for one another be intense,
because love covers a multitude of sins.
Be hospitable to one another without complaining.
As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another
as good stewards of God's varied grace.
Whoever preaches, let it be with the words of God;
whoever serves, let it be with the strength that God supplies,
so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ,
to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Gospel Proclamation: John 12:24-26*

Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.

* This was a verse of the Gospel of John which I wrote a paper on for our Scripture class on Johannine Literature. How providential to think that I've been preparing to hear this particular verse of the Gospel proclaimed since last Spring Semester when we took that class. -CJT.