THE COMMON OF THE ANNIVERSARY
OF THE DEDICATION OF A CHURCH
701 READING I FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
1.
In those days:
Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD
in the presence of the whole community of Israel,
and stretching forth his hands toward heaven, he said,
"LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you
in heaven above or on earth below;
you keep your covenant of mercy with your servants
who are faithful to you with their whole heart.
"Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?
If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you,
how much less this temple which I have built!
Look kindly on the prayer and petition of yonr servant,
0 LORD, my God,
and listen to the cry of supplication I, your servant,
utter before you this day.
May your eyes watch night and day over this temple,
the place where you have decreed you shall be honored;
may you heed the prayer which I, your servant, offer in this place.
Listen to the petitions of your servant
and of your people Israel
which they offer in this place.
Listen from your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon."
2.
King Solomon and the entire community of Israel
gathered about him before the ark
were sacrificing sheep and oxen so numerous
that they could not be counted or numbered.
The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD
to its place beneath the wings of the chernbim in the sanctuary,
the holy of holies of the temple.
The cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the ark,
sheltering the ark and its poles from above.
The poles were long enongh so that their ends could be seen
from that part of the holy place nearest the sanctuary;
however, they could not be seen beyond.
The ark has remained there to this day.
There was nothing in it but the two tablets
which Moses put there on Horeb,
the tablets of the covenant which the LORD made
with the children of Israel at their departure from Egypt.
When the trumpeters and singers were heard as a single voice
praising and giving thanks to the LORD,
and when they raised the sound
of the trumpets, cymbals and other musical instruments
to "give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever,"
the building of the LORD'S temple was filled with a cloud.
The priests could not continue to minister because of the cloud,
since the LORD'S glory filled the house of God.
Then Solomon said:
"The LORD intends to dwell in the dark cloud.
I have truly built you a princely house and dwelling,
where you may abide forever."
3.
Thus says the LORD:
Observe what is right, do what is just;
for my salvation is about to come,
my justice, about to be revealed.
The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
ministering to him,
Loving the name of the LORD,
and becoming his servants@
All who keep the sabbath free from profanation
and hold to my covenant,
Them I will bring to my holy mountain
and make joyful in my house of prayer;
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be acceptable on my altar,
For my house shall be called
a house of prayer for all peoples.
4.
The angel led me to the gate which faces the east,
and there I saw the glory of the God of Israel
coming from the east.
I heard a sound like the roaring of many waters,
and the earth shone with his glory.
I fell prone as the glory of the LORD entered the temple
by way of the gate which faces the east,
but spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court.
And I saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the LORD.
Then I heard someone speaking to me from the temple,
while the man stood beside me.
The voice said to me:
Son of man, this is where my throne shall be,
this is where I will set the soles of my feet;
here I will dwell among the children of Israel forever.
5.
(see Roman Missal, antiphon for the
blessing and sprinkling of water during the season of Easter).
The angel brought me back to the entrance of the temple,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the facade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the right side.
He said to me,
"This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine."
702 READING I FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT
DURING THE SEASON OF EASTER
First Option
Stephen said to the people, the elders and the scribes:
"Our ancestors had the tent of testimony in the desert
just as the One who spoke to Moses directed him
to make it according to the pattern he had seen.
Our ancestors who inherited it
brought it with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations
that God drove out from before our ancestors,
up to the time of David,
who found favor in the sight of God
and asked that he might find a dwelling place
for the house of Jacob.
But Solomon built a house for him.
Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands.
As the prophet says:
The heavens are my throne,
the earth is my Footstool.
What kind of house can you build for me?
says the Lord,
or what is to be my resting place?
Did not my hand make all these things?"
Second Option
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."
Third Option
The angel spoke to me, saying:
"Come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."
He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.
It gleamed with the splendor of God.
Its radiance was like that of a precious stone,
like jasper, clear as crystal.
It had a massive, high wall,
with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed
and on which names were inscribed,
the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
There were three gates facing east,
three north, three south, and three west.
The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation,
on which were inscribed the twelve names
of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
703 RESPONSORIAL PSALM
1.
R. (13b) We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
"Blessed may you be, O LORD,
God of Israel our father,
from eternity to eternity."
R. We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
"Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power,
majesty, splendor, and glory.
For all in heaven and on earth is yours."
R. We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
"Yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty;
you are exalted as head over all.
Riches and honor are from you."
R. We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
"You have dominion over all.
In your hands are power and might;
it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all."
R. We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
2.
R. (5) There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God, the holy
dwelling of the Most High!
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
R. There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God, the holy
dwelling of the Most High!
There is a stream whose rnnlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
R. There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God, the holy
dwelling of the Most High!
The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.
R. There is a stream whose rnnlets gladden the city of God, the holy
dwelling of the Most High!
3.
R. How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, mighty God!
or:
R. Here God lives among his people.
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry ont for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling-place. Lord, mighty God!
or:
R. Here God lives among his people.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young-
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling-place. Lord, mighty God!
or:
R. Here God lives among his people.
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
O God, behold our shield,
and look upon the face of your anointed. "
R. How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, mighty God!
or:
R. Here God lives among his people.
I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
R. How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, mighty God!
or:
R. Here God lives among his people.
4.
R. (2) Let us come before the Lord and praise him.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. Let us come before the Lord and praise him.
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great king above all gods;
In his hands are the depths of the earth,
and the tops of the mountains are his.
His is the sea, for he has made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
R. Let us come before the Lord and praise him.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. Let us come before the Lord and praise him.
5.
R. (1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord!
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord!
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord!
Because of my relatives and friends
I will say, "Peace be within you!"
Because of the house of the LORD, our God,
I will pray for your good.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord!
704 READING II FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT
First Option
Brothers and sisters:
You are God's building, o
According to the grace of God given to me,
like a wise master builder I laid a foundation,
and another is building upon it.
But each one must be careful how he builds upon it,
for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there,
namely, Jesus Christ.
Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
If anyone destroys God's temple,
God will destroy that person;
for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.
Second Option
Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Third Option
Brothers and sisters:
You have not approached that which could be touched
and a blazing fire and gloomy darkness
and storm and a trumpet blast
and a voice speaking words such that those who heard
begged that no message be further addressed to them.
No, you have approached Mount Zion
and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and countless angels in festal gathering,
and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven,
and God the judge of all,
and the spirits of the just made perfect,
and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant,
and the sprinkled Blood that speaks more eloquently
than that of Abel.
Fourth Option
Beloved:
Come to the Lord, a living stone, rejected by human beings
but chosen and precious in the sight of God,
and, like living stones,
let yourselves be built into a spiritual house
to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
For it says in Scripture:
Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion,
a cornerstone, chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame.
Therefore, its value is for you who have faith,
but for those without faith:
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,
and
A stone which will make people stumble,
and a rock that will make them fall.
They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their destiny.
You are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people of his own,
so that you may announce the praises" of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
706 GOSPEL
First Option
When Jesus went into the region of Caesaroa Philippi
he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of tlie prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter said in reply,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Second Option
At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
"Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house."
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
"He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
"Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over."
And Jesus said to him,
"Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost."
Third Option
Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money-changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money-changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
"Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
"What sign can you show us for doing this?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."
The Jews said,
"This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in three days?"
But he was speaking about the temple of his Body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this,
and they came to believe the Scripture
and the word Jesus had spoken.
Fourth Option
The Samaritan woman said to Jesus,
"Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;
but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem."
Jesus said to her,
"Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You people worship what you do not understand;
we worship what we understand,
because salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth."
