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Today's Readings

June 5th, Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

Reading I

Reading 1: Tobit 1:3; 2:1a-8

I, Tobit, have walked all the days of my life
on the paths of truth and righteousness.

I performed many charitable works for my kinsmen and my people
who had been deported with me to Nineveh, in Assyria.

On our festival of Pentecost, the feast of Weeks,
a fine dinner was prepared for me, and I reclined to eat.
The table was set for me,
and when many different dishes were placed before me,
I said to my son Tobiah: "My son,
go out and try to find a poor man
from among our kinsmen exiled here in Nineveh.
If he is a sincere worshiper of God, bring him back with you,
so that he can share this meal with me.
Indeed, son, I shall wait for you to come back."

Tobiah went out to look for some poor kinsman of ours.
When he returned he exclaimed, "Father!"
I said to him, "What is it, son?"
He answered, "Father, one of our people has been murdered!
His body lies in the market place where he was just strangled!"
I sprang to my feet, leaving the dinner untouched;
and I carried the dead man from the street
and put him in one of the rooms,
so that I might bury him after sunset.
Returning to my own quarters, I washed myself
and ate my food in sorrow.
I was reminded of the oracle
pronounced by the prophet Amos against Bethel:

"All your festivals shall be turned into mourning,
and all your songs into lamentation."

And I wept.
Then at sunset I went out, dug a grave, and buried him.

The neighbors mocked me, saying to one another:
"He is still not afraid!
Once before he was hunted down for execution
because of this very thing;
yet now that he has scarcely escaped,
here he is again burying the dead!"

Psalm & Reading 2

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 112:1b-2, 3b-4, 5-6

R. (1b) Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
His generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just man shall be in everlasting remembrance.
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel

Alleluia: See Revelation 1:5ab

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ, you are the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead;
you have loved us and freed us from our sins by your Blood.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Mark 12:1-12

Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes,
and the elders in parables.
"A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it,
dug a wine press, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey.
At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants
to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard.
But they seized him, beat him,
and sent him away empty-handed.
Again he sent them another servant.
And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully.
He sent yet another whom they killed.
So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed.
He had one other to send, a beloved son.
He sent him to them last of all, thinking, 'They will respect my son.'
But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'
So they seized him and killed him,
and threw him out of the vineyard.
What then will the owner of the vineyard do?
He will come, put the tenants to death,
and give the vineyard to others.
Have you not read this Scripture passage:

The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?"

They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd,
for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them.
So they left him and went away.

- The special intentions of pope francis
  
  The Special Intentions of Pope Francis:
  For May
  
  Come, Holy Spirit, come and renew the face of the earth! Come with your seven gifts! Come, Spirit of Life, Spirit of Communion and Love! The Church and the world need you. Come, Holy Spirit, and make ever more fruitful the charisms you have bestowed on us. Give new strength and missionary zeal to these sons and daughters of yours who part of various Church movements and groups. Open their hearts; renew their Christian commitment in the world.
- Weekly Prayer of the Faithful Petitions
  
  For the week of:
  June 4, 2023
  That we give our love unconditionally, especially to those who are closest to us.
- The Word Among Us
  
  "It is wonderful in our eyes." (Mark 12:11)
  
  What a bold move! Jesus dares to recount for the chief priests and scribes their predecessors' history of violently rejecting God's servants, the prophets. It's such a sad summary that it would be easy to miss the message of hope that this parable holds for Jesus' listeners and for all of us. So let's take a closer look.
  A MAN PLANTED A VINEYARD, PUT A HEDGE AROUND IT, DUG A WINE PRESS, AND BUILT A TOWER (Mark 12:1). The owner gave the tenants not just the land but everything they needed to successfully farm it. In the same way, God pours blessings into our lives, both tangible and spiritual. He may not give us everything we want, but he gives us everything we need to grow into the holy people he wants us to be.
  THEN HE . . . LEFT ON A JOURNEY (Mark 12:1). The vineyard owner didn't try to micromanage the tenants. He gave them freedom to farm as they saw fit. Similarly, God gives us free will so that we can choose to love and follow him. AT THE PROPER TIME HE SENT A SERVANT . . . TO OBTAIN . . . SOME OF THE PRODUCE (Mark 12:2). God is patient. He gives us time to produce fruit in our lives. And while he wants us to have enough for our needs, he also expects us to be generous with the blessings he has bestowed on us. He wants us to share our time, money, and talents with those who have less.
  HE SENT THEM ANOTHER SERVANT (Mark 12:4). Amazingly, when the first servant was beaten and sent away empty-handed, God sent another servant. And another! This is the same overwhelming mercy God shows us. He gives us chance after chance to place him first in our lives. No matter how badly we mess up, he is always ready to take us back.
  THE STONE THAT THE BUILDERS REJECTED HAS BECOME THE CORNERSTONE (Mark 12:10). Clearly no evil is so great, no amount of rejection so violent, that it will convince God to give up on us. In fact, he took the worst evil--the death of his Son--and used it for the greatest, our salvation. Now, no matter what we have done, God is willing to wash away every sin in the river of his mercy.
  What a message of hope! This is truly "wonderful in our eyes" (Mark 12:11)!
  
  "Jesus, I marvel at your saving love!"
- Living Faith
  
  The Impact of Our Actions
  
  "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours." (Mark 12:7)
  
  Coincidentally (or not?), a few different people and sources have recently been teaching me that when I choose to sin, it hurts Christ profoundly. I've always known that my mistakes and sins have ramifications for my soul. I've also known that they hurt the heart of God just like my heart aches when my kids do what they shouldn't. Yet, the idea that my sins are like more thorns in Jesus' crowns, or more lashes of the whip during his scourging, startles me into stepping it up to try and sin no more.
  Likewise, the parable of the tenants reminds us that our actions do impact Christ. Will our choices be like those of the evil farmers, hurting The One that God sent to save us? Or will we embrace the message, work to sin no more and be the ones who console the heart of Christ?
  
  Claire McGarry
- Living With Christ
  
  Today's Good News
  
  "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." (Mark 12:10)
  
  Recently I heard from a woman who hated the Bible. She was the eldest child and always had to be the responsible one, looking after her siblings and doing her best to follow their parents' guidance. And when she opened her Bible, what did she see? The oldest sibling rejected in favor of the youngest as far as the eye could see, from Jacob to the parable of the Prodigal Son! She might acknowledge that these Bible passages intentionally overturn cultural narratives. But, on an emotional level, she felt scolded and rejected.
  Even the in-group of "people who were rejected" can turn us against those who rejected us, or who don't share our suffering. Only in the gospel do we find a command to the rejected that that honors their suffering yet draws them beyond it--love your enemies.
  
  Eve Tushnet

St. Mark St. Andrew

Bottineau & Westhope, ND

Today's Readings

June 5th, Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

Reading I

Reading 1: Tobit 1:3; 2:1a-8

Psalm & Reading 2

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 112:1b-2, 3b-4, 5-6

Gospel

Alleluia: See Revelation 1:5ab

Gospel: Mark 12:1-12

The special intentions of pope francis

The Special Intentions of Pope Francis:
For May

Weekly Prayer of the Faithful Petitions

Today's Readings

Reading 1: Tobit 1:3; 2:1a-8

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 112:1b-2, 3b-4, 5-6

Alleluia: See Revelation 1:5ab

Gospel: Mark 12:1-12

The Special Intentions of Pope Francis: For May

The Special Intentions of Pope Francis:
For May