1Sam 8:4-7.10-22a; Mark 2

Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time – Year II
Readings on p. 719 and Antiphons on p. 707 of the Daily Missal.

Entrance Antiphon.

Upon a lofty throne, I saw a man seated, whom a host of angels adore, singing in unison: Behold him, the name of whose empire is eternal.

First Reading: 1 Samuel 8:4-7.10-22a

A reading from the First Book of Samuel.

In those days:
All the elders of Israel gathered together
and came to Samuel at Ramah,
and said to him, “Behold,
you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways;
now appoint for us a king to govern us like all the nations.”

But the thing displeased Samuel when they said,
“Give us a king to govern us.”
And Samuel prayed to the Lord.
And the Lord said to Samuel,
“Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you;
for they have not rejected you,
but they have rejected me from being king over them.

So Samuel told all the words of the Lord
to the people who were asking a king from him.
He said, “These will be the ways of the king
who will reign over you:
he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots
and to be his horsemen,
and to run before his chariots,
and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands
and commanders of fifties,
and some to plough his ground and to reap his harvest,
and to make his implements of war
and the equipment of his chariots.
He will take your daughters
to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
He will take the best of your fields
and vineyards and olive orchards
and give them to his servants.
He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards
and give it to his officers and to his servants.
He will take your menservants and maidservants,
and the best of your cattle and your donkeys,
and put them to his work.
He will take the tenth of your flocks,
and you shall be his slaves.
And in that day you will cry out because of your king,
whom you have chosen for yourselves;
but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel;
and they said, “No! but we will have a king over us,
that we also may be like all the nations,
and that our king may govern us
and go out before us and fight our battles.”

And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people,
he repeated them in the ears of the Lord.
And the Lord said to Samuel,
“Listen to their voice, and make them a king.”

The Word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 89:16-17.18-19 (R. 2a)

Let us now pray the Responsorial Psalm:

R/. I will sing forever of your mercies, O Lord.

How blessed the people who know your praise,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
who find their joy every day in your name,
who make your justice their joyful acclaim.

For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favour, it is that our might is exalted.
Behold, the Lord is our shield;
he is the Holy One of Israel, our king.

R/. I will sing forever of your mercies, O Lord.

Please stand for the Gospel.

Alleluia, Alleluia.
A great prophet has risen among us, and God has visited his people.
Alleluia.

Gospel: Mark 2:1.12

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days,
it was reported that he was at home.
And many were gathered together,
so that there was no longer room for them,
not even about the door;
and he was preaching the word to them.
And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
And when they could not get near him because of the crowd,
they removed the roof above him;
and when they had made an opening,
they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay.
And when Jesus saw their faith,
he said to the paralytic,
“Child, your sins are forgiven.”

Now some of the scribes were sitting there,
questioning in their hearts,
“Why does this man speak like this?
It is blasphemy!
Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

And immediately Jesus,
perceiving in his spirit
that they questioned like this within themselves,
said to them,
“Why do you question like this in your hearts?
Which is easier,
to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise, take up your pallet and walk’?
But that you may know
that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—
he said to the paralytic—
“I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home.”

And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet
and went out before them all;
so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying,
“We never saw anything like this!”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Communion Antiphon.
With you, O Lord, is the fountain of life, and in your light we see light.