Daily Reading for Sunday, March 24th, 2024

Daily Reading for Sunday March 24, 2024

Reading 1, Isaiah 50:4-7
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
Gospel, Mark 15:1-39
Reading 2, Philippians 2:6-11
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Past / Future Daily Readings

Reading 1, Isaiah 50:4-7

⁴ Lord Yahweh has given me a disciple's tongue, for me to know how to give a word of comfort to the weary. Morning by morning he makes my ear alert to listen like a disciple.

⁵ Lord Yahweh has opened my ear and I have not resisted, I have not turned away.

⁶ I have offered my back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; I have not turned my face away from insult and spitting.

⁷ Lord Yahweh comes to my help, this is why insult has not touched me, this is why I have set my face like flint and know that I shall not be put to shame.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24

⁸ 'He trusted himself to Yahweh, let Yahweh set him free! Let him deliver him, as he took such delight in him.'

⁹ It was you who drew me from the womb and soothed me on my mother's breast.

¹⁷ I can count every one of my bones, while they look on and gloat;

¹⁸ they divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

¹⁹ Yahweh, do not hold aloof! My strength, come quickly to my help,

²⁰ rescue my soul from the sword, the one life I have from the grasp of the dog!

²³ 'You who fear Yahweh, praise him! All the race of Jacob, honour him! Revere him, all the race of Israel!'

²⁴ For he has not despised nor disregarded the poverty of the poor, has not turned away his face, but has listened to the cry for help.

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Gospel, Mark 15:1-39

¹ First thing in the morning, the chief priests, together with the elders and scribes and the rest of the Sanhedrin, had their plan ready. They had Jesus bound and took him away and handed him over to Pilate.

² Pilate put to him this question, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' He replied, 'It is you who say it.'

³ And the chief priests brought many accusations against him.

⁴ Pilate questioned him again, 'Have you no reply at all? See how many accusations they are bringing against you!'

⁵ But, to Pilate's surprise, Jesus made no further reply.

⁶ At festival time Pilate used to release a prisoner for them, any one they asked for.

⁷ Now a man called Barabbas was then in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the uprising.

⁸ When the crowd went up and began to ask Pilate the customary favour,

⁹ Pilate answered them, 'Do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?'

¹⁰ For he realised it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over.

¹¹ The chief priests, however, had incited the crowd to demand that he should release Barabbas for them instead.

¹² Then Pilate spoke again, 'But in that case, what am I to do with the man you call king of the Jews?'

¹³ They shouted back, 'Crucify him!'

¹⁴ Pilate asked them, 'What harm has he done?' But they shouted all the louder, 'Crucify him!'

¹⁵ So Pilate, anxious to placate the crowd, released Barabbas for them and, after having Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.

¹⁶ The soldiers led him away to the inner part of the palace, that is, the Praetorium, and called the whole cohort together.

¹⁷ They dressed him up in purple, twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on him.

¹⁸ And they began saluting him, 'Hail, king of the Jews!'

¹⁹ They struck his head with a reed and spat on him; and they went down on their knees to do him homage.

²⁰ And when they had finished making fun of him, they took off the purple and dressed him in his own clothes. They led him out to crucify him.

²¹ They enlisted a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross.

²² They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull.

²³ They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he refused it.

²⁴ Then they crucified him, and shared out his clothing, casting lots to decide what each should get.

²⁵ It was the third hour when they crucified him.

²⁶ The inscription giving the charge against him read, 'The King of the Jews'.

²⁷ And they crucified two bandits with him, one on his right and one on his left.

²⁸ * [15:28] This verse, "And the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'And he was counted among the wicked,'" is omitted in the earliest and best manuscripts. It contains a citation from Is 53:12 and was probably introduced from Lk 22:37. (USCCB)

²⁹ The passers-by jeered at him; they shook their heads and said, 'Aha! So you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days!

³⁰ Then save yourself; come down from the cross!'

³¹ The chief priests and the scribes mocked him among themselves in the same way with the words, 'He saved others, he cannot save himself.

³² Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, for us to see it and believe.' Even those who were crucified with him taunted him.

³³ When the sixth hour came there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

³⁴ And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani?' which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'

³⁵ When some of those who stood by heard this, they said, 'Listen, he is calling on Elijah.'

³⁶ Someone ran and soaked a sponge in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink saying, 'Wait! And see if Elijah will come to take him down.'

³⁷ But Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

³⁸ And the veil of the Sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.

³⁹ The centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and he said, 'In truth this man was Son of God.'

Reading 2, Philippians 2:6-11

⁶ Who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped.

⁷ But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being,

⁸ he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.

⁹ And for this God raised him high, and gave him the name which is above all other names;

¹⁰ so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus

¹¹ and that every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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