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Reading I 2 Sm 7:18-19, 24-29

After Nathan had spoken to King David, 
the king went in and sat before the LORD and said, 
“Who am I, Lord GOD, and who are the members of my house, 
that you have brought me to this point?
Yet even this you see as too little, Lord GOD; 
you have also spoken of the house of your servant 
for a long time to come: 
this too you have shown to man,

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Readings for the Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, bishops

Reading I 2 Tm 1:1-8

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God
for the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
to Timothy, my dear child:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am grateful to God,
whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,

Reading I Acts 22:3-16

Paul addressed the people in these words:
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia,
but brought up in this city.
At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law
and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.
I persecuted this Way to death,
binding both men and women and delivering them to prison.

Readings for the Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, bishop and doctor of the Church

Reading I 2 Sm 5:1-7, 10

All the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said:
“Here we are, your bone and your flesh.
In days past, when Saul was our king, 
it was you who led the children of Israel out and brought them back.
And the LORD said to you,

Reading I Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10

Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly,
which consisted of men, women,
and those children old enough to understand.
Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate,
he read out of the book from daybreak till midday,
in the presence of the men, the women,
and those children old enough to understand;
and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law.

Readings for the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

Reading I 2 Sm 1:1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27

David returned from his defeat of the Amalekites 
and spent two days in Ziklag.
On the third day a man came from Saul’s camp, 
with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.
Going to David, he fell to the ground in homage.
David asked him,

Readings for the Memorial of Saint Agnes, virgin and martyr

Reading I 1 Sm 24:3-21

Saul took three thousand picked men from all Israel 
and went in search of David and his men 
in the direction of the wild goat crags.
When he came to the sheepfolds along the way, he found a cave, 
which he entered to relieve himself.
David and his men were occupying the inmost recesses of the cave.

Reading I 1 Sm 18:6-9; 19:1-7

When David and Saul approached
(on David’s return after slaying the Philistine), 
women came out from each of the cities of Israel to meet King Saul,
singing and dancing, with tambourines, joyful songs, and sistrums.
The women played and sang:

            “Saul has slain his thousands, 
            and David his ten thousands.”

Saul was very angry and resentful of the song,

Reading I 1 Sm 17:32-33, 37, 40-51

David spoke to Saul:
“Let your majesty not lose courage.
I am at your service to go and fight this Philistine.”
But Saul answered David,
“You cannot go up against this Philistine and fight with him,
for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth.”

David continued:
“The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear,

Reading I 1 Sm 16:1-13

The LORD said to Samuel:
“How long will you grieve for Saul,
whom I have rejected as king of Israel?
Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”
But Samuel replied:
“How can I go?
Saul will hear of it and kill me.”
To this the LORD answered:
“Take a heifer along and say,