Masses for the Dead - Gospels (2024)

From the Lectionary for Mass, no. 1016

Matthew 5:1-12a

Rejoice and be glad, for your rewardwill be great in heaven.

A reading from the holyGospel according to Matthew

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, hisdisciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom ofheaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger andthirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called childrenof God.
Blessed are they who are persecutedfor the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom ofheaven.
Blessed are you when they insultyou and persecute you
and utter every kind of evilagainst you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great inheaven."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Matthew 11:25-30

Come to me and Iwill give you rest.

A reading from the holyGospel according to Matthew

At that time Jesus answered:
"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden thesethings
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to thechildlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father exceptthe Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishesto reveal him."

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest foryourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Matthew 25:1-13

Behold thebridegroom! Come out to him!

A reading from the holyGospel according to Matthew

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went outto meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oilwith their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fellasleep.
At midnight, there was a cry,
'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise,
'Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out.'
But the wise ones replied,
'No, for there may not be enoughfor us and you.
Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.'
While they went off to buy it,
the bridegroom came
and those who were ready went intothe wedding feast with him.
Then the door was locked.
Afterwards the other virgins came and said,
'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!'
But he said in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, I do not knowyou.'
Therefore, stay awake,
for you know neither the day northe hour."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Matthew 25:31-46

Come, you who areblessed by my Father.

A reading from the holyGospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his gloriousthrone,
and all the nations will beassembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheepfrom the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on hisleft.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by myFather.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation ofthe world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave medrink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.'
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungryand feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
And the king will say to them in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, whatever youdid
for one of these least brothers ofmine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared forthe Devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me nodrink,
a stranger and you gave me nowelcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did notcare for me.'
Then they will answer and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungryor thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or inprison,
and not minister to your needs?'
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one ofthese least ones,
you did not do for me.'
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mark 15:33-39; 16:1-6 (short form, 15:33-39)

Jesus gave a loud cryand breathed his last.

Omit the words in bolded brackets [ ] for the short form of this reading.

A reading from the holyGospel according to Mark

Luke 7:11-17

Young man,I tell you, arise!

A reading from the holyGospel according to Luke

Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain,
and his disciples and a large crowdaccompanied him.
As he drew near to the gate of the city,
a man who had died was beingcarried out,
the only son of his mother, and shewas a widow.
A large crowd from the city was with her.
When the Lord saw her,
he was moved with pity for her andsaid to her,
"Do not weep."
He stepped forward and touched the coffin;
at this the bearers halted,
and he said, "Young man, I tellyou, arise!"
The dead man sat up and began to speak,
and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming,
"A great prophet has arisen in ourmidst,"
and "God has visited his people."
This report about him spread through the whole of Judea
and in all the surrounding region.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Luke 12:35-40

You alsomust be prepared.

A reading from the holyGospel according to Luke

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who awaittheir master's return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when hecomes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant onhis arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, andproceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch
and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.
Be sure of this:
if the master of the house hadknown the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house bebroken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,
the Son of Man will come."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Luke 23:33, 39-43

Today you will bewith me in Paradise.

A reading from the holyGospel according to Luke

When the soldiers came to the place called the Skull,
they crucified Jesus and thecriminals there,
one on his right, the other on hisleft.

Now one of the criminals hanging there
reviled Jesus, saying,
"Are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us."
The other man, however, rebuking him, said in reply,
"Have you no fear of God,
for you are subject to the samecondemnation?
And indeed, we have been condemned justly,
for the sentence we receivedcorresponds to our crimes,
but this man has done nothingcriminal."
Then he said,
"Jesus, remember me when you comeinto your Kingdom."
He replied to him,
"Amen, I say to you,
today you will be with me inParadise."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Luke 23:44-46, 50, 52-53; 24:1-6a (short form, 23:44-46, 50, 52-53)

Father, into your handsI commend my spirit.

Omit the words in bolded brackets [ ] for the short form of this reading.

A reading from the holyGospel according to Luke

It was about noon and darkness came over the whole land
until three in the afternoon
because of an eclipse of the sun.
Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.
Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
"Father, into your hands I commendmy spirit";
and when he had said this hebreathed his last.

Now there was a virtuous and righteous man named Joseph who,
though he was a member of thecouncil,
went to Pilate and asked for theBody of Jesus.
After he had taken the Body down,
he wrapped it in a linen cloth
and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb
in which no one had yet beenburied.

[At daybreak on the first day of the week
the women took the spices they hadprepared
and went to the tomb.
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb;
but when they entered,
they did not find the Body of theLord Jesus.
While they were puzzling over this, behold,
two men in dazzling garmentsappeared to them.
They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground.
They said to them,
"Why do you seek the living oneamong the dead?
He is not here, but he has been raised."]

The Gospel of the Lord.

Luke 24:13-35 (short form, 24:13-16, 28-35)

Was it not necessary that the Christshould suffer these things and enterinto his glory?

Omit the words in bolded brackets [ ] for the short form of this reading.

A reading from the holyGospel according to Luke

That very day, the first day of the week,
two of the disciples of Jesus weregoing
to a village called Emmaus, sevenmiles from Jerusalem,
and they were conversing about allthe things that had occurred.
And it happened that while they were conversing anddebating,
Jesus himself drew near and walkedwith them,
but their eyes were prevented fromrecognizing him.
[He asked them,
"What are you discussing as youwalk along?"
They stopped, looking downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply,
"Are you the only visitor toJerusalem
who does not know of the things
that have taken place there inthese days?"
And he replied to them, "What sort of things?"
They said to him,
"The things that happened to Jesusthe Nazarene,
who was a prophet mighty in deedand word
before God and all the people,
how our chief priests and rulersboth handed him over
to a sentence of death andcrucified him.
But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeemIsrael;
and besides all this,
it is now the third day since thistook place.
Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:
they were at the tomb early in themorning
and did not find his Body;
they came back and reported
that they had indeed seen a visionof angels
who announced that he was alive.
Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the womenhad described,
but him they did not see."
And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer thesethings
and enter into his glory?"
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
Jesus interpreted to them whatreferred to him
in all the Scriptures.]

As they approached the village to which they were going,
Jesus gave the impression that hewas going on farther.
But they urged him, "Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening and theday is almost over."
So he went in to stay with them.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other,
"Were not our hearts burning withinus
while he spoke to us on the way andopened the Scriptures to us?"
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the Eleven and those with them, whowere saying,
"The Lord has truly been raised andhas appeared to Simon!"
Then the two recounted
what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to themin the breaking of the bread.

The Gospel of the Lord.

John 5:24-29

Whoever hears my word and believes haspassed from death to life.

A reading from the holyGospel according to John

Jesus answered the Jews and said to them:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes in the one who sent me
has eternal life and will not cometo condemnation,
but has passed from death to life.
Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here
when the dead will hear the voiceof the Son of God,
and those who hear will live.
For just as the Father has life in himself,
so also he gave to the Son thepossession of life in himself.
And he gave him power to exercise judgment,
because he is the Son of Man.
Do not be amazed at this,
because the hour is coming in whichall who are in the tombs
will hear his voice and will comeout,
those who have done good deeds
to the resurrection of life,
but those who have done wickeddeeds
to the resurrection ofcondemnation.

The Gospel of the Lord.

John 6:37-40

Everyone who sees the Son and believes inhim may have eternal life and I shall raisehim on the last day.

A reading from the holyGospel according to John

Jesus said to the crowds:
"Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone whocomes to me,
because I came down from heaven notto do my own will
but the will of the one who sentme.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything ofwhat he gave me,
but that I should raise it on thelast day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son andbelieves in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the lastday."

The Gospel of the Lord.

John 6:51-58

Whoever eats thisbread will live forever, and I will raise themup on the last day.

A reading from the holyGospel according to John

Jesus said to the crowds:
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will liveforever;
and the bread that I will give ismy Flesh
for the life of the world."

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
"How can this man give us his Fleshto eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Sonof Man and drink his Blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the lastday.
For my Flesh is true food,
and my Blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of theFather,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will liveforever."

The Gospel of the Lord.

John 11:17-27 (short form, 11:21-27)

I am theresurrection and the life.

Omit the words in bolded brackets [ ] for the short form of this reading.

A reading from the holyGospel according to John

[When Jesus arrived in Bethany, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb forfour days.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away.
Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about theirbrother.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.]
Martha said to Jesus,
"Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you."
Jesus said to her,
"Your brother will rise."
Martha said to him,
"I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the lastday."
Jesus told her,
"I am the resurrection and thelife;
whoever believes in me, even if hedies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believesin me will never die.
Do you believe this?"
She said to him, "Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son ofGod,
the one who is coming into theworld."

The Gospel of the Lord.

John 11:32-45

Lazarus,come out!

A reading from the holyGospel according to John

When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him,
she fell at his feet and said tohim,
"Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died."
When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come withher weeping,
he became perturbed and deeplytroubled, and said,
"Where have you laid him?"
They said to him, "Sir, come and see."
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, "See how he loved him."
But some of them said,
"Could not the one who opened theeyes of the blind man
have done something so that thisman would not have died?"

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, "Take away the stone."
Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him,
"Lord, by now there will be astench;
he has been dead for four days."
Jesus said to her,
"Did I not tell you that if youbelieve
you will see the glory of God?"
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
"Father, I thank you for hearingme.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here Ihave said this,
that they may believe that you sentme."
And when he had said this,
he cried out in a loud voice,
"Lazarus, come out!"
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burialbands,
and his face was wrapped in acloth.
So Jesus said to the crowd,
"Untie him and let him go."

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began tobelieve in him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

John 12:23-28 (short form, 12:23-26)

If it dies,it produces much fruit.

Omit the words in bolded brackets [ ] for the short form of this reading.

A reading from the holyGospel according to John

Jesus said to his disciples:
"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls tothe ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces muchfruit.
Whoever loves his life will lose it,
and whoever hates his life in thisworld
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will myservant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.

["I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
'Father, save me from this hour'?
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name."
Then a voice came from heaven,
"I have glorified it and willglorify it again."]

The Gospel of the Lord.

John 14:1-6

In my Father's house thereare many dwellings.

A reading from the holyGospel according to John

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father's house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I amgoing to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take youto myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way."
Thomas said to him,
"Master, we do not know where youare going;
how can we know the way?"
Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me."

The Gospel of the Lord.

John 17:24-26

I wish that where I am theyalso may be with me.

A reading from the holyGospel according to John

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:
"Father, those whom you gave me are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that yougave me,
because you loved me before thefoundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know thatyou sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you lovedme
may be in them and I in them."

The Gospel of the Lord.

John 19:17-18, 25-39

And bowing his head hehanded over his Spirit.

A reading from the holyGospel according to John

So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself,
he went out to what is called thePlace of the Skull,
in Hebrew, Golgotha.
There they crucified him, and with him two others,
one on either side, with Jesus inthe middle.

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother's sister, Mary thewife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved,
he said to his mother, "Woman,behold, your son."
Then he said to the disciple,
"Behold, your mother."
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

After this, aware that everything was now finished,
in order that the Scripture mightbe fulfilled,
Jesus said, "I thirst."
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
"It is finished."
And bowing his head, he handed over the Spirit.

Now since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might notremain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that weekwas a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that theirlegs be broken
and they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who wascrucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was alreadydead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lanceinto his side,
and immediately Blood and waterflowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true;
he knows that he is speaking thetruth,
so that you also may come tobelieve.
For this happened so that the Scripture passage might befulfilled:
Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says:
They will look upon him whomthey have pierced.

After this, Joseph of Arimathea,
secretly a disciple of Jesus forfear of the Jews,
asked Pilate if he could remove theBody of Jesus.
And Pilate permitted it.
So he came and took his Body.
Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night,
also came bringing a mixture ofmyrrh and aloes
weighing about one hundred pounds.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Lectionary for Mass for Use in theDioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998,1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed,performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, withoutpermission in writing from the copyright owner.