back to top
HomeYearly PlanBible in a Year - December - 21 | Day - 355

Bible in a Year – December – 21 | Day – 355

This is not the Readings at the Mass. For the Mass Readings, check the Mass Readings taken from the New Jerusalem Bible or the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible.
December – 21 | Day – 355
Old Testament: Sirach – 32-33 | Second Maccabees – 10:11-38

1 Have they appointed you as a leader? Do not be willing to be extolled. Be among them as one of them.

2 Have concern for them, and in this way sit down with them, and when you have explained all your concerns, sit back.

3 Then you may rejoice because of them, and you may receive a crown as an adornment of grace, and so obtain the dignity of the assembly.

4 Speak, you who are greater by birth. For it is fitting for you

5 to speak the first word with careful knowledge. But you should not hinder the music.

6 Where no one is listening, you should not pour out words. And do not choose to be extolled improperly for your wisdom.

7 A gemstone of garnet is set amid an ornament of gold, and a concert of music is set amid a banquet of wine.

8 Just as a signet of emerald is set amid a work of gold, so is a melody of music set amid delightful and moderate wine.

9 Listen silently, and for your reverence, good graces will be added to you.

10 Young man, speak in your own case only reluctantly.

11 If you have been asked twice, let your response be concise.

12 In many matters, be as if you lack knowledge, and listen silently as well as intently.

13 In the midst of great men, you should not be presumptuous. And where the elders are present, you should not speak much.

14 Lightning goes before a hailstorm, and grace goes before modesty. And so, for your reverence, good graces will be added to you.

15 And at the hour for rising, you should not be lax. Later, be the first to run ahead to your house, and there withdraw, and there take your pastime.

16 And act according to your intentions, but not in sin and not in arrogant speech.

17 And for all these things, bless the Lord, who made you, and who fills you to overflowing with all his good things.

18 Whoever fears the Lord will accept his doctrine. And whoever watches for him diligently will find a blessing.

19 Whoever seeks the law will be filled from the law. But whoever acts with treachery will be scandalized by treachery.

20 Those who fear the Lord will find just judgment, and they will kindle justice like a light.

21 A sinful man will shun correction, and he will find a rationalization in accord with his own will.

22 A man of counsel will not reject understanding. A strange and arrogant man will not be disturbed by fear.

23 Even so, after he has acted out of fear and without counsel, he will be rebuked by his own criticism.

24 Son, you should do nothing without counsel, and then you will not regret what you have done.

25 You should not go into the way of ruin, and you then will not stumble on stones. You should not commit yourself to a laborious way; otherwise, you may set up a scandal against your own soul.

26 And be cautious concerning your own sons. And be attentive to those of your own household.

27 In all of your works, trust your soul to faith. For this is the keeping of the commandments.

28 Whoever believes God attends to the commandments. And whoever trusts in him will not be diminished.

1 No evils will befall one who fears the Lord. Instead, God will preserve him during temptation and will free him from evils.

2 A wise man does not hate the commandments and the justices, and so he will not be thrown about violently, like a ship in a storm.

3 A man of understanding puts his faith in the law of God, and so the law is faithful to him.

4 Whoever would resolve a dispute will prepare a word, and so, having prayed, he will be heard. And he will observe discipline, and then he will respond.

5 The heart of a fool is like the wheel of a cart. And his thoughts are like a turning axel.

6 A friend who is a whisperer is like an untamed horse: he neighs under anyone who sits upon him.

7 Why does day follow after day, and light follow after light, and year follow after year, in accord with the sun?

8 By the knowledge of the Lord, they were arranged, after the sun was made, in keeping with his command.

9 And so, the seasons changed, with their feast days. And according to them, they celebrated the feast days, in their hour.

10 Some of them, God exalted and magnified. And some of them, he set amid the ordinary days. And all men are from the ground, and from the earth, from which Adam was created.

11 With a mulititude of disciplines, the Lord has distinguished them and diversified their ways.

12 Some of them, he has blessed and exalted. And some of them he has sanctified and placed close to himself. And some of them, he has cursed and brought low, and he has turned them from their station.

13 Just as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so as to form and to shape it,

14 so are all his ways in accord with his dispensation, and so is man in the hand of the One who made him. And he will repay him according to his judgment.

15 Good is against evil, and life is against death; so also is a sinner against a just man. And so should you consider all the works of the Most High: two and two, and one against another.

16 And I awakened at the very end, and I was like one who gathers grapes after the grape-gatherers.

17 I, too, have hoped in the blessing of God. And I have filled the winepress like one who gathers grapes.

18 Consider how I have not labored for myself alone, but for all who are seeking discipline.

19 Listen to me, you great ones, with all the peoples. And incline your ears, you rulers of the Church.

20 You should not give authority over yourself to a son or wife, to a brother or friend, in your life. And you should not give your estate to another, lest perhaps you may regret it, and then you would be begging for the same.

21 While you are still living and breathing, let no one among all flesh change you.

22 For it is better if your children petition you, than if you look toward the hands of your children.

23 In all your works, be pre-eminent.

24 You should not allow a blemish upon your glory. On the day of the consummation of the days of your life, at the time of your passing, distribute your inheritance.

25 Fodder and a rod and a burden are for a donkey; bread and discipline and work are for a servant.

26 He works under discipline, and he seeks rest. Allow his hands to be idle, and he seeks liberty.

27 The yoke and the strap bend a stiff neck, and continual labors bend a servant.

28 Torture and chains are for a malevolent servant; send him to work, so that he may not be idle.

29 For idleness has taught much evil.

30 Appoint him to a task. For this is fitting for him. And if he will not be obedient, bend him with chains. But you should do no more than any flesh can bear. Truly, you should do nothing grievous without judgment.

31 If you have a faithful servant, let him be to you like your own soul. Treat him like a brother. For you have obtained him by the blood of your soul.

32 If you harm him unjustly, he will turn away and flee.

33 And then, when he lifts himself up and departs, you will not know whom to ask, or in what way to seek him.

&

11 For when he assumed the kingdom, he appointed, over the affairs of the kingdom, a certain Lysias, leader of the Phoenician and Syrian military.

12 For Ptolemy, who was called Macer, decided to be strict in justice toward the Jews, especially because of the iniquity that had been done to them, and to deal with them peacefully.

13 But, for this reason, he was accused before Eupator by his friends, and was frequently called a traitor. For he had deserted Cyprus, which Philometor had entrusted to him. And so, transferring to Antiochus the illustrious, he even withdrew from him. And he ended his life by poison.

14 But Gorgias, when he was the leader of the places, taking to him new arrivals, frequently made war against the Jews.

15 In truth, the Jews, who held the strategic fortresses, took in those who were fleeing from Jerusalem, and they attempted to make war.

16 In fact, those who were with Maccabeus, petitioning the Lord through prayers to be their helper, made a forceful attack upon the fortresses of the Idumeans.

17 And, persevering with much force, they obtained the places, killing those they met, and cutting down in all no less than twenty thousand.

18 Yet certain ones, when they had fled into two well-fortified towers, gave all appearance of fighting back.

19 So Maccabeus left behind Simon and Joseph, and likewise Zachaeus, and those who were with them, to fight against them. And since those who were with them were sufficient in number, he turned back to those who attacked more forcefully.

20 In truth, those who were with Simon, being led by avarice, were persuaded by money from certain ones who were in the towers. And accepting seventy thousand didrachmas, they allowed certain ones to flee.

21 But when what was done had been reported to Maccabeus, gathering together the leaders of the people, he accused those who had sold their brothers for money, having sent away their adversaries.

22 Therefore, he executed these who had acted as traitors, and he quickly captured the two towers.

23 And so, having success in arms and in all things that he took in hand, he destroyed more than twenty thousand in the two fortresses.

24 And Timothy, who had been overcome by the Jews before, calling together a multitude of foreign troops and gathering horsemen from Asia, arrived as if he would capture Judea with arms.

25 But Maccabeus, and those who were with him, as he was approaching, beseeched the Lord, sprinkling dirt on their heads and wrapping their waists with haircloth.

26 And lying prostrate at the pedestal of the altar, they beseeched him to be forgiving to them, but to be an enemy to their enemies, and an adversary to their adversaries, just as the law says.

27 And so, after prayer, taking up arms, they proceeded further from the city, and, reaching close proximity to the enemies, they settled in.

28 But, as soon as the sun rose, both sides joined battle: these ones having the guarantee of victory and success by the strength of the Lord, yet the others having courage as their leader in battle.

29 But, while they were fighting vehemently, to the adversaries there appeared from heaven five men on horses, which were adorned with bridles of gold, providing leadership to the Jews.

30 Two of them, having Maccabeus in the middle and surrounding him with their weapons, kept him safe. But, at the enemy, they cast darts and lightning, so that they fell down, being both confused with blindness and filled with disturbances.

31 Moreover, there were slain twenty thousand five hundred, along with six hundred horsemen.

32 In fact, Timothy fled away to Gazara, to a fortified stronghold, where Chaereas was in charge.

33 Then Maccabeus, and those who were with him, joyfully besieged the stronghold for four days.

34 But those who were inside, trusting to the strength of the place, spoke evil without limit and cast out nefarious words.

35 But when the fifth day began to dawn, twenty youths of those who were with Maccabeus, inflamed in soul because of the blasphemy, manfully approached to the wall, and, advancing with fierce courage, ascended it.

36 Moreover, others also getting up after them, went to set fire to the towers and the gates, and to burn the blasphemers alive.

37 Then, having continued throughout two days to lay waste to the fortress, they killed Timothy, who was found hiding himself in a certain place. And they also killed his brother Chaereas, and Apollophanes.

38 When this was done, they blessed the Lord with hymns and confessions, who had done great things in Israel and had given them the victory.

Psalms: Psalms – 145:1-9

1 I will extol thee, O God my king: and I will bless thy name for ever; yea, for ever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless thee: and I will praise thy name for ever; yea, for ever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: and of his greatness there is no end.

4 Generation and generation shall praise thy works: and they shall declare thy power.

5 They shall speak of the magnificence of the glory of thy holiness: and shall tell thy wondrous works.

6 And they shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and shall declare thy greatness.

7 They shall publish the memory of the abundance of thy sweetness: and shall rejoice in thy justice.

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy.

9 The Lord is sweet to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

New Testament: Revelations – 10-11

1 And I saw another strong Angel, descending from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet were like columns of fire.

2 And he held in his hand a small open book. And he stationed his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the land.

3 And he cried out with a great voice, in the manner of a lion roaring. And when he had cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.

4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write. But I heard a voice from heaven, saying to me: “Seal the things that the seven thunders have spoken, and do not write them.”

5 And the Angel, whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the land, lifted up his hand toward heaven.

6 And he swore by the One who lives forever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that are in it; and the earth, and the things that are in it; and the sea, and the things that are in it: that the time will not be any longer,

7 but in the days of the voice of the seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound the trumpet, the mystery of God will be completed, just as he has proclaimed in the Gospel, through his servants the Prophets.

8 And again, I heard a voice from heaven speaking with me and saying: “Go and receive the open book from the hand of the Angel who stands upon the sea and upon the land.”

9 And I went to the Angel, saying to him that he should give the book to me. And he said to me: “Receive the book and consume it. And it shall cause bitterness in your stomach, but in your mouth it shall be sweet like honey.”

10 And I received the book from the hand of the Angel, and I consumed it. And it was sweet like honey in my mouth. And when I had consumed it, my stomach was made bitter.

11 And he said to me, “It is necessary for you to prophesy again about many nations and peoples and languages and kings.”

1 And a reed, similar to a staff, was given to me. And it was said to me: “Rise up and measure the temple of God, and those who are worshiping in it, and the altar.

2 But the atrium, which is outside of the temple, set it aside and do not measure it, because it has been given over to the Gentiles. And they shall trample upon the Holy City for forty-two months.

3 And I will present my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.

4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, standing in the sight of the lord of the earth.

5 And if anyone will want to harm them, fire shall go forth from their mouths, and it shall devour their enemies. And if anyone will want to wound them, so must he be slain.

6 These have the power to close up the heavens, so that it may not rain during the days of their prophesying. And they have power over the waters, to convert them into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of affliction as often as they will.

7 And when they will have finished their testimony, the beast that ascended from the abyss will make war against them, and will overcome them, and will kill them.

8 And their bodies shall lie in the streets of the Great City, which is figuratively called ‘Sodom’ and ‘Egypt,’ the place where their Lord also was crucified.

9 And those from the tribes and peoples and languages and nations shall be watching their bodies for three and one half days. And they shall not permit their bodies to be placed in tombs.

10 And the inhabitants of the earth will rejoice over them, and they will celebrate, and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tortured those who were living upon the earth.

11 And after three and one half days, the spirit of life from God entered into them. And they stood upright on their feet. And a great fear fell over those who saw them.

12 And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying to them, “Ascend to here!” And they ascended into heaven on a cloud. And their enemies saw them.

13 And at that hour, a great earthquake occurred. And one tenth part of the City fell. And the names of the men slain in the earthquake were seven thousand. And the remainder were thrown into fear, and they gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second woe has gone out, but behold, the third woe approaches quickly.

15 And the seventh Angel sounded the trumpet. And there were great voices in heaven, saying: “The kingdom of this world has become our Lord’s and his Christ’s, and he shall reign forever and ever. Amen.”

16 And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones in the sight of God, fell upon their faces, and they adored God, saying:

17 We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is, and who was, and who is to come. For you have taken your great power, and you have reigned.

18 And the nations became angry, but your wrath arrived, and the time for the dead to be judged, and to render a reward to your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to those who fear your name, small and great, and to exterminate those who have corrupted the earth.”

19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven. And the Ark of his Testament was seen in his temple. And there were lightnings and voices and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Simplest Bible in a Year plan compiled using the “Catholic Public Domain Version Bible“. This is not the Readings at the Mass. For the Mass Readings, check the Mass Readings taken from the New Jerusalem Bible or the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible.
Pradeep Augustine
Pradeep Augustinehttps://www.catholicgallery.org/
Pradeep Augustine is the founder of Catholic Gallery. He is a passionate Writer, An Artist, a computer geek and a part-time Blogger who loves to write a lot of contents on Catholicism in his free time. He is the founder of the Technical Blog www.GetCoolTricks.com, where he shares a lot of technical Contents. Stay connected with him on his social profiles.

Share your thoughts

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
Required
The comment form collects your name, email and content to allow us keep track of the comments placed on the website. Please read and accept our website Terms and Privacy Policy to post a comment.
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Access Catholic Videos
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to access Mass Readings and Prayers as videos.
No Thanks