The First Reading -
ECC 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
ECC 3:2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
ECC 3:3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
ECC 3:4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
ECC 3:5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
ECC 3:6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
ECC 3:7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
ECC 3:8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
ECC 3:9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has
laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity
in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to
end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good
while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all
his toil-
.
The Second Reading -
RO 11:9 And David says:
"May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
RO 11:10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever."
RO 11:11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!
RO 11:13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
RO 11:17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in."
