First reading
Jeremiah 11:18-20 ©

'Let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name may be quickly forgotten'

The Lord revealed it to me; I was warned. O Lord, that was when you opened my eyes to their scheming. I for my part was like a trustful lamb being led to the slaughter-house, not knowing the schemes they were plotting against me, ‘Let us destroy the tree in its strength, let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name may be quickly forgotten!’
But you, the Lord of Hosts, who pronounce a just sentence,
who probe the loins and heart,
let me see the vengeance you will take on them,
for I have committed my cause to you.

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Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 7:2-3,9-12 ©

Lord God, I take refuge in you.
Lord God, I take refuge in you.
  From my pursuer save me and rescue me,
lest he tear me to pieces like a lion
  and drag me off with no one to rescue me.
Lord God, I take refuge in you.
Give judgement for me, Lord; I am just
  and innocent of heart.
Put an end to the evil of the wicked!
Make the just stand firm,
  you who test mind and heart,
  O just God!
Lord God, I take refuge in you.
God is the shield that protects me,
  who saves the upright of heart.
God is a just judge
  slow to anger;
  but he threatens the wicked every day.
Lord God, I take refuge in you.

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Gospel Acclamation	Ezk33:11

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
I take pleasure, not in the death of a wicked man
– it is the Lord who speaks –
but in the turning back of a wicked man
who changes his ways to win life.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Or:	cf.Lk8:15

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

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Gospel	John 7:40-52 ©

The Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without hearing him

Several people who had been listening to Jesus said, ‘Surely he must be the prophet’, and some said, ‘He is the Christ’, but others said, ‘Would the Christ be from Galilee? Does not scripture say that the Christ must be descended from David and come from the town of Bethlehem?’ So the people could not agree about him. Some would have liked to arrest him, but no one actually laid hands on him.
  The police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, ‘Why haven’t you brought him?’ The police replied, ‘There has never been anybody who has spoken like him.’ ‘So’ the Pharisees answered ‘you have been led astray as well? Have any of the authorities believed in him? Any of the Pharisees? This rabble knows nothing about the Law – they are damned.’ One of them, Nicodemus – the same man who had come to Jesus earlier – said to them, ‘But surely the Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without giving him a hearing and discovering what he is about?’ To this they answered, ‘Are you a Galilean too? Go into the matter, and see for yourself: prophets do not come out of Galilee.’