February 10, 2004, Memorial of St. Scholastica, Virgin.

A reading from the first book of kings.

Jeroboam thought to himself,

The kingdom will return to David's house.

If now this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem,

the hearts of this people will return to their master, Rojoboeum, king of Judah, and they will kill me.

After taking counsel, the king made two calves of gold and said to the people, You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough.

Here is your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt,

and he put one in Bethel, the other in Dan.

This led to sin because the people frequented those calves in Bethel and in Dan.

He also built temples on the high places and made priests from among the people who were not

Levites.

Jeroboam established a feast in the eighth month on the 15th day of the month to duplicate in Bethel the pilgrimage feast of Judah

with sacrifices to the calves he had made, and he stationed in Bethel priests of the high places

he had built. Jeroboam did not give up his evil ways after this, but again made priests for the high places

from among the common people. Whoever desired it was consecrated and became a priest of the high

places. This was a sin on the part of the house of Jeroboam, for which it was to be cut off and destroyed from the earth.

The word of the Lord.

The responsorial psalm.

The response is,

Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

We have sinned, we and our fathers. We have committed crimes. We have done wrong.

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