October 4th, 2025, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi.

A reading from the book of the prophet Baruch.

Fear not, my people. Remember Israel, you were sold to the nations, not for your destruction.

It was because you angered God that you were handed over to your foes.

For you provoked your maker, with sacrifices to demons, to no gods. You forsook the eternal God

who nourished you, and you grieved Jerusalem who fostered you.

She indeed saw coming upon you, the anger of God, and she said,

Here, you neighbors of Zion, God has brought great mourning upon me,

for I have seen the captivity that the eternal God has brought upon my sons and daughters.

With joy I fostered them, but with mourning and lament I let them go.

Let no one gloat over me, a widow, bereft of many.

For the sins of my children I am left desolate, because they turned from the law of God.

Fear not, my children, call out to God. He who brought this upon you will remember you.

As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God, turn now ten times the more to seek him.

For he who has brought disaster upon you will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy.

The Word of the Lord.

The Responsorial Psalm. The response is, the Lord The Responsorial Psalm The response is

The Lord listens to the poor

See you lowly ones and be glad

You who see God may your hearts revive

For the Lord hears the poor

And his own who are in bonds he spurns not.

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