Roman Missal (1962): Saturday after the II Sunday of Lent
Introit
(Ps 18:8)
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; the decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.
(Ps 18:2)
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork.
Glory Be to the Father…
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; the decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.
Collect
Grant that our fasting may be beneficial to us, we beseech You, O Lord, so that by chastising our flesh we may obtain strength for our souls.
Through our Lord…
Epistle
Lesson from the book of Genesis
(Gen 27:6-40)
In those days, Rebecca said to her son Jacob, I heard your father tell your brother Esau, ‘Bring me some game; prepare some savory food for me to eat, and then I will bless you in the sight of the Lord before I die.’ Now, my son, do what I tell you. Go to the flock and bring me two choice kids that I may make of them savory food for your father, such as he likes. Then bring it to your father to eat, that he may bless you before he dies. Jacob said to his mother Rebecca, But Esau my brother is a hairy man, while I am smooth. If my father touches me, it will seem to him that I am mocking him. Thus I shall bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing. His mother replied, Let the curse fall on me, my son! Do but listen to me; go, get them for me. He went, selected them, and brought them to his mother, who prepared savory food such as his father liked. Then Rebecca took the best clothes of her elder son Esau, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. She put the skins of the kids on his hands and over the smooth parts of his neck. Then she gave her son Jacob the savory food and bread she had prepared. He went to his father and said, Father! He answered, Here I am. Who are you, my son? And Jacob said to his father, I am Esau, your first-born. I have done as you told me; sit up, please! Eat again of my game, that you may bless me. Isaac replied, How did you find it so quickly, my son? He answered, The Lord your God let me come upon it. Then Isaac said to Jacob, Come close that I may touch you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not. Jacob went close to his father; Isaac touched him and said, The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau. - He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. - Isaac said, Are you really my son Esau? Jacob answered, Yes, I am. Isaac continued, Set your game near me, my son, that I may eat it, and bless you. He set it before him and he ate of it, and he brought him some wine, which he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, Come close and kiss me, my son. He came close and kissed him.
When he smelled the fragrance of his garments, he blessed him and said, The fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of a field which the Lord has blessed! God give you dew from heaven, and fruitfulness of the earth, abundance of grain and wine. Let nations serve you, peoples bow down to you. Be master of your brothers; may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, blessed be those who bless you. Isaac had pronounced the blessing and Jacob had just left his father’s presence, when his brother Esau returned from hunting. He also prepared savory food and brought it to his father, saying, Sit up, father, and eat of your son’s game, that you may bless me. His father Isaac said to him, Who are you? He answered, I am Esau, your first-born son. Isaac was greatly disturbed, and asked, Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? Before you came I ate heartily and then blessed him; and he shall be blessed. On hearing his father’s words, Esau uttered a very loud and bitter cry, and said to him, Father, bless me too. But he answered, Your brother came deceitfully and received your blessing. Then he said, Must he, true to his name Jacob, supplant me now a second time? He took my birthright and now he has taken my blessing. He added, Have you not reserved a blessing for me? Isaac answered Esau, I have appointed him your lord, and have given him all his brothers as servants. I have enriched him with grain and wine; what then can I do for you, my son? But Esau said to his father, Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me also, my father. And Esau wept aloud. His father Isaac answered him, With the fruitfulness of the earth shall your dwelling be; with the dew of the heavens above.