Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle of St. James .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
James 1 : 1 - 18
Chapter 1
| 1 | James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.
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| 2 | My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
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| 3 | knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
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| 4 | But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
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| 5 | If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
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| 6 | But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
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| 7 | For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
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| 8 | he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
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| 9 | Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation,
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| 10 | but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.
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| 11 | For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
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| 12 | Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
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| 13 | Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
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| 14 | But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
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| 15 | Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
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| 16 | Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
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| 17 | Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
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| 18 | Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
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Do not love the world or the things in the world.
The world passes away, and its desires; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Amen.
