Invitation
May I hereby call your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation wants to share with you the joy of the Gospel.
Everyone, no one excepted,
can experience that joy by opening his heart
to the healing effect of God’s word.
Available every morning from 7 a.m.
Consideration
Again our author’s O.T. knowledge is evident. He compares the priesthood of Jesus to that of Melchisedec. Melchisedec is a mysterious figure in the Old Testament. He briefly steps forward only to disappear back into mystery. That mysterious appearance is used here to refer to the mystery of Jesus. Gen.14 gives the backstory and psalm 110 (response psalm) says:’Thou art a priest like Melchisedec forever’. That is all it takes to elevate the priesthood of Jesus, far above all Jewish classes of priests and Levites. To Him and to no one else does that testimony apply. In fact, the highness of Jesus is a refrain in all the books of the New Testament.
FIRST READING Heb 7, 1-3.15-17
You are priests forever in the manner of Melchisedeck.
From the letter to the Hebrews
Brothers and sisters,
Melchisédek,
King of Salem, priest of God Most High,
came to meet Abraham
when he had defeated the kings
and he blessed him ;
and Abraham gave him a tenth part of everything.
The name Melchisedeck means first of all
‘king of righteousness’ ;
then he is king of Salem, which is ‘prince of peace’.
He has no father, no mother, no family tree ;
his life has neither beginning nor end.
He resembles the Son of God,
he remains a priest forever.
All this becomes even more clear when we consider
that as an image of Melchisedeck a new priest arose,
who became a priest
not on the basis of a legally required descent
but by the power of an imperishable life.
For to Him the testimony applies :
“Thou art a priest forever in the manner of Melchisédek.”
RESPONSORIAL Ps. 110(109), 1, 2, 3, 4
Thou art an eternal priest like Melchisédeck.
The Lord spoke to my lord : sit at my right hand ;
I lay thy enemies as a footstool before thy feet.
From Zion the Lord reaches out the scepter of thy power ;
rule in the midst of your adversaries.
Your people stand around you in white armor,
the young men of the field like morning dew.
Sworn has the Lord, he will not repent :
Thou art a priest like Melchisédeck for ever.
ALLELUIA Ps. 119(118), 34
Alleluia.
Give me understanding to live your law, Lord,
To follow it with all my heart.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mk. 3, 1-6
Is it not more lawful on the Sabbath to save someone
than to kill?
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Mark
At that time Jesus went to the synagogue
where a man was present with a shriveled hand.
The Pharisees were watching Him
To see if He would heal him on the Sabbath,
with the intention of accusing Him of doing so.
Now He said to the man with the shriveled hand :
“Come and stand in the middle.”
Thereupon He asked them the question :
“Is it not lawful on the Sabbath to do good rather than evil,
to save someone rather than to kill them?”
But they were silent.
Jesus was angry as He looked round at them,
but at the same time He felt sorry for them,
because they were so stubborn and wrong.
Then He said to the man :
“Hold out your hand.”
He put out his hand
and it was healthy again.
The Pharisees went out
and immediately they conspired with the Herodians
to get rid of Him.
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Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On the Care of the Common Home
54. What is remarkable is the weakness of the international political response. The subordination of politics to technology and finance is evidenced by the failure of global environmental summits. There are too many special interests and economic interests very easily take precedence over the common good and manipulate information so as not to see their own plans disadvantaged. Along these lines, the Aparecida Document calls for that “in dealing with natural resources, the interests of economic groups that irrationally destroy life’s resources do not prevail”. The alliance between economics and technology ultimately excludes everything that is not part of their immediate interests. Thus, one could only expect some superficial statements, isolated philanthropic actions and also efforts to show sensitivity to the environment, when in reality any attempt by civil society organisations to change things will be seen as a distortion caused by romantic dreamers, or an obstacle to be avoided.
To be continued For all previous publications scroll down
The Bible text in this issue is taken from The New Bible Translation,
©Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical Suggestions for Weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation