Invitation
May I hereby draw 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 their hearts
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every morning from 7 a.m.
Consideration
The end result of Christ’s work is salvation and redemption. This is rewritten on the model of the Jewish Day of Atonement
(Yom Kippur). But Christ’s highness as high priest is additionally underlined because He had to enter the heavenly sanctuary not every year, but only once.
FIRST READING Hebrews 9, 15.24-28
Christ appeared only once to cleanse sins;
if He appears a second time it will be to bring salvation
to all who look forward to Him.
From the letter to the Hebrews
Brothers and sisters,
Christ is mediator of a new covenant:
A death has taken place
that brings deliverance from the sins
committed under the first covenant;
now those who have been called by God
receive the eternal inheritance promised to them.
For Christ did not enter the sanctuary
-made by human hands –
that was only a symbol of the true sanctuary ;
He entered heaven itself to be there now
present with God for our sake.
Nor does He have to sacrifice Himself there again and again,
whereas the high priest, year after year
enters the Most Holy Place with blood that is not his own.
Otherwise, Christ would have had to suffer several times,
from the beginning of the world;
but in fact He appeared only once,
at the climax of history,
to absolve sins by his sacrifice.
It is man’s fate to die once
and after that comes judgement ;
so too Christ was sacrificed once
because He had taken upon Himself the sins of all ;
if He appears a second time it will be
apart from sin,
to bring salvation to all who look to Him.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 98(97), 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6
Sing to the Lord a new song
because He did wonders.
Sing to the Lord a new song
because He did wonders.
His hand asserted itself mightily,
the power of his holy arm.
His benefits He made known to us,
his justice to the nations.
Once again his goodness and faithfulness proved
in favour of Israel’s house.
All the earth beheld
what our God did for us.
Glorify the Lord, all nations,
be glad, rejoice and sing.
Sing to the Lord by the zither,
with zither and psalters.
Let trumpet and trombone sound
and dance before the Lord your king.
ALLELUIA Ps. 119(118), 135
Alleluia.
Let your Face shine before your servant, Lord,
show me your dispositions.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mk. 3, 22-30
When Satan is divided, then his end has come.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
In those days the scribes said of Jesus
that Beelzebub dwelt in Him
and that through the prince of devils He
drove out the devils.
Jesus called them to Himself and spoke to them in parables :
“How can one Satan cast out another?
“When an empire is inwardly divided
that kingdom cannot stand.
“When a house is inwardly divided
that house will not be able to stand.
“And when Satan rises up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand, but his end has come.
“Moreover,
no one can enter the house of a strong man
to rob his household goods
if he has not first bound that strong one.
“Only then can he empty his house.
“Verily, I say unto you :
All sins will be forgiven to men ,
even all blasphemies they have uttered,
but if anyone blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
he will not be pardoned in eternity ;
he is encumbered with an everlasting sin.”
This because they had said :
There is an unclean spirit dwelling in Him.
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Laudato Si
Encyclick by
POPE FRANCISCUS
On caring for the common home
59. At the same time, a superficial or apparent ecology grows, reinforcing a certain rigidity and unconcerned irresponsibility. As often happens in times of deep crisis that call for bold decisions, we tend to think that what is happening is not certain. If we superficially observe, it seems that, apart from some certain signs of pollution and decay, things are not that serious and the planet could continue to exist in its current conditions for a long time to come. This flight behaviour serves to maintain our style of living, production and consumption. It is human life’s way of managing to feed all its self-destructive flaws: one tries not to see them, one struggles not to acknowledge them, one postpones important decisions, one pretends nothing is wrong.
To be continued
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
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