Born c. 1225 Died 7 March 1274
Italian philosopher and theologian
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
In itself, it is significant that the entire chapter is devoted to faith. Starting with Abraham, we pass a whole series of figures who have preceded us in faith. But there is more: The Second Vatican Council drew its inspiration from this, among others, to present the Church as God’s people on the way. This is a particularly rich model of the Church. We are mere strangers and passers-by who behold from afar (in faith) the goal of our journey. We are on our way to a homeland that is not here.
FIRST READING Heb. 11, 1-2.8-19
Abraham looked forward to a city
of which God is the designer and builder.
From the letter to the Hebrews
Brothers and sisters,
What is faith?
Faith is a firm ground of what we hope for,
it convinces us of the reality of things unseen.
For their faith the ancients were mentioned with honor.
By faith
Abraham responded to the call of God,
and he set out for a land
that was destined for him and his heirs ;
he departed without knowing whither.
By faith
he stayed as a stranger
In the land that was promised to him ;
He lived there in tents,
like Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise ;
for he looked forward to the city with foundations,
of which God is the designer and builder.
By faith, Sarah also,
although her time was long past
received the power of fertility,
for she knew that He who had made the promise
would keep His word.
Therefore, to one man,
and still in his old age
produced an offspring,
as numerous as the stars in the sky,
countless as the grains of sand on the beach of the sea.
In faith they all died
without having received what was promised them.
They have seen and greeted salvation only from afar.
They have called themselves
aliens and passers-by on earth.
Those who speak in this way clearly indicate
that they are looking for a homeland.
Had they been homesick for the land of their origin
they could easily have returned,
but their desire was for a better homeland,
the heavenly.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for He built them a city.
By faith Abraham,
when he was put to the test
Isaac to the sacrifice.
He who had received the promise
was about to sacrifice his only son,
of whom he had been told :
“Only those who are descended from Isaac ,
shall be counted as your descendants.”
For he was convinced
that God even has the power to raise the dead to life ;
and out of death he has, so to speak
recovered his son also.
INTERLUDIUM Lk. 1, 69-70, 71-72, 73-75
Praised be the Lord, the God of Israel,
for looking after his people and for setting them free.
A Savior he has begotten for us
in the generation of David, his faithful;
as He had declared from of old
by the mouth of his holy prophets :
Deliverance from the power of our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus will He have mercy on our fathers,
keep his holy covenant.
The oath of our father Abraham sworn
to grant us once ;
to be delivered from the clutches of enemies
to serve him without fear ;
in piety and righteousness
all our days before his Face.
ALLELUIA Mt 11, 25
Alleluia.
I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because Thou hast revealed these things to children.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mk 4, 35-41
Who is He anyway, that even wind and water obey Him ?
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
On a certain day, at dusk,
Jesus spoke to his disciples :
“Let us cross over.”
They sent the people away
and took Him as He sat there in the boat ;
other boats accompanied Him.
A violent storm arose
and the waves were beating over the boat so that it was already filling up.
Meanwhile, Jesus was asleep on the cushion at the stern.
They woke Him up and said to Him :
“Master, does it not concern You that we are perishing?”
He got up,
turned to the wind with a compelling word
and spoke to the water:
“Be silent!”
The wind died down and it became perfectly still.
He spoke to them :
“Why are you so afraid?
“How is it possible that you do not yet have faith?”
A great fear came over them and they asked each other:
“Who is He that even wind and water obey Him?”
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Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On the Care of the Common Home
64. On the other hand, even though this Encyclical offers an opening for a dialogue with all to search together for ways of liberation, I would like to show from the outset how the creeds offer Christians, and partly other believers, important motivations to take care of nature and its most fragile brothers and sisters. If the very fact that we are human beings prompts people to care for the environment of which they are a part, “Christians in particular feel that their duties within creation and their duties towards nature and the Creator are part of their faith”. Therefore, it is a boon to humanity and the world that we believers better recognise the ecological obligations that flow from our beliefs.
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 the weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation