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 day.
Opening word
On Ash Wednesday, we entered Lent with the whole community.
It is a time to learn to see more sharply and distinguish between good and evil.
The central figures in today’s readings face that same choice.
The first pages of Scripture tell us
how the first Adam wants to break away from God.
The new Adam, Jesus, radically rejects evil
and thus restores the union between God and man.
Turn to the Lord that we may learn to make right choices in his wake.
FIRST READING Gen 2:7-9; 3:1-7
Creation of the first human pair and Fall.
From the book of Genesis
In the beginning, God the Lord modelled man from dust,
taken from the earth,
and He breathed into his nose the breath of life:
Thus man became a living being.
Then God the Lord laid out a garden in Eden,
somewhere in the east,
and in it He placed man
whom He had moulded.
God the Lord allowed all kinds of trees to sprout from the ground,
attractive to look at
and delicious to eat from;
among them was also the tree of life
in the middle of the garden
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Of all the animals that God the Lord had made,
there was none so cunning as the serpent.
She said to the woman:
“Did God really say
that thou mayest not eat of any tree in the garden?”
The woman said to the snake:
“We may eat
of the fruit of the trees in the garden.
“God has only said:
Of the fruit of the tree
which is in the midst of the garden,
thou mayest not eat;
thou mayest not even touch them;
otherwise you shall die.”
But the serpent said to the woman:
“Thou shalt not die at all.
“God knows your eyes will open
if thou eatest from that tree,
and then you will become equal to God
through the knowledge of good and evil.”
Then the woman saw
that it was good eating from that tree,
and that it was pleasing to the eye,
and how attractive it was
to gain insight through it.
So she picked a fruit and ate from it;
she also gave of it to her husband who stood by her,
and he too ate of it.
Now both their eyes opened
and they discovered that they were naked.
So they stitched fig leaves together
and made loin aprons from them.
Responsorial Ps. 51(50), 3-4, 5-6a, 12-13, 14 and 17
Refrain
Lord, have mercy on me, we have sinned.
God, have mercy on me in your mercy,
deliver my sinfulness in your mercy.
Wash my guilt completely from me,
cleanse me from all my sins.
I acknowledge my wrongdoing,
always I have my offence before me.
Towards Thee alone have I sinned,
I have done what is opposed to You.
Create in me a pure heart, my God,
give me again a resolute spirit.
Will not cast me away from your face,
do not take away your Holy Spirit from me.
Give me again the opulence of your blessing,
make me strong in generosity.
Lord, loosen Thou my lips,
that my mouth may sing thy praise.
SECOND READING Rom. 5, 12-19 or 12.17-19
Where death began to reign, the gift of righteousness abounded.
From the letter of the holy apostle Paul to the Christians of Rome
Brothers and sisters,
Through one man sin entered the world
and with sin death;
and so death has come upon all men,
since all have sinned.
After all, there was sin in the world
before the law.
But sin is not charged where there is no law.
Yet death has reigned as king
in the time from Adam to Moses,
so also over those
who had not been guilty in the manner of Adam
of breaking a commandment.
Adam now is the image of Him who was to come.
But the grace of God
cannot be measured by Adam’s transgression.
The mistake of one man brought death to all,
but God gave rich recompense to all
through the great gift of His grace:
The one man Jesus Christ.
His gift is stronger than that one sin.
The justice that followed the one wrong ,
ended in condemnation,
but the pardon granted after so many transgressions,
meant complete remission.
At the hands of one man, death began to reign,
as a result of that man’s fall.
So much more glorious will those
who receive the abundance of grace
and the gift of righteousness,
live and reign,
thanks to the one man Jesus Christ.
This means:
one wrong led to condemnation of all,
but one good deed led to acquittal
and life for all.
And just as by the disobedience of one man
all became sinners,
so by the obedience of One
all will be justified.
Verse for the Gospel Mt 4, 4b
Praise and honour be to You, Lord Jesus.
Not from bread alone does man live,
but from all that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Praise and honour be to You, Lord Jesus.
GOSPEL Mt 4:1-11
Jesus fasts for forty days and is tempted.
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
In that time, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tested by the devil.
After He had fasted for forty days and forty nights,
He became hungry.
Now the tempter approached Him and spoke:
“If thou art the Son of God ,
command then that these stones turn into this bread.”
He replied:
“It is written:
Not from bread alone does man live,
but of every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Then the devil took Him to the holy city,
placed Him on the superstructure of a temple gate
and spoke to Him:
“If thou art the Son of God, cast thee down ,
for it is written:
To his angels shall he give a command concerning Thee,
that they take Thee on their hands,
lest Thou dash thy foot on a stone.”
Jesus said to him:
“It is written:
Thou shalt not put the Lord thy God to the test.”
Finally, the devil took Him to a very high mountain,
from where he showed Him all the kingdoms of the world
showed Him in their glory.
And he said:
“All that I will give Thee ,
if Thou wilt fall down in worship before me.”
Then Jesus said to him:
“Away, Satan; it is written:
The Lord thy God shalt thou worship
and serve Him alone.”
Now the devil left Him alone
and angels came to serve Him.
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Laudato Si
Encyclic by
POPE FRANCIS
On the care of the common home
The common destiny of goods
93. Today, believers and non-believers agree that the earth is essentially a common inheritance whose fruits benefit all. For believers, this becomes a matter of fidelity to the Creator because God created the world for all. Consequently, any approach must integrate a social perspective that takes into account the fundamental rights of the most disadvantaged. The principle of the subjection of private property to the universal destination of goods and therefore the universal right to their use is “a golden rule” of social behaviour and the “first principle of any ethical-social order.” The Christian tradition has never recognised the right to private property as absolute or untouchable and has clearly emphasised the social function of any form of private property. St John Paul II has very emphatically recalled this teaching, saying that “God has given the earth to all the human race, that it may sustain all its members without excluding or favouring anyone”. These are weighty and powerful words. He pointed out that “a type of development that would not respect and promote the personal and social, economic and political rights of human beings, including the rights of nations and peoples, would be truly demeaning”. With great clarity, he explained that while “the Church does defend the legitimate right to private property, it also no less clearly teaches that every private property is always subject to a social mortgage, so that the property serves the general purpose that God has given to it”. This is why he says that “it is not in accordance with God’s plan to administer this gift in such a way that its benefits only benefit a few”. This seriously questions the unjust habits of a section of humanity.
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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