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 day.
Consideration
Prayer and answer to prayer is a theme with which the long tradition of both Judaism and Christianity struggles. Asking, seeking, knocking, they are synonyms. But if we look deeper, it is not about magical formulas, which can enforce answer to prayer. More so, the word ‘seek’ in particular is used with the prophets as a search for God, who allows himself to be found for all who seek him. Similarly, we should seek Christ who wants to come present, we should knock with confidence and above all “ask for the good” and that is his presence among us.
FIRST READING Est. 14,1.3-5.12-14
Lord, no helper do I have but You.
From the Book of Esther
At that time, Queen Esther in mortal distress
took refuge in the Lord.
She prayed thus to the God of Israel :
“My Lord, our King, You are the only one!
“Come to my aid, I who stand alone
and have no helper but Thee,
for I am in great danger.
“From my birth I have heard in the tribe from which I came
that Thou, Lord, out of all the nations of Israel
and out of all their ancestors Thou hast accepted our fathers
as a permanent inheritance and that Thou hast done for them all
which Thou hadst promised.
“Remember us, Lord,
reveal Thee in the hour of our distress, and give me courage,
Thou, King of the gods and ruler of all dominion.
“Put a happy word in my mouth,
when I face the lion;
change his disposition and bring him to hate
against the man who fights us ,
so that he and his comrades may perish.
Save us by your hand and come to my aid,
for I stand alone and have no one but You, Lord.”
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 138(137), 1-2a, 2bc-3, 7c-8
Whenever I cried out to You, You have always heard me,
You have always given me new courage.
You I will praise, Lord, from all my heart,
Because thou hast listened to my prayer.
I sing to You and to all the heavenly powers
and prostrate myself, bowed down to thy sanctuary.
You I praise for your goodness and your faithfulness,
fort thy promise Thou hast fulfilled without measure.
Whenever I have cried out to Thee Thou hast always heard me,
Thou hast always given me new courage.
Always is thy outstretched hand my salvation :
The Lord completes for me all that I undertake.
Thy goodness, Lord, endures without end ;
do not forget the work of your hands !
VERSE FOR THE GOSPEL Am. 5, 14
Seek the good, and not the evil,
that ye may live, and God may abide with you.
GOSPEL Mt 7, 7-12
All who ask obtain.
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew
In those days Jesus said to his disciples :
“Ask and it will be given to you ;
seek, and you will find;
knock and it will be opened.
“For all who ask obtain;
he who searches finds
and he who knocks will have his door opened.
“Or is there anyone among you
who will give his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread?
“Or a snake when he asks for a fish?
“If therefore, though ye be evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father who is in Heaven
give good things to those who ask Him.
“All that ye would that men should do for you,
do that also for them.
“That is Law and Prophets.”
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Laudato Si
Encyclic by
POPE FRANCIS
On the care of the common home
97. The Lord could invite others to pay attention to the beauty that is in the world because He Himself was in constant contact with nature and paid to it an attention full of affection and wonder. Crossing every corner of His land, He stopped to contemplate the beauty sown by His Father and invited His disciples to realise that things contain a divine message: “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields; they are white, ripe for harvest” (Jn 4:35) . “The kingdom of heaven resembles a mustard seed, which someone sowed in his field. True, this is the smallest seed, but when it has sprouted, it is greater than the other garden crops: it becomes a tree” (Mt 13:31-32) .
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