Symbolising her inner life, her joys and sorrows,
her virtues and hidden perfections and her love.
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 except,
can experience this joy by opening his heart
to the healing effect of God’s word.
Available every day
Consideration
Mary embodies the people blessed by God with a great future. She is the image of all those who trust in God and rejoice in Him. In her search for Jesus, Mary finds her child back in the temple in Jerusalem. Indeed, there Jesus appears to be more of a child at home than with his parents. Mary kept this in her heart and she contemplated it with herself. Mary shows us the way to open our hearts to the salvation of God in Jesus. Let us too be renewed by Jesus Christ and like Mary sing with a purified heart: The Lord makes my heart beat with joy, my God has lifted up my head. (1 S 2,1)
FIRST READING Isa. 61, 9-11
I want to rejoice and exult in the Lord.
From the Prophet Isaiah
Your offspring will be known among the nations.
And all who see them shall know
that they are the people whom the Lord has blessed.
I want to rejoice and be glad in the Lord,
my soul will rejoice in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garment of salvation
and hath given me the dressing gown of righteousness,
like a bridegroom festively wrapping his head
or as a bride who adorns herself with her ornaments.
For as the earth bringeth forth her fruit
and as a garden matures its seed,
so let the Lord blossom forth justice
and his glory before the eyes of the nations.
Interludium 1 Sam. 2, 1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd
The Lord make my heart beat for joy.
The Lord make my heart glad,
my God has lifted up my head.
Now I stand with my competitors
for I have his help.
The bows of the brave are broken,
and the weak are girded with strength.
The rich must earn their bread,
and the hungry have no more work to do.
The childless gives birth seven times,
and the womb of the mother withers.
The Lord rules over death and life,
He leads to death and He calls back again.
The Lord gives poverty and wealth,
He brings humiliation and honour.
He raises the powerless from the dust,
raises from the dirt the lowly;
He gives him a seat among the princes and assigns him an honourable place.
For He is the Lord of the pillars of the earth
whereon He once placed the disc of the earth.
GOSPEL Lk. 2, 41-52
Think with what pain
your father and I have searched for you.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
Every year, the parents of Jesus
travelled to Jerusalem on the occasion of the Easter feast.
And according to the custom of the feast
they went there again when he was twelve years old.
But at the end of those days, they returned home.
The child Jesus, however, remained in Jerusalem
without his parents knowing.
Thinking that He was with the caravan,
they went a day’s journey away
and then looked for Him among family members and acquaintances.
Because they did not find him
they returned to Jerusalem in search of him.
Only after three days did they find him in the temple,
He was sitting amid the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
All who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.
When His parents saw Him there, they were defeated.
His mother said to Him:
“Child, why have you done this to us?
“Think with what pain
your father and I have sought You.”
But He answered :
“What have you been looking for Me?
“Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?
But they did not understand what He meant.
He went with them to Nazareth
and was submissive to them.
His mother kept all that had happened in her heart.
And as the years passed, Jesus grew in wisdom and in favour
with God and with men.
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Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On caring for the common home
203. Since the market tends to promote extreme consumerism to sell its products, people can easily get caught up in a whirlwind of needless buying and spending. Compulsive consumerism is one example of how the techno-economic paradigm affects individuals. Romano Guardini had already foreseen this: “The gadgets and technics forced upon him by the patterns of machine production and of abstract planning mass man accept quite simply; they are the forms of life itself. To either a greater or lesser degree mass man is convinced that his conformity is both reasonable and just”. This paradigm leads people to believe that they are free as long as they have the supposed freedom to consume. But those really free are the minority who wield economic and financial power. Amid this confusion, postmodern humanity has not yet achieved a new self-awareness capable of offering guidance and direction, and this lack of identity is a source of anxiety. We have too many means and only a few insubstantial ends.
To be continued.
The Bible text in this publication is taken from
De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling, ©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Recitals from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation
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