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
We stopped Genesis just before Ash Wednesday and we pick up the story again at the beginning of the Abraham cycle. It begins with the curious words: lekh, lekha. Lekha = go, but apparently, this going is not enough. It is followed by a strong emphasis. Lekha = go away from, pull away, i.e.: break with, pull out of.
What happens here, then, is a ‘breaking’ of all human ties and leaving for the unknown, relying only on God’s promise. That is precisely why Abraham, the type, remains the model of faithfully entrusting oneself and setting out on the road, wherever that road may lead us. It is therefore both a spatial and a spiritual path that can be meant by this.
FIRST READING Gen 12:1-9
Abram set out, as the Lord had instructed him.
From the Book of Genesis
In those days, God the Lord said to Abram :
“Depart from your land, your tribe, and your family,
to the land I will appoint for you.
“I will make you a great people.
“I will bless you and make your name great
so that he will be a blessing.
“I will bless those who bless you,
but those who curse you, I will curse.
“Through you will come blessing over all the generations of the earth.”
Then Abram set out, as the Lord had instructed him,
and Lot went with him.
Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
With his wife Sarai and with Lot,
his brother’s son,
with all their possessions and with all
whom they had employed in Haran,
Abram set out for Canaan.
Arriving in Canaan,
Abram entered the land,
as far as the holy place of Shechem,
the oak tree of More.
At that time, the Canaanites were still in the land.
There God the Lord appeared to Abram and said :
“To your descendants, I will give possession of this land.”
Then Abram set up an altar there
in honour of the Lord, who had appeared to him.
From there he moved on to the mountain range
East of Betel,
pitched his tent
between Betel on the west and Aï on the east,
erected an altar to the honour of the Lord
and called on the name of the Lord.
Then Abram moved on towards the Negeb.
INTERLUDIUM Ps 33(32), 12-13, 18-19, 20, 22
Blessed are the people who have the Lord as God,
the nation chosen by Him to be His inheritance.
Blessed the people who have the Lord as God,
the nation chosen by Him to be His inheritance.
High from heaven God looks down,
looks down on the sons of men.
It is God who guards his servants,
those who trust in His favour,
that He will save them from death,
feed them in times of famine.
Therefore our heart trusts in the Lord,
He is our shield and helper.
Give us therefore, Lord, your mercy,
as we trust in Thee.
ALLELUIA cf. Acts 16, 14b
Alleluia.
Make our hearts receptive, Lord,
and that we turn ourselves, to the word of your Son.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 7, 1-5
First, take the beam out of your own eye!
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew
At that time Jesus said to his disciples :
“Judge not, lest ye be judged.
“For in the judgment that ye pass
ye shall be judged,
and the measure that you use
shall also be used for you.
“Why dost thou look at the mote in thy brother’s eye
And perceive not the beam in thine own eye?
“Or how canst thou say to thy brother :
let me take the mote out of thy eye, and behold,
in thy own eye is still the beam!
“Hypocrite, first remove that beam out of thine own eye,
and then you will see clearly enough
to remove the mote
from thy brother’s eye.”
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Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On caring for the common home
212. We must not think that these efforts are not going to change the world. They benefit society, often unbeknown to us, for they call forth a goodness that, albeit unseen, inevitably tends to spread. Furthermore, such actions can restore our sense of self-esteem; they can enable us to live more fully and to feel that life on earth is worthwhile.
To be continued
The Bible text in this publication is taken from The New Translation of the Bible,
©Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation
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