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 that joy by opening their hearts
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day
Opening word
It is the Lord Himself who greets us.
He is the host in this house.
He receives us as we are
and passes no judgment on us.
He speaks to us in an uplifting word
and gives himself completely to us in bread and wine.
In his wake, we too are invited
to grow in hospitality for all people,
especially for those who are struggling.
FIRST READING 2 Kings 4:8-11,14-16a
This man is a holy man of God; let him stay here.
From the second book of Kings
One day the prophet Elisha passed by Sunem.
There lived a wealthy woman,
who urgently invited him
to come and eat with her.
And every time
the prophet went near there in the future,
he went to eat there.
So the woman said to her husband:
“Listen, I have noticed
that he who always comes to our house,
is a holy man of God.
“Let us build a small room for him on our house
and put in it a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp;
then when he arrives at our house,
he can take up residence there.”
So when Elisa arrived there again one day,
he was able to move into the upper room
and lay himself to rest there.
Thereupon he asked Gechazi, his servant:
“Is there really nothing we can do for her?”
Gechazi replied:
“She unfortunately has no son and her husband is old.”
Then Elisha said:
“Call her.”
The servant called her and she remained standing in the doorway.
And Elisha said:
“Next year at this time
you will have a son pressed to your heart.”
Responsorial Ps 89(88), 2-3, 16-17, 18-19
Refrain
Your favours, Lord, I want to sing.
Your favours, Lord, I want to sing,
proclaim Your faithfulness to every generation.
You have said, “My favour endures forever!”
Heaven is the foundation of Your faithfulness.
Happy is the people who know what joy is,
because it lives, Lord, in the light of thy countenance.
Because it glorifies your Name all day long,
in thy righteousness finds its glory.
For Thou art our glory and our strength,
thy favour maketh us a great and mighty people.
For from the Lord we received our shield,
the Holy One of Israel gave us a king.
SECOND READING Rom. 6, 3-4.8-11
Through baptism we were buried with Him, that we might live a new life.
From the Holy Apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians of Rome
Brothers and sisters,
Ye know that baptism,
by which we have become one with Christ Jesus,
has made us share in his death?
Through baptism into his death we have been buried with Him,
that we too might live a new life
like Christ,
who by the power of his Father
raised from the dead.
If then we have died with Christ ,
we believe that we shall also live with him;
for we know that Christ, once risen from the dead,
dies no more:
Death has no more power over Him.
Through the death He died,
He has dealt with sin once and for all;
the life He lives,
has to do with God alone.
Thus also ye must consider yourselves:
As dead to sin
and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Verse for the gospel 1 Petr. 2, 9
Alleluia.
Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation,
destined to proclaim the glorious deeds of Him
Who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 10:37-42
He who does not take up his cross is not worthy of Me; he who takes you up takes Me up.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
At that time, Jesus said to his apostles:
“Whoever loves father or mother more than Me ,
is not worthy of Me;
whoever loves son or daughter more than Me,
is not worthy of Me.
“And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me ,
is not worthy of Me.
“Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for My sake,
shall find it.
“Whoever takes you up, takes Me up;
and whoever takes Me up,
taketh up Him who sent Me.
“He that taketh up a prophet, because he is a prophet ,
shall also receive the wages of a prophet;
and whoever takes up a virtuous man ,
because it is a virtuous man,
shall also receive the wages of a virtuous man.
And whoever gives one of these little ones
if only a cup of cold water,
because he is My disciple,
verily I say unto you:
His reward shall surely not escape him.”
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Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On caring for the common home
218. In calling to mind the figure of Saint Francis of Assisi, we come to realize that a healthy relationship with creation is one dimension of overall personal conversion, which entails the recognition of our errors, sins, faults and failures, and leads to heartfelt repentance and desire to change. The Australian bishops spoke of the importance of such conversion for achieving reconciliation with creation: “To achieve such reconciliation, we must examine our lives and acknowledge the ways in which we have harmed God’s creation through our actions and our failure to act. We need to experience a conversion, or change of heart”.
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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