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
The first reading, which speaks once more of ’the preservation of numerous people’, is the final prelude to the Exodus story. Once God showed his power and led you from here to the land he promised under oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’. When we look back at Genesis, we see two main pieces. First, the ancient stories in which Israel tries to come to terms with the great questions and problems of life. Then the religious roots on which the nation of Israel will ground its existence; both politically and religiously.
FIRST READING Gen 49, 29-33; 50, 15-26
One day God will show his power
and lead you from here to the land
which He has promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
From the Book of Genesis
In those days Jacob gave his sons the following command:
“If I am united with my forefathers,
then bury me with my fathers
in the cave in the field of the Hittite Efron,
in the cave in the field of Makpéla,
east of Mamre, in Canaan.
It is the field that Abraham took as his own burial place
from the Hittite Ephron.
There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried,
there are Isaac and his wife Rebekah interred,
and there I buried Leah.
The field with the cave on it
was bought from the Hittites.”
When Jacob had given his sons this last instruction,
he withdrew his feet to the bed,
gave up the ghost and was united with his ancestors.
When Joseph’s brothers saw
that their father had died, they said:
“If only Joseph would not take revenge on us
and make us pay dearly for the evil
we have done to him.”
So they sent the following message to Joseph:
Your father commanded before he died:
“This you must tell Joseph:
I beseech thee, forgive the crime and the sin
which your brothers have committed against you.
So forgive the servants
of your father’s God for their crimes.
When they spoke to him in this way, Joseph burst into tears.
Then his brothers came and prostrated themselves, saying:
“Have mercy on us; we are your slaves.”
But Joseph said to them:
“Be not afraid: Do I take the place of God?
You have plotted evil against me,
but God has turned it into good,
to bring about what has come to pass:
The preservation of numerous people.
So do not be afraid: I will take care of you and of your little children.
Thus he reassured them with heartfelt words.
Joseph remained in Egypt,
together with his father’s family;
he lived to be a hundred and ten years old.
Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim
and also the sons of Makir the son of Manasseh
were born upon his knees.
Then Joseph said to his brothers:
“I am going to die, but one day God will show his power
and will lead you from here to the land which
He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Joseph swore to the sons of Israel:
“If God shows you His power,
you must carry my bones from here.”
Then Joseph died, one hundred and ten years old.
He was embalmed and laid in a sarcophagus in Egypt.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 105(104), 1-2, 3-4, 6-7
Behold, the humble, and rejoice,
take courage, all you who seek God (Ps. 69(68),33)
Glorify the Lord and worship his name,
proclaim His works to the nations.
Sing His praises and pluck the strings for Him,
recount all His wondrous works.
Go ye great in the holy Name of the Lord,
rejoice, ye that follow him.
Abide in Him, in His mighty arm,
always seek His Face.
Ye children of his servant Abraham,
ye sons of Jacob, his beloved.
The Lord, He is our only God,
what He decrees is true for all the earth.
ALLELUIA Ps. 19(18),9
Alleluia.
Your precepts, Lord, are reliable,
they make the ignorant wise.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 10, 24-33
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
At that time Jesus said to his disciples:
“The disciple is not above his master
and the servant is not above his lord.
For the disciple, it must be sufficient
to be treated as his master,
for the servant to be treated as his lord.
If one dares to call the head of the household
Beelzebub,
how much more than his household members.
Do not be afraid of them.
Nothing is covered or it will be revealed,
nothing is hidden or it will be known.
What I say to you in the dark, speak it in the light,
and what you hear whispered in your ear,
proclaim it from the rooftops.
Be not afraid of them
who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, fear Him
who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Does one not sell two sparrows for a penny?
And yet not one sparrow shall fall to the ground save by the will of thy Father.
But with you, even every hair of your head is counted.
So do not be afraid:
Ye are worth more than a flock of sparrows.
Everyone that confesses Me among men,
I will acknowledge him as mine
with my Father, who is in heaven.
But whosoever shall deny Me before men,
I will deny him also
before my Father, who is in heaven.
_______________________________________________________
Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On Care of the Common Home
231. Love, overflowing with small gestures of mutual care, is also civic and political, and it makes itself felt in every action that seeks to build a better world. Love for society and commitment to the common good are outstanding expressions of a charity that affects not only relationships between individuals but also “macro-relationships, social, economic and political ones”. That is why the Church set before the world the ideal of a “civilization of love”. Social love is the key to authentic development: “To make society more human, more worthy of the human person, love in social life – political, economic and cultural – must be given renewed value, becoming the constant and highest norm for all activity”. In this framework, along with the importance of little everyday gestures, social love moves us to devise larger strategies to halt environmental degradation and to encourage a “culture of care” which permeates all of society. When we feel that God is calling us to intervene with others in these social dynamics, we should realize that this too is part of our spirituality, which is an exercise of charity and, as such, matures and sanctifies us.
To be continued
The Bible text in this edition is taken from De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling,
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Recitals from Liturgical suggestions for the weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation
________________________________________________________________