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
Today, after the book of Genesis, we begin the reading of Exodus. Genesis was almost completely outside of secular world history. (Certain conditions do correspond to what was common among nomads of the second millennium). But with Exodus, we are right on the edge of history. This is already evident in today’s reading. We find testimonies about cities of provisions, about brickyards where foreign slaves worked under Egyptian supervisors. In short: Certain elements correspond to situations under, for example, Ramses II.
FIRST READING Ex.1, 8-14.22
No matter how much the Israelites were oppressed,
they continued to grow in number.
From the Book of Exodus
In those days a new king came to rule in Egypt,
who knew nothing of Joseph.
He spoke to the people:
“Listen, these Israelites are becoming too numerous and too strong for us.
So we must take wise measures against them
and prevent them from multiplying.
If we go to war
they will join our adversaries,
they will fight against us and go out of the country.
Then they appointed masters over the people
to oppress them by forced labor.
The Israelites had to build for Pharaoh
the provision cities of Pitom and Rameses.
But no matter how they were oppressed, they continued to grow in number
and multiplying,
so that the Egyptians became frightened,
and forced the Israelites to do hard labor.
They made their lives miserable by making them work hard
in brickyards and in the fields.
That was the hard work they forced them to do.
Then Pharaoh commanded all his subjects:
“Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile;
the girls you can leave alive.”
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 124(123), 1-3, 4-6, 7-8
We were saved by the Name of the Lord.
Had the Lord not been with us,
so may Israel say ;
had not the Lord been with us
when all turned against us ;
we would have been devoured alive,
scorched by the glow of their anger.
Then the flood would have swallowed us up,
the torrent had swept us away;
Then we would have sunk lifeless
in foaming torrents.
Praise the Lord, he did not abandon us,
He took the prey from their teeth.
We fled like a bird,
escaped the net of the hunters.
The net of the fowler is torn,
we have come out of it.
We were saved by the Name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
ALLELUIA Ps. 25(24), 4c, 5a
Alleluia.
Teach me your paths, Lord ;
Lead me in your word.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 10:34-11,1
I have not come to bring peace, but the sword.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
At that time Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth;
I have not come to bring peace, but the sword.
Discord I have come to bring
between a man and his father, between a daughter and mother,
daughter-in-law and mother-in-law;
and a man’s housemates shall be his enemies.
He that loveth father or mother more than me
is not worthy of me;
He that loveth son or daughter more than Me
is not worthy of Me;
And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me
is not worthy of Me.
He who finds his life will lose it,
and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
He who takes you up takes Me up;
And he that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me.
He who takes in a prophet because he is a prophet
shall also receive the wages of a prophet
and he who takes in a virtuous man
because he is a virtuous man
shall also receive the wages of the virtuous.
And whoever gives one of these little ones
even if only a cup of cold water
because he is my disciple,
verily I say unto you:
His reward shall surely not escape him.”
When Jesus had finished His teachings to His twelve disciples,
He departed from there
to teach and preach in their cities.
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Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On Care of the Common Home
233. The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, on a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, or in a poor person’s face. The idea is not only to pass from the exterior to the interior to discover the action of God in the soul but also to discover God in all things. Saint Bonaventure teaches us that “contemplation deepens the more we feel the working of God’s grace within our hearts, and the better we learn to encounter God in creatures outside ourselves”.
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
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