Invitation
May I hereby call 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 his heart
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day.
Considerations
Today’s reading is so important because God makes his name known to Moses. This name, Yahweh occurs over 6800 times in the Old Testament but is only declared here. God is the one who is there, who will always be there for his people. The declaration is at the beginning of the exodus, the great salvific event of the people of Israel. Again and again, the books of the Old Testament refer to the exodus as an act of God through which the history of Israel begins and upon which all the religious obligations of the people of Israel to God are based.
FIRST READING Ex. 3, 13-20
I am who is.
He-is-sends me to you.
From the Book of Exodus
When Moses had heard the voice of God
in the fire that flared up from a thorn bush,
he spoke again to God:
“Now when I come to the Israelites and say to them:
The God of your fathers sends me to you, and they ask:
What is his name, what shall I answer?”
Then God spoke to Moses:
“I am who is.”
And also:
“This thou must tell the Israelites:
He – is, send me unto you.”
Moreover, God said to Moses:
“This thou must say to the Israelites:
The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, send me to you.
This is My name forever.
This is how you must address Me, throughout all generations.
Go now, call together the elders of Israel
and tell them: the LORD, the God of your fathers, has appeared to me,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with this message:
I take care of you,
for I see what is being done to you in Egypt.
Therefore I have decided:
I will bring you out of the misery of Egypt
to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites,
Perizzites and Jebusites, a land of milk and honey.
They will listen to what thou sayest.
Then you must go with the elders of Israel
go to the king of Egypt and say to him:
The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, asks us
to have a meal before Him.
Therefore let us go on a three-day journey far into the desert
to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.
I know that the king of Egypt will not let you leave
unless a strong hand compels him.
Therefore I will raise My hand and strike Egypt
with all kinds of miraculous signs that I will perform there.
Then he will let you go.”
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 105(104), 1, 5, 8-9, 24-25, 26-27
Forever God’s covenant remains in force.
Alleluia
Glorify the Lord and worship His Name,
proclaim to the nations His deeds.
Never forget the miracles He did,
His signs and His promises.
Forevermore, His covenant remains in force,
which He promised for a thousand generations.
The covenant He made with Abraham before,
the oath He once swore to Isaac.
The Lord formed numerous people
who became stronger than their oppressors.
He allowed their hospitality to turn into hatred
so that they deceived His people.
Then He sent His servant Moses to them
with Aaron whom He had chosen.
They showed the signs of the Lord,
and the land of Cham saw God’s wondrous deeds.
ALLELUIA Ps. 111(110), 8ab
Alleluia.
The work of the Lord is good and trustworthy,
all that He decrees stands immovable.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt. 11, 28-30
I am meek and humble of heart.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
At that time Jesus took the floor and spoke:
“Come to Me all you who are exhausted and burdened,
and I will give you rest and relief.
Take My yoke on your shoulders and learn from Me:
I am meek and lowly in heart;
and ye shall find rest for your souls,
for My yoke is gentle and My burden is light.”
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Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On the care of the common home
236. In the Eucharist, creation finds its greatest exaltation. The grace that tends to manifest itself palpably reaches a miraculous expression when God himself, having become man, goes so far as to allow himself to be eaten by his creature. At the height of the mystery of the Incarnation, the Lord wanted to reach our innermost being through a piece of matter. Not from above, but from within, so that we could meet Him in our world itself. In the Eucharist, the fullness is already realized and lies in the vital center of the universe, the center overflowing with love and inexhaustible life. United with the incarnate Son, who is present in the Eucharist, all the cosmos gives thanks to God. Indeed, the Eucharist is in itself an act of cosmic love: “Yes. cosmic! For even if the Eucharist is celebrated at the humble altar of a country church, in a sense it is always celebrated at the altar of the world.” The Eucharist unites heaven and earth and embraces and permeates all creation. The world, having come out of God’s hands, returns to Him in joyful and full adoration: in the Eucharistic Bread “creation is directed toward deification, the holy wedding, unification with the Creator Himself.” Therefore, the Eucharist is also a source of light and motivation for our environmental concerns and gives us direction to be guardians of all creation.
To be continued
The Bible text in this issue is taken from The New Bible Translation,
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays.
Laudato Si Official English translation
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