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
We hear today how a so-called ‘pagan’ woman,
a woman who therefore does not belong to the people of Israel,
expresses her great faith that Jesus has come for everyone.
Such faith, Jesus cannot match that.
As we begin this celebration, let us ask
that the Lord break down the walls that alienate us from each other
and that he brings us together into his one Body.
FIRST READING Isa 56:1.6-7
The strangers I bring to my holy mountain.
From the prophet Isaiah
Thus God the Lord speaks:
“Maintain justice and do what is righteous,
for my salvation is at hand,
my righteousness will reveal itself.
“The strangers who join the Lord
to serve Him,
who revere His name with love
and wish to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath and do not dishonour it,
who remain faithful to My covenant,
to them, I will bring my holy mountain
and I give them joy in my house of prayer.
“Their burnings and victims
shall be pleasing to Me on My altar,
for my house will be called:
A house of prayer for all nations.”
Responsorial Ps 67(66), 2-3, 5, 6 and 8
Refrain
Give that the nations honour Thee, O God.
God be merciful to us and bless us,
let his face shine upon us;
that on earth thy ways may be known,
in all lands thy salvation.
Let all nations rejoice for joy
because Thou dost rule the nations justly
and governs all things on earth.
Grant that the nations honour Thee, O God,
that all nations honour Thee!
God so grant us His blessing
that all the earth may fear Him.
SECOND READING Rom. 11:13-15,29-32
God knows no repentance for his gifts of grace nor for his call to Israel.
From the letter of the holy apostle Paul to the Christians of Rome
Brothers and sisters,
I, Paul, now address myself to you
who has come out of paganism?
Though I am an apostle to the Gentiles,
but I value this office so highly precisely because of this,
because I hope
to incite envy among my own people
and to save at least some of them.
For if their rejection has brought reconciliation to the world,
what else can their adoption mean
than life from the dead?
But God knows no repentance for his gifts of grace
nor of his calling.
As you disobeyed God in the past,
now, however, thanks to the disobedience of Israel,
have found mercy,
so now Israel in turn has disobeyed,
that in consequence of the mercy shown to you,
it too would find mercy.
Thus God has shut up all disobedience
to include all in his mercy.
Verse for the gospel Mt 4:23
Alleluia.
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom,
and healed all diseases among the people.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 15:21-28
Woman, you have great faith.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew
At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
At one point
a Canaanite woman from that area stepped forward,
shouting loudly:
“Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David!
“My daughter is possessed by a devil
and is terribly tormented.”
But Jesus did not answer her at all.
Then His disciples turned to Him with the request:
“Do send that woman away!
for she keeps calling after us.”
He replied:
“I have been sent only to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel.”
But the woman approached,
threw herself down at his feet and said:
“Lord, help me!”
He answered her:
“It is not good
to give the bread meant for the children
to the dogs.”
“Yet it is Lord,- she spoke –
for surely the dogs also eat the crumbs
that fall from the table of their masters.”
At that, Jesus told her:
“Woman, thou hast great faith!
“Your desire is granted.”
And from that moment, her daughter was healed.
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Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On caring for the common home
Pollution, waste and disposable culture
20. There are forms of pollution that affect people daily. Exposure to atmospheric pollution produces a wide spectrum of effects on health, especially for the poor and causes millions of cases of premature death. For instance, one becomes ill as a result of inhaling high amounts of smoke caused by fuel used for cooking or heating. Added to this is the pollution that affects all and is caused by transport, smoke from industry, the discharge of substances that contribute to soil and water acidification, fertilisers, insecticides, fungicides, weed killers and toxic pesticides in general. Technology, which in connection with finance claims to be the only solution to problems, is de facto incapable of seeing the mystery of the many connections that exist between things and therefore sometimes solves one problem to create others.
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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