Was a prominent shepherd, teacher, and prolific writer.
Greatest preacher in the Greek church
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.
CONSIDERATION
In the third chapter of the Colossians letter, we read some applications to the Christian walk of life. Paul urges the Christian community to walk radically in the footsteps of Jesus, now that they are clothed with the new man. This means living a new life, turning away from immoral lifestyles, and living as a limb of the body of Christ. The old robes are now discarded: We clothe ourselves with the new man. Only Christ matters now. He is all in all.
FIRST READING Col 3:1-11
Ye have died with Christ ;
so put a radical end to immoral practices.
From the Holy Apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians of Colossae
Brothers and sisters,
If ye then be raised to life with Christ
seek what is above,
where Christ sits at the right hand of God.
Seek the heavenly, not the earthly.
For ye have died
and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
Christ is thy life,
and when He appears
you too will appear with Him in glory.
So puts a radical end to immoral practices,
fornication, immorality, passion, covetousness
, and the greed equivalent to idolatry.
These things call down God’s wrath.
You too have indulged in this at the time
and lived in these sins.
But now you must say goodbye to all this.
Away with wrath, malice,
slander and shameful language!
And lie no more to one another.
Ye have put off the old man with his behavior
and clothed thyself with the new man,
who is on the way to true understanding,
renewing himself in the image of his Creator.
Then there is no more Greek or Jew;
circumcised or uncircumcised,
barbarian or Skyth,
slave or free man.
There is only Christ,
All in all.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 145(144), 2-3, 10-11, 12-13ab
The Lord is concerned for every man.
You I want to praise every day,
glorifying Your Name forever.
The Lord is great and worthy of all praise,
His greatness is unfathomable.
Your works will praise You, Lord,
Thy pious shall praise Thee.
They praise the glory of Your rule,
thy power they proclaim.
They make Your power known to men,
the splendor of Your kingdom.
Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
Your rule is for every generation.
ALLELUIA Ps. 130(129),5
Alleluia.
In the Lord, I put my hope,
in His word I trust.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 6, 20-26
Blessed are you who are poor, but woe to you, rich.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
At that time Jesus lifted up his eyes,
looked at his disciples, and spoke:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for to you belongs the kingdom of God.
Blessed who are now hungry,
for you shall be filled.
Blessed who weep now,
for ye shall laugh.
Blessed are you
when for the Son of Man’s sake men hate thee,
when they cast you out and taunt you
and banish your name from society as something detestable.
When that day comes, leap for joy,
for great is your reward in heaven.
In the same way, their forefathers treated the prophets.
But woe to you, rich ones,
for you have already received what comforts you.
Woe to you who are now satiated,
for ye shall hunger.
Woe unto thee that laugh now,
for thou shalt complain and weep.
Woe unto thee, when all men speak of thee with praise,
for their forefathers did the same to the false prophets.”
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Laudato Si
Encyclic by
POPE FRANCIS
On caring for the common home
44. Today, for example, we observe the immoderate and disorderly growth of many cities, which have become unlivable from the point of view of health, not only because of pollution resulting from toxic emissions, but also because of urban chaos, transport problems, and visual and acoustic pollution. Many cities are large inefficient structures that consume excessive amounts of water and energy. There are neighborhoods that, although recently built, are congested and disordered, without enough green space. It does not suit residents of this planet to live increasingly buried under concrete, asphalt, glass, and metal without physical contact with nature.
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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