Saint Januarius was bishop of Benevento and became a martyr during the persecution of Christians
by emperor Diocletian
Invitation
May I hereby draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation wishes 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
The Timothy letter teaches with authority in matters of faith, cult or catechesis. Again, we read in the introduction: ‘This word is trustworthy’. Paul describes in this chapter the characteristics that ministers should have in them to lead the local church community. They are not exceptional, phenomenal traits, but simple, human qualities, common to all Christians – leading or not -: reasonableness, thoughtfulness, hospitality, and social. After all, the Christian community is not a closed community: It is present in society and it is judged externally for its actions.
FIRST READING I Tim. 3, 1-13
A leader in the congregation must be blameless.
Deacons must be faithful to the mystery of the faith
with a clear conscience.
From the holy apostle Paul’s first letter to Timothy
Dear one,
This word is trustworthy:
Does anyone aspire to the leadership office,
then he desires an excellent task.
A leader in the church must be blameless,
the husband of one wife,
temperate, wise, civilised,
hospitable, capable of teaching,
not addicted to wine,
not hot-tempered but accommodating,
not pugnacious, not money-hungry,
one who governs his own house well
and exercises authority over his children with seriousness and dignity.
If someone does not know how to govern his own household,
how will he be able to take care of the church of God?
He must not be newly converted, lest he become conceited
and the sentence of the devil befall him.
He must also be well-regarded by those
who do not belong to the congregation;
otherwise, he will fall into disrepute
and may fall into the snares of the devil.
Similarly, deacons must be men of honour,
men of their word,
not addicted to wine or lusting for profit,
faithful to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.
They too must first undergo an examination;
after that, if there are no complaints, they can perform their service.
Likewise, their wives must be honourable,
not slanderers,
moderate and trustworthy in all respects.
Deacons must be men of one wife
and know how to lead their children and household well.
Those who perform their service well
acquire an honourable rank and great openness,
based on faith in Christ Jesus.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 101(100), 1-2ab, 2cd-3ab, 5, 6
I always follow the way of innocence.
Of goodness and justice I want to sing,
praising You, O Lord.
I always follow the way of innocence :
Come to meet me!
With a pure heart, I want to live
even within my house.
I will not plan anything
contrary to the law.
He who always slanders his neighbour
I will silence him;
he who walks around proud and haughty,
I will not see him.
I seek in the land the faithful
to be with me:
Who live blamelessly,
whom I employ.
ALLELUIA cf. Lk. 8, 15
Alleluia.
Blessed are those who keep the word of God which they heard,
keep in a good and noble heart
and bring forth fruit by their steadfastness.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 7, 11-17
Young man, I say to you: get up!
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
At that time Jesus went to a town called Naïn;
His disciples and a large group of people went with Him.
He had just come near the city gate,
when a dead person was carried out of there,
the only son of his mother
who was a widow.
A large number of people from the city accompanied her.
When the Lord saw her
He felt pity for her and spoke:
“Do not weep.”
Thereupon He stepped up to the bier and touched it.
The bearers remained standing and He spoke:
“Young one, I tell you: get up!”
The dead man sat up and began to speak
and Jesus returned him to his mother.
All were struck with awe
and they glorified God and said:
“A great prophet has risen among us,” and:
“God has mercifully looked down on His people”.
And this story about Him circulated
throughout the Jewish land and the wide surrounding area.
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Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On caring for the common home
50. Instead of solving the problems of the poor and thinking of a different world, some limit themselves to proposing a reduction in the birth rate. There is no lack of international pressure on developing countries that makes economic aid depend on a particular policy of “reproductive health”. But, “if it is true that the unequal distribution of population and available resources is an obstacle to development and manageable use of the environment, then it must be recognised that demographic growth is fully compatible with inclusive and inclusive development”. Blaming demographic growth and not the extreme and selective consumerism of a few is a way of not facing the problems. One thus wants to legitimise the current distributive model, where a minority thinks it is entitled to consume in a proportion that it would be impossible to generalise, because the planet could not even contain the waste from such consumption. Moreover, we know that people waste about a third of the food they produce, and “food that one throws away is like robbing it from the table of the poor”. In any case, it is certain that attention must be paid to the uneven balance in the distribution of population across territories, both nationally and globally, because the increase in consumption would lead to complex regional problems through a combination of problems related to environmental pollution, transport, waste disposal, loss of resources, quality of life.
To be continued
The Bible text in this issue is taken from The New Translation of the Bible,
©Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation
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