St Francis was born 1181 or 1182. Died 3 Oct 1226.
Founder monastic order Franciscans or Friars Minor. Canonised 16July 1228
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.
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
Besides Ezra, Nehemiah is a major figure in the restoration of Jerusalem after the exile. He is a court official of the king of Persia. Perhaps it is partly thanks to him that official records ended up in the books Ezra-Nehemiah. Here he is given (commissioned) permission to go to Judah to rebuild the city and its walls.
FIRST READING Neh. 2, 1-8
May the King send me to Judah,
to rebuild the city of my fathers.
From the Book of Nehemiah
It happened in the month of Nisan
of the twentieth year of king Artachsata’s reign.
The wine was on the table ;
I, Nehemiah, took the wine and handed it to the king.
Never had I been grieved in his presence ,
but now the King said to me :
“Why do you look so sad ?
You are not ill, so there must be something
that makes you sad.”
I dismayed violently
and said to the King :
“The king live in eternity!
“How would I not look sad,
now that the city,
the place where my forefathers are buried,
has become a wasteland and its gates
have been consumed by fire ?”
To this the king asked :
“What is your desire?”
I prayed to the God of heaven
and said to the king :
“If it pleases the king
and if your servant has found mercy in your eyes ,
may you send me to Judah,
to the city where my fathers are buried,
to rebuild it.”
The queen sat next to the king.
The king asked :
“How long will the journey take and when will you return?”
I called him a deadline ;
the king agreed
and gave me leave to leave.
Then I said to the king :
“If it pleases the king ,
may he give me letters
so that they may grant me passage on my journey to Judah.
“And also a letter for Asaph, the royal woodsman,
that he should deliver me tree trunks
to make beams out of them
for the gates of the temple fortress,
for the city wall and for a house for myself.”
Because my God was gracious to me,
the king complied with my request.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 137(136), 1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
May my tongue stick in my mouth
when I think of you no more.
We sat by Babylon’s streams and wept
thinking of Zion ;
and on the willows standing there
hung the citrons.
Our captors demanded songs,
our oppressors a joyful song :
Sing to us of Zion !
Could we then sing of the Lord
here in this strange land ?
If I, Jerusalem, ever forget thee
may my hand be paralysed .
May my tongue stick in my mouth
if I think of thee no more ;
if I would trade Jerusalem
for some pleasure.
ALLELUIA Col 3, 16a, 17c
Alleluia.
The word of Christ
may dwell among you in full riches ;
give thanks to God the Father through Him.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 9, 57-62
I will follow Thee wherever Thou goest.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
In those days someone said to Jesus :
“I will follow Thee wherever Thou goest.”
Jesus spoke to him :
“The foxes have dens and the birds their nests ,
but the Son of Man
has nothing on which He can rest His head.”
To another He spoke :
“Follow Me.”
This one asked :
“Lord ,
first let me go back to bury my father.”
Jesus said to him :
“Let the dead bury their dead ;
but thou ,
go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Yet another said :
“I will follow You Lord ,
but first let me say goodbye to my companions.”
To him Jesus spoke :
“Whoever puts his hand to the plough
but looks back to what lies behind him ,
is unfit for the Kingdom of God.”
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Laudato Si
Encyclic by
POPE FRANCIS
On caring for the common home
THE WISDOM OF THE BIBLICAL ACCOUNTS
65. Without repeating the entire theology of creation, we can ask what the great biblical narratives say about the relationship of human beings with the world. In the first creation account in the Book of Genesis, God’s plan includes creating humanity. After the creation of man and woman, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good” (Gen 1:31). The Bible teaches that every man and woman is created out of love and made in God’s image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26). This shows us the immense dignity of each person, “who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons”. Saint John Paul II stated that the special love of the Creator for each human being “confers upon him or her an infinite dignity”. Those who are committed to defending human dignity can find in the Christian faith the deepest reasons for this commitment. How wonderful is the certainty that each human life is not adrift in the midst of hopeless chaos, in a world ruled by pure chance or endlessly recurring cycles! The Creator can say to each one of us: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” (Jer 1:5). We were conceived in the heart of God, and for this reason “each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary”.
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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