Thursday – St Margarita of Scotland – St Gertrudis of Helfta, virg.

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.
of the Gospel. Everyone, no one excepted,
can experience that joy by opening their hearts
to the healing power of God’s word.

Available every day.

 

Consideration
In the second part of the book, the author gives free rein to his enthusiastic description of Wisdom. He gives her no less than 22 attributes and describes her being and her power. From generation to generation, she descends into holy souls and makes them friends of God. Truly nothing surpasses Wisdom. (Besides the deep religious slant, one can also admire the high literary flight here, but there is clear influence of Greek philosophical thought).

 

FIRST READING      Wis. 7,22-8, 1

Wisdom is a reflection of eternal light,
an unstruck mirror of divine efficacy.

From the book of Wisdom

Wisdom is a spirit, wise and holy,
single, multifaceted and subtle,
agile, penetrating and pure,
clear, invulnerable, mindful of the good and keen,
irresistible, beneficent and humane;
resolute, sure and calm,
capable of everything and overlooking everything;
all other minds she penetrates,
however sharp, pure and lofty they may be.
Nothing is so agile as wisdom,
it penetrates and permeates everything
by the power of its purity!
After all, it springs from the power of God Himself,
is a pure reflection of the glory of the Almighty,
and therefore it is impervious to no contamination.
She is a reflection of the eternal light,
an unstained mirror of divine efficacy,
and image of His goodness.
She is alone, but can do everything,
she rests in herself, but makes everything new;
from generation to generation she descends into holy souls,
and makes them friends of God and the prophets!
For God loves only those
who are acquainted with wisdom.
She is cleaner than the sun,
cleaner than all the army of stars;
it surpasses even the light of day,
for after the day follows the night,
but wisdom yields to no wickedness.
Its power extends
from one end of the earth to the other,
and it disposes everything
for the good of all.

INTERLUDIUM             Ps 119(118), 89, 90, 91, 130, 135, 175

Your word, Lord, remains true for ever.

Your word, Lord, endures forever,
it is established in heaven;
Thy faithfulness is perpetual for all generations,
As firm as the earth which Thou hast made.

As Thou hast determined, so it is for ever,
for all that exists serves Thee.
The interpretation of Thy words gives clarity,
grant wisdom to those who are inexperienced.

Let for Thy servant Thy Face shine forth,
let me see Your dispositions.
May my spirit live and always praise Thee
And lean on what Thou determinest.

 

ALLELUIA                cf. Eph. 1, 17-18

Alleluia.
The God of our Lord Jesus Christ
May enlighten our inner eye,
to see how great is the hope
to which He calls us.
Alleluia.

 

GOSPEL              Lk. 17, 20-25

The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.

From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke

When Jesus was asked the question by the Pharisees,
when the kingdom of God would come,
He answered them:
“You cannot perceive the coming of the Kingdom of God.
One cannot say: Look, here it is, or there it is.
For the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

Further, He said to His disciples:
“A time will come when you will desire
to see one day of the Son of Man
but ye shall not see the Son of Man.
When it shall be said to you:
Behold, He is there, or, Behold, He is here,
then do not go there and follow them.
For when his day cometh
the Son of Man will be like the flashing lightning,
which shines from one end of heaven to the other.
But first He must suffer much
and be rejected by this generation.”

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Laudato Si

Encyclic by

POPE FRANCIS

On the care of the common home

108. It is inconceivable to support a different cultural paradigm and use technology as a pure tool, because today the technocratic paradigm has become so predominant that it is difficult to renounce its means, and it is even more difficult to use it without being dominated by its logic. It has become countercultural to choose a lifestyle with ends that can be at least in part independent of technology, its costs and its globalising and massifying power. Indeed, technology tends to ensure that nothing remains outside its iron logic and “man, who is the protagonist in this, knows that in the final analysis it is neither about utility nor well-being, but domination; domination in the extreme sense of the word”. Therefore, “it seeks to understand the elements of nature and at the same time those of human existence”. It thus limits the individual’s decision-making capacity, most authentic freedom and space for alternative creativity.

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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