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 excepted,
can experience that joy by opening their hearts
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day
Consideration
The two books of the Maccabees are a very special case. They contain the epic of the Jewish struggle for independence in the second century BC. Yet the Jews did not include them in their canon of scripture. The rabbis who drew up the canon towards the end of the first century AD judged that the canon was already closed, and as for the second book, it was written only in Greek and therefore did not qualify. Today we are presented with the general situation of the time to which psalm 119 responds beautifully.
FIRST READING 1 Makk. 1, 10-15. 41-43. 54-57. 62-64
Very heavy was God’s wrath upon Israel.
From the first Book of the Maccabees
In those days from the lineage of Alexander
came forth an evil man, Antiochus Epiphanus,
the son of King Antiochus,
who had been a hostage in Rome.
He became king in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year
of the reign of the Greeks.
At that time a generation arose in Israel,
which did not care about the law
and managed to win many to the idea
making a covenant with the nations around.
For, they said, since we separated from them,
many disasters have befallen us.
Convinced of the correctness of this reasoning
some men from the people declared themselves willing
to go to the king.
The latter granted them power of attorney
to introduce the lifestyle of the pagans.
They set up an athletics school in Jerusalem,
as was the custom among pagans ;
they had a foreskin made again
and broke with the holy covenant ;
they bowed under the yoke of the nations
and allowed themselves to be used to do evil.
Then the king issued a decree for all his kingdom
that all should become one people
and that each should give up its own customs.
All the nations conformed to the king’s word.
Even among the Israelites there were many
who eagerly adopted the king’s religion,
sacrificed to idols and stopped keeping the Sabbath.
The fifteenth Kislew of the one hundred and forty-fifth year
the king had the abomination of destruction built
on the altar of burnt offering ;
in the cities of Judah idol altars were erected
and at the entrance of the houses and in the squares
they burned incense.
All the scribal scrolls that could be traced,
were torn up and burned,
and those in whom one found a book of the covenant,
or who still kept the law,
was put to death by royal decree.
Yet many Israelites remained steadfast
and were determined not to eat unclean food;
they preferred to die
than to contaminate themselves with forbidden foods
and violate the holy covenant.
Consequently, not a few died.
Very heavily did God’s wrath press down on Israel.
INTERLUDIUM Ps 119(118), 53, 61, 134, 150, 155, 158
Be merciful to me, Lord, and let me live,
Then I will remain faithful to what You ordain.
I am indignant at sinners
who are indifferent to Your law.
Though I am caught in the snares of sinners,
still I never forget Thy law.
Deliver me from the grip of men
and let me accomplish what You command.
Those pursuing me come closer and closer,
they keep far from Your law.
For sinners no salvation will appear,
because they do not heed what Thou dost ordain.
Their faithlessness fills me with disgust,
for for thy judgments they care not.
ALLELUIA 1 Thess. 2, 13
Alleluia.
Receive the divine word
not as the word of men
but as what it is indeed : The word of God.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk 18:35-43
What do you want me to do for you ?
Lord, make me see!
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
Once when Jesus was approaching Jericho
there was a blind man begging by the roadside.
The man heard many people passing by
and asked what there was to do.
He was told that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by.
Now he began to shout :
“Jesus, Son of David,
have mercy on me!”
Jesus remained standing
and commanded that the blind man be brought to Him.
When the blind man had approached, Jesus asked him :
“What do you want Me to do for you?”
He replied :
“Lord, make me see!”
Jesus spoke to him :
“Become sighted !
“Thy faith hath healed thee.”
And immediately he could see
and he followed Jesus, glorifying God.
When all the people saw that, they brought honour to God.
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Laudato Si
Encyclic by
POPE FRANCIS
On the care of the common home
112. However, it is possible to broaden the view again and human freedom is capable of limiting technology, giving it a direction and putting it at the service of another type of progress, healthier, more humane, more social and more integral. In fact, liberation from the prevailing technocratic paradigm occurs on a few occasions. For example, when communities of small producers choose less polluting systems of production, supporting a non-consumptive model of life, happiness and coexistence. Or when technology aims first and foremost to solve the concrete problems of others, working to help them live with more dignity and less suffering. And also, when the creative search for the beautiful and its contemplation succeed in transcending objectifying power in a kind of salvation that comes about in the beautiful and in the person who beholds it. Authentic humanity, inviting a new synthesis, seems to dwell, as it were, barely perceptible amid technological civilisation like a mist filtering under a closed door. Despite everything, will it remain an enduring promise, emerging as a persistent resistance of what is authentic?
To be continued
The Bible text in this edition 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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