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 this joy by opening his heart
to the healing effect of God’s word.
Available every day
Consideration
We read the story of the origin of one of today’s Jewish celebrations: Hanukkah. After the victory, the Temple is again solemnly consecrated and a feast is attached to it, Hanukkah, the feast of the ‘lights’. Legend has it that a jug of pure oil was found, which proved sufficient to keep the Menorah (the Hanukkah candlestick exceptionally has eight arms) burning for eight days. The festival has now become a symbol of national liberation. The conviviality and warmth of this winter festival (December), with its dancing lights, sometimes reminds us of our Christmas.
FIRST READING I Makk. 4, 36-37.52-59
They celebrated the feast of the dedication of the altar,
where they joyfully offered burnt offerings.
From the First Book of the Maccabees
In those days Judas and his brothers said:
“Our enemies have been defeated:
So let us go up
and cleanse the temple and rededicate it.
All the army assembled
and marched up to Mount Zion.
In the early morning
of the twenty-fifth of the ninth month,
thus the month of Kislew, of the year one hundred and forty-eight,
according to the statutes of the law, they carried
on the new altar of burnt offering which they had built,
a sacrifice.
At the same time and on the same day
on which the nations had desecrated the altar,
it was consecrated again with the singing of hymns of praise, accompanied by zithers, harps and cymbals.
All the people prostrated themselves in adoration
and praised the heavens,
who had made their enterprises successful.
For eight days they celebrated the festival of the dedication of the altar,
during which they joyfully offered burnt offerings,
and praise and thanksgiving offerings.
They adorned the facade of the temple
with golden wreaths and shields,
repaired the gates and the halls
and set up new doors.
There was great joy among the people
because the reproach
done to them by the Gentiles had been removed.
In consultation with his brothers
and the entire assembly of Israel
Judas decreed that as long as they lived,
the feast of the dedication of the altar for eight days each year,
beginning on the twenty-fifth of the month of Kislew
would be annually celebrated in joy and gladness.
INTERLUDIUM I Chron. 29, 10, 11abc, 11d-12a, 12bcd
We honour, Lord, thy glorious Name.
Praised be Thou, O Lord, throughout all ages,
Thou God of our father Israel.
Great art Thou in thy works, mighty,
exalted, glorious, and humbled.
For all things in heaven and earth are Thine,
Thou art the King, Lord, who art above all.
From Thee come prestige and property,
all that exists is at Your command.
Thou canst dispose of skill and power,
that which is great and strong Thou hast made so.
ALLELUIA I Pet. 1, 25
Alleluia.
The word of the Lord endures forever ;
and this word is the message
which was preached to you in the Gospel.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 19, 45-48
My house must be a house of prayer,
but you have made it a den of thieves.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
At that time Jesus entered the temple
and began to drive out the vendors,
while He said to them:
“It is written:
My house must be a house of prayer,
but you have made it a den of thieves.”
Every day He taught in the temple.
The high priests, the scribes
and the leaders of the people
sought an opportunity to put him to death,
but they saw no opportunity to do anything,
for all the people were hanging on his every word.
________________________________________________________________________
Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On Care of the Common Home
116. Modernity has been marked by an excessive anthropocentrism which today, under another guise, continues to stand in the way of shared understanding and of any effort to strengthen social bonds. The time has come to pay renewed attention to reality and the limits it imposes; this in turn is the condition for a more sound and fruitful development of individuals and society. An inadequate presentation of Christian anthropology gave rise to a wrong understanding of the relationship between human beings and the world. Often, what was handed on was a Promethean vision of mastery over the world, which gave the impression that the protection of nature was something that only the faint-hearted cared about. Instead, our “dominion” over the universe should be understood more properly in the sense of responsible stewardship.
To be continued
The Bible text in this edition is taken from De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling,
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Recitals from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation
_____________________________________________________________________________