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
Opening word
The feast of Christ-King refers
to the final completion of the Kingdom of God.
It is a Kingdom where He puts His darlings at the centre:
The poor, the displaced, refugees and the homeless.
God is the final consummator of His Kingdom,
but without our commitment it will not succeed.
He expects us to be as loving as He is
and ask ourselves every day the question:
‘What am I doing for my brother,
what do I do for my sister?’
FIRST READING Ez. 34, 11-12.15-17
You are my sheep, I will do justice to one animal against another.
From the prophet Ezekiel
Thus God the Lord speaks:
“I seek my flock and visit my own sheep.
“As a shepherd looks after his flock ,
and goes among his sheep when they are scattered,
so will I look after my sheep
and bring them to safety, however far they have strayed
as a result of fog and mist.
“I will pasture My sheep, I Myself will make them rest.
– speaks God the Lord –
“The missing sheep I will seek,
the lost I will bring back,
the wounded I will bind up,
the sick I will restore strength
and the healthy and strong I continue to care for.
“I will cause them to graze as they should.
“And you, My sheep – so speaks God the Lord -:
I will do justice to one animal against another,
towards ram and buck.”
Responsorial Ps 23(22), 1-2a, 2b-3, 5, 6
Refrain
The Lord is my shepherd, nothing do I lack.
The Lord is my shepherd, nothing do I lack;
He makes me graze on green fields.
He brings me to water, where I can rest,
He restores my courage.
He directs my steps along straight paths
for His Name’s sake.
You invite me to your table
to the annoyance of my enemies.
With oil thou anointest my head,
my cup is overflowing.
Prosperity and blessing never leave me
every day of my life.
The house of the Lord shall be my dwelling
for all times to come.
SECOND READING 1 Cor. 15:20-26.28
He will hand over kingship to God the Father, then God will be
all in all.
From the holy apostle Paul’s first letter to the Christians of Corinth
Brothers and sisters,
Christ has risen from the dead
as the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For because through a man came death,
through a man also comes the resurrection of the dead.
As all die in Adam,
so also all will be resurrected in Christ.
But each in his own rank:
As first and foremost Christ,
then at his coming,
those who belong to Christ;
after that comes the end,
when He will hand over the kingship
to God the Father,
after having dethroned all dominions and all powers and forces
having dethroned.
For it is established
that He will exercise kingship ,
until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.
And when all is subject to Him,
the Son Himself will also submit to the One,
who already submitted it to Him.
Then God will be
all in all.
Verse for the Gospel Mk. 11, 9-10
Alleluia.
Blessed the coming in the name of the Lord,
praised the coming kingdom of our father David.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 25:31-46
He will take his seat on his throne of glory and he will separate them into two groups.
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory
and accompanied by all the angels,
then He will take His seat on His throne of glory.
“All nations will be gathered before Him
and He will separate them into two groups,
as the shepherd separates
between sheep and goats.
“The sheep He will place at His right hand,
but the goats on His left.
“Then the King will say to those on His right hand:
Come, blessed ones of my Father,
and receive the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world.
“For I was hungry and ye gave Me food,
I was thirsty and ye gave Me drink,
I was a stranger and ye took Me in.
“I was naked and ye clothed Me,
I was sick and ye visited Me,
I was in prison and ye visited Me.
“Then the righteous will answer Him and say:
Lord, when did we see thee hungry
and fed thee?
or thirsty and given Thee to drink?
“And when did we see Thee as a stranger
and have taken Thee in ,
or naked and clothed Thee?
“And when did we see Thee sick or in prison
and have come to visit Thee ?
“The King will answer them in reply:
Verily I say unto thee:
All that thou hast done
for one of these least of my brethren ,
thou hast done for Me.
“And to those on His left hand He shall then say:
Depart from Me, cursed ones, into everlasting fire
which is prepared for the devil and his henchmen.
“For I was hungry and ye gave Me no food.
“I was thirsty, and ye gave Me not to drink.
“I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in,
naked, and ye clothed Me not.
“I was sick and in prison
and ye came not to visit Me.
“Then they too will answer and say:
Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty
or as a stranger or naked or sick
or in prison ,
and have we not cared for Thee?
“To this He will answer them:
Verily I say unto thee:
All that ye have not done for one of these least of these ,
have ye also not done for Me.
“And these shall go away to everlasting punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life.”
___________________________________________________________________
Laudato Si
Encyclic by
POPE FRANCIS
On caring for the common home
118. This situation has led to a constant schizophrenia, wherein a technocracy which sees no intrinsic value in lesser beings coexists with the other extreme, which sees no special value in human beings. But one cannot prescind from humanity. There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature without a renewal of humanity itself. There can be no ecology without an adequate anthropology. When the human person is considered as simply one being among others, the product of chance or physical determinism, then “our overall sense of responsibility wanes”.A misguided anthropocentrism need not necessarily yield to “biocentrism”, for that would entail adding yet another imbalance, failing to solve present problems and adding new ones. Human beings cannot be expected to feel responsibility for the world unless, at the same time, their unique capacities of knowledge, will, freedom and responsibility are recognized and valued.
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