Pope Damasus 1 was born in Rome ca. 305
Died in 384
Pope from 366 – 384
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.
Considerations
The first reading speaks of all creation, nature, desert and wilderness included . All creation will participate in the glorification of the glory of God. Man shares in that renewal. The motif of the return from exile emerges clearly. We too are addressed now: Make weak hands strong; give strength to buckling knees. Speak to all who have lost courage. A beautiful task to take up this second week of Advent?
FIRST READING Isa 35:1-10
God is coming to save you.
From the Prophet Isaiah
Thus speaks the Lord :
“Desert and steppe shall rejoice,
rejoice and prosper the barren plain.
“Flaunting shall she with lilies, of joy rejoice and cheer.
“The glory of the Lebanon shall fall to her,
the glory of Carmel and Shariah.
“They shall behold the glory of the Lord,
the splendour of our God.
“Make weak hands strong, give strength to buckling knees.
“Speak to all who have lost courage :
“Take courage and fear not :
Your God is coming to execute vengeance,
God comes to retaliate and to save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind will open again
and the ears of the deaf will be opened.
The lame will leap like a deer
and rejoice shall the tongue of the dumb.
Yes, streams will spring up in the steppe,
rivers in the desert.
The barren plain will become a pond,
the thirsty land one spring of water.
And in the place where the jackals dwelled
rushes will grow and green reeds.
A high beaten road will run there,
which shall be called the holy road.
No unclean man treads that road
and the foolish do not wander there.
There will be no lion in sight
and wild beasts shall not come there,
but the ransomed shall tread that way,
and those redeemed by the Lord,
they will return again.
Jubilantly they will come to Zion,
their heads surrounded with eternal joy.
They will obtain joy and gladness,
and pain and wailing take flight.
INTERLUDIUM Ps 85(84), 9ab-10, 11-12, 13-14
God himself will come to redeem us (Isa 35:4d).
Hearing I will hear what God says to me,
surely a word of reconciliation.
His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
His glory comes to dwell with us again.
When faithfulness and mercy meet,
if peace and justice embrace each other ;
then faithfulness shall spring from the earth,
and justice will look down from heaven.
Then the Lord will give us his blessing
and our land will bear rich fruit.
Then for Him out of righteousness shall go
and prosperity follow His steps.
ALLELUIA Lk. 3, 4.6
Alleluia.
Prepare the way of the Lord.
All mankind will see God’s salvation.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 5, 17-26
We are witnessing unprecedented things !
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
When Jesus was teaching on a certain day,
there were Pharisees and scribes among them
who had come from all the places of Galilee and Judea
and from Jerusalem.
And the power of the Lord caused Him to perform healings.
At that moment some men arrived
who were on a bed carrying with them a paralytic.
They tried to bring him in and lay him down before Jesus.
But because of the crowd they could not find a way
by which they could bring him in,
they went up on the roof
and let him, bed and all
down through an opening in the tiled roof in the middle of the crowd,
at the feet of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, He said :
“Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”
But the scribes and Pharisees wondered :
“What is this person who speaks so blasphemously?
“Who else can forgive sins but God alone?”
Jesus knew that they were so reasoning and spoke to them :
“What are ye reasoning with yourselves?
“What is easier
to say : Your sins are forgiven you ;
or to say : Get up and walk ?
“Well, that ye may know
that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins
– and now He spoke to the paralytic –
“I say to you, get up,
take thy bed and go home.”
Immediately he stood up before all eyes,
took the bed on which he had been lying
and went home while glorifying God.
Everyone was amazed and they glorified God.
Full of awe, they said :
“We have witnessed unprecedented things today.”
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Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On caring for the common home
133. It is difficult to make a general judgment on the development of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in plants and animals for medical purposes or in agriculture, since they may differ greatly from one another and may call for different considerations. On the other hand, risks may not always be attributed to the technique itself, but to its inadequate or excessive application. In reality, genetic mutations are and have often been caused by nature itself. Nor are human-induced mutations a modern phenomenon. Domestication of animals, interbreeding of species and other ancient and universally accepted practices may fall within these considerations. It is appropriate to recall that the beginning of scientific developments on transgenic crops was the observation of bacteria that naturally and spontaneously induced a change in the genome of a plant. Yet these processes in nature have a slow rhythm, which cannot be compared to the speed imposed by current technological progress, even when this progress is based on a scientific development of centuries.
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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