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
To the child Jesus all the precepts of the Law of Moses are fulfilled. Simeon embodies the hope and trust of this people that God will come, and bring comfort through his Anointed One. In Jesus, the child of simple people, Simeon ‘sees’ that God keeps his word. Jesus is the one in whom God brings salvation and redemption, to his own people and to all people. In Jesus, the light of God breaks through. The heavens shine and the earth shines with joy (Ps 96). Simeon also praises God. But one cannot remain neutral towards Jesus. Whoever accepts Him and believes in Him, must also live and love like Him. Only then one knows God and is in the light. Then we rise to life.
FIRST READING 1 Jn 2:3-11
He who loves his brother remains in the light.
From the First Letter of the Holy Apostle John
My friends,
How do we know that we know God?
There is only one proof :
That we keep His commandments.
Who says he knows Him
but does not keep his commandments
is a liar;
the truth does not dwell in such a person.
But in a man who is obedient to God’s word
his love has truly reached its perfection ;
then we know for sure that we are ‘in Him’.
Whoever claims union with God
must live just as Christ lived.
Friends,
I am not imposing a new commandment on you.
It is the old commandment that you have always had ;
it is the message that you have heard from the beginning.
Yet it is also a new commandment
and that applies to Christ but also to you :
For the darkness is passing away
and the true light already shines.
He who claims to be in the light but hates his brother
he is still in darkness.
He who loves his brother
remains in the light
and he will not fall.
But he who hates his brother
is in darkness.
He gropes in the darkness
and he knoweth not whither his way leadeth,
for the darkness has blinded him.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 96(95), 1-2a, 2b-3, 5b-6
The heavens shine and the earth rejoiceth.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
sing to the Lord, all the nations.
Sing to the Lord and glorify his name.
Proclaim his salvation every day.
Announce his glory to the nations,
his wondrous deeds to all nations.
He is the creator of the universe.
Splendour and majesty go forth before Him,
power and splendour fill his dwelling.
ALLELUIA John 1, 14 and 12b
Alleluia.
The Word has become flesh
and has dwelt among us.
To all who accept him
He gave the ability
to become children of God.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 2, 22-35
A light shining for the Gentiles.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
When the time came for Mary and the Child, according to the Law of Moses,
had to be cleansed,
his parents took Jesus to Jerusalem
to dedicate Him to the Lord,
according to the precept of the Lord’s Law:
Every first-born male child
must be consecrated to the Lord,
and to bring a sacrifice according to the provision of the Lord,
namely a pair of turtles or two young pigeons.
Now there lived in Jerusalem a certain Simeon,
a law-abiding and devout man
who expected the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit rested upon him.
He had received a divine word from the Holy Spirit
that death would not come upon him
until he had seen the Lord’s anointed.
Driven by the Spirit, he had come to the temple.
When the parents brought the child Jesus into the temple to fulfil the commandment of the Law,
he too took the child in his arms
and proclaimed God’s praise with the words :
“Thy servant, O Lord, wilt thou now go in peace, according to thy word:
My eyes have now beheld thy salvation
which Thou hast prepared for all nations;
a light that shines for the Gentiles,
a glory to thy people Israel.”
His father and mother were amazed at what was said of Him.
Then Simeon pronounced a blessing on them
and he said to Mary, his mother :
“Behold, this child is destined to be the fall or the resurrection of many in Israel,
to be a sign that is refuted,
so that the disposition of many hearts may be made manifest ;
and your own soul shall be pierced by a sword.”
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Laudato Si
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On Care of the Common Home
151. There is also a need to protect those common areas, visual landmarks and urban landscapes which increase our sense of belonging, of rootedness, of “feeling at home” within a city which includes us and brings us together. It is important that the different parts of a city be well integrated and that those who live there have a sense of the whole, rather than being confined to one neighbourhood and failing to see the larger city as space which they share with others. Interventions which affect the urban or rural landscape should take into account how various elements combine to form a whole which is perceived by its inhabitants as a coherent and meaningful framework for their lives. Others will then no longer be seen as strangers, but as part of a “we” which all of us are working to create. For this same reason, in both urban and rural settings, it is helpful to set aside some places which can be preserved and protected from constant changes brought by human intervention.
To be continued
The Bible text in this issue is taken from
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Recitals from Liturgical suggestions for the week days and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation
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