After the birth of every Jewish child
the mother goes to the temple to purify herself
and dedicate the child to the Lord.
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
Two people stand in the temple ready to pronounce the word of welcome. The first is Simeon who says He has now seen the light and may die. The second is Hanna, an old woman. She addresses the child and acknowledges deliverance in Him. Then it may end for her too. The Lord had appeared. They, those two people, could now disappear. But, how does it continue? We heard it in the Scripture readings in recent weeks. Both on the streets and in the temple, He will be opposed. In fact, He is not so welcome: He is too bright, too honest, too open, too radical. This human child is not so welcome in the hiding place of our often petty, sometimes fanatical own truth. Because He turns it upside down. Because He exposes our quirks. To all who do accept Him, however, He gives the ability to be children of God. If we may be among these chosen ones, our encounter with Christ will be festive. Then we may call Candlemas a feast for children, even for grown-ups! (Frans De Maeseneer)
FIRST READING Mal. 3,1-4
The Lord whom ye expect, enter his sanctuary.
From the Prophet Malachi
This says the Lord God :
I am sending My messenger before Me
To prepare the way before Me.
And immediately then the Lord enters His sanctuary,
the Lord whom ye seek, the angel of the covenant,
to whom ye look longingly.
Take heed, He is coming, says the Lord of the heavenly powers.
But who can endure the day of His coming?
Who will stand when He appears?
For He is like the fire of the smelter, like the lye of the bleachers.
He sets Himself down to melt and purify the silver,
to purify the levites and purify them, as gold and silver,
so that they can again bring the Lord the required
offerings.
Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord again,
as in the past, in years gone by.
INTERLUDIUM Hymns Ps. 24(23), 7, 8, 9, 10
The Lord of the heavenly powers,
He is the King of glory!
Gates, lift up your cornices,
open, ancient doors :
The King of glory must enter.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, the strong, the mighty,
the Lord, the hero in battle.
Gates, lift up your cornices,
go open ancient doors :
The King of glory must enter.
Who is this King of glory ?
The Lord of heavenly powers,
He is the King of glory.
SECOND READING Hebrews 2, 14-18
He had to become like His brethren in everything.
From the letter to the Hebrews
Brothers and sisters,
The children of one family
share in the same flesh and blood ;
Therefore Jesus wanted to share our existence,
in order that through his death
to dethrone the prince of death, the devil
and to free those, who for the fear of death
were subject to unfreedom all their lives.
For it is not the angels whose fate He cares about
but the descendants of Abraham.
Hence He had to become like His brethren in everything,
so that as a compassionate and faithful high priest
their interests with God
and atone for the sins of the people.
Because He Himself endured the test of suffering ,
He can help all who are tried.
ALLELUIA Lk. 2, 32
Alleluia.
A light shining before the Gentiles,
a glory to your people Israel.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 2, 22-40
My eyes have beheld your Salvation.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
When the time arrived
when Mary and the child, according to the Law of Moses, had to be
had to be cleansed,
his parents brought Jesus to Jerusalem
to dedicate Him to the Lord,
according to the precept of the Law of the Lord :
Every firstborn of the male sex
must be dedicated to the Lord,
and according to the provisions of the Law of the Lord
offer a sacrifice,
namely a pair of turtles or two young pigeons.
Now there lived in Jerusalem a certain Simeon,
a law-abiding and pious man
who expected Israel’s consolation,
and the Holy Spirit rested on him.
He had received a word of God from the Holy Spirit
That death would not strike him
before he would have beheld the Lord’s anointed.
Driven by the Spirit, he had come to the temple.
When the parents brought the child Jesus there
to fulfil to him the precept of the Law,
Simeon took the child in his arms
and proclaimed God’s praise with the words :
“Thy servant, Lord, now according to Thy word let Thou go in peace :
My eyes have now beheld thy salvation
Which Thou hast prepared for all nations;
a light shining for the Gentiles,
a glory to thy people Israel.”
His father and mother were amazed
at what was said of Him.
Thereupon Simeon pronounced a blessing over them
and he said to Mary, his mother :
“Behold this child is destined to the fall or resurrection of many in Israel ,
for a sign to be rebuked,
that the disposition of many hearts may be revealed;
and thy own soul shall be pierced by a sword.”
There was also a prophetess, Hanna,
a daughter of Fanuel, from the tribe of Asher.
She was very elderly
and after her youth she had lived with her husband for seven years.
Now she was a widow of eighty-four.
She stayed in the temple constantly
and served God day and night through fasting and prayer.
At this time she approached ,
thanked God and spoke of the child to all
who were expecting the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When they had fulfilled all the precepts of the Law of the Lord
they returned to Galilee, to their city of Nazareth.
The child grew up and increased in strength ;
it was filled with wisdom
and the grace of God rested on Him.
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Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On the care of the common home
185. In any discussion concerning an entrepreneurial initiative, one should ask a series of questions in order to discern whether it will lead to true integral development: for what purpose? why? where? how? to whom is it directed? what are the risks? to what price? who will pay the costs and how will he do it? In this examination, there are issues that should take precedence. For example, we know that water is a scarce and indispensable resource; moreover, it is a fundamental right that conditions the exercise of other human rights. This is beyond dispute and transcends any analysis of any environmental impact on a region.
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
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