Invitation
May I draw your attention to
The daily reading of the Gospel
This invitation seeks to convey the joy
of the Gospel. Everyone, without exception
can experience that joy by opening his or her heart
to the healing power of the Word of God.
Available every day
Consideration
In Luke, we read the parable of the rich miser and Lazarus. It is a parable that fits well with Lent: are we paying enough attention, not only to the gap between rich and poor, but also to the poor who are at our doorstep? However, it is a parable with a double bottom line. Who are these brothers who do not listen to Moses and the prophets? Who do not even listen to the one who rises from the dead? Is it not Jesus himself and those who clung to stubborn unbelief even after the resurrection?
FIRST READING Jer. 17, 5-10
Cursed is he who trusts in men, blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
From the prophet Jeremiah
Thus says the Lord God:
“Cursed is he who trusts in men,
who trusts in a creature and turns away from the Lord.
“He is a barren bush in the steppe.
He never receives rain.
“He stands in a barren and desolate land
in a barren and desolate land.
“Blessed is he who trusts in the Lord,
“and knows that with Him he is safe.
“He is a tree by a river,
His roots reach down to the water.
“He does not suffer from the heat,
His leaves remain green.
“A time of drought does not bother Him,
“He never stops bearing fruit.
“Nothing is so unreliable as the heart,
incorrigible it is, who can measure it?
“I, the Lord God, decipher the heart and the kidneys,
“I pay each according to his conduct,
according to the fruit of his labour.”
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 1, 1-2, 3, 4, 6
Blessed is the man
who puts his hope in the Lord (Ps. 40 (39), 5a)
Blessed is the man who refuses to do
what wicked men advise him ;
Who does not follow the ways of sinners
And does not sit in the midst of scoffers.
He is like a tree, planted on the water’s edge
which bears fruit in its season;
in summer his leaves do not wither
but whatever he does, it brings him prosperity.
The wicked do not fare so well :
the wind blows them away like chaff.
For the Lord watches over the way of vessels,
the way of sinners is a dead end.
VERSE FOR THE GOSPEL Ps. 130(129), 5 y 7
In the Lord I put my hope
On his word I trust;
For the Lord is ever merciful
His mercy knows no bounds.
GOSPEL Lk. 16, 19-31
You have received your share of good and Lazarus has fallen into evil.
Now he is comforted and you are martyred.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St Luke
At that time, Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“Once there was a rich man
who was clothed in purple and fine linen
and celebrated sumptuously every day ,
while a poor man named Lazarus
lay with sores covered at the door.
“He longed to satisfy his hunger
with what fell from the rich man’s table.
“But only the dogs came and licked his sores.
“It happened that the poor man died
and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom.
“The rich man also died and was given an honourable burial.
“In hell, in great pain, he raised his eyes and saw from afar….
He raised his eyes and saw Abraham in the distance
And Lazarus in his bosom.
“Then he cried out:
Father Abraham, have mercy on me
and command Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water
and my tongue come to cool with it,
for here I am being tortured by the flames.
“But Abraham replied:
My son, remember that during your lifetime you have
have received your share of good
and how Lazarus similarly received his share of evil;
Therefore he is experiencing comfort here now, but you are being tortured.
But you are being tortured.
Moreover, between us and you there is forever a great gulf,
so that there is no possibility,
– even if one wanted to –
from here to you and from there to us.
“The rich man said:
Then I ask you, father Abraham,
send him to my father’s house,
For I have five more brothers;
That I may send unto them a word
That they also
That they too may not come into this place of torment.
“But Abraham spoke:
They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them.
“But he said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham!
But if anyone from among the dead goes to them ,
they will repent.
“He, however, spoke to them:
If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets ,
nor shall they be persuaded
if anyone rises from the dead”.
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Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On caring for the common home
212. One should not think that these efforts of strength will not change the world. These acts give rise to a beneficence in society that produces more and more fruit than can be seen, for within this earth they give rise to a beneficence that tends to spread more and more, sometimes invisibly. Moreover, this behaviour gives us back a sense of our dignity, leads us to a greater existential depth, lets us experience that it is worth living in this world.
Continued
The Bible text in this issue is taken from The New Bible Translation,
Netherlands Bible Society 2004/2007.
Reflections on liturgical suggestions for the week and on Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation
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