Martin I lived for the freedom of the church and died
in the year 655 as a result of hunger and neglect
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
Everything in this period is in a minor mood. It is darkness everywhere. They are alone; they are driven off course; they are fearful. Then comes the great turning point: “It is I (‘I am’ words). With Jesus near, everything becomes different. This is a typically Christian text. Everything is focused on Jesus. There are also Old Testament reminiscences here of Yahweh riding the waves, ruling the chaos. The actualisation to us is obvious. Whatever happens – loneliness, distress, confusion – in the presence of Jesus everything becomes different.
FIRST READING Acts 6:1-7
The apostles chose seven men, full of faith and holy spirit.
From the Acts of the Apostles
In those days
when the number of disciples kept increasing,
the Hellenists began to murmur against the Hebrews,
because in daily support
their widows were disadvantaged.
The 12 now called the disciples together and said :
“It is not fitting that we should neglect the word of God
by caring for support.
“Look out therefore, brethren, for seven men from among you,
of good repute, full of spirit and wisdom.
To them then shall we hold this office,
while we ourselves shall remain at prayer
and to the ministry of the word.”
This proposal found agreement among the whole assembly
and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and holy spirit,
Philip, Próchorus,
Nikánor, Timon, Parmenas
and Nicholas, a proselyte from Antioch.
These were presented to the apostles,
who, after prayer, laid hands on them.
The word of God spread
and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly ;
a large number of priests also yielded to the faith.
INTERLUDIUM Hymns Ps. 33(32), 1-2, 4-5, 18-19
Give us, Lord, your mercy,
as we trust in Thee.
Or : Alleluia.
Jubilate, righteous ones, before the Lord,
he who is pious should praise Him.
Then honour the Lord with citrine playing,
and play to Him on the harp.
For upright is the word of the Lord
And all that He does is trustworthy.
Law and justice He loves,
the earth is full of His mildness.
It is God who guards His servants,
those who trust in His favour.
That He will save them from death,
in times of famine, feed them.
ALLELUIA
Alleluia.
Christ rose from the grave,
He who died for us on a cross.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Jn 6:16-21
They saw Jesus walking on the lake.
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
John
When evening came
Jesus’ disciples descended to the lake.
They set sail
and set sail across the lake,
in the direction of Capernaum.
When darkness had already fallen
Jesus had not yet joined them.
The lake became choppy because there was a lot of wind.
After rowing about twenty-five or thirty stadia
they saw Jesus
coming on foot across the lake to near the boat
and they became afraid.
But Jesus spoke to them :
“It is I; do not be afraid.”
They wanted to take Him on board,
but shortly afterwards the boat reached the shore
towards which they were heading.
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APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION LAUDATE DEUM
OF THE HOLY FATHER
POPE FRANCISCUS
TO ALL PEOPLE
OF GOOD WILL
7. To ridicule people who talk about global warming, it is pointed out that recurring periods of extreme cold occur regularly. One forget to mention that these and other extraordinary symptoms are nothing but various alternative manifestations of the same cause: namely, the global imbalance that causes warming of the planet is causing. The droughts and floods, the dried-up lakes, the communities wiped out by seaquakes and floods ultimately have the same cause. At the same time, when talking about a global phenomenon, we should not confuse this with sporadic events that are largely explained by largely explained by local factors.
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 Deum Official English translation
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