Thomas More was an English jurist and fought for the unity of the Church. He was also imprisoned in the Tower of London for his opposition to Henry VIII’s marriage and murdered. He was sainted in 1935.
Invitation
May I draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation wants to share with you 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
Today’s gospel paints images that we should not take literally. Jesus does not ask us to go through life so carefree that others have to pay for it. Nor is it about being carefree with those we love, or for whom we are responsible. It is a new image for what already applied yesterday: the choice between earthly goods and heavenly treasures. Jesus reminds us of what is essential and what is accessory. His command? Look at the beautiful sides of life, and above all: live! Take time to listen and look around you, to see God in nature and in creation.
FIRST READING 2 Chron. 24, 17-25
Zechariah, whom you killed between the temple and the altar.
From the second book of Chronicles
After the death of Jehoiada the priest
the prominent people of Judah came
and paid homage to King Jehoash.
And the king listened to them.
In those days the people neglected
the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers,
and worshipped sacred poles and idols.
For this sin, fierce wrath fell on Judah and Jerusalem.
The Lord sent prophets upon them to repent;
they warned them, but they would not listen.
Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah,
son of Jehoiada the priest.
He stood before the people and spoke to them.
‘Thus speaks God :
Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD
and find no profit in it?
‘Because you have forsaken the Lord,
He has forsaken you.
But the people conspired against Zechariah
and by order of the king they stoned him with stones
in the courtyard of the temple of the Lord.
So little did King Joash still think
of all the benefits Jehoiada had shown him,
that he had his son Zechariah killed.
He still cried out in his death:
‘May the Lord see him and avenge him.
At the end of the year, the army of the Arameans advanced against Joash;
They entered Judah and Jerusalem,
they killed all the people of Judah and Jerusalem,
and sent all that they had captured
to the king of Damascus.
For though the army of the Arameans
consisted of only a few,
the Lord left much spoil in their hands,
because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers,
had forsaken them.
They also executed the sentence of punishment on Joash.
For when they had left him in great pains,
his courtiers conspired against him
to avenge the blood of Joash’s son.
They killed him in his bed.
He was buried in the city of David
but not in the tombs of kings.
INTERLUDIUM Ps 89(88), 4-5, 29-30, 31-32, 33-34
He can always count on my mercy.
I have made a covenant with David
I pledged with an oath to my chosen servant:
I will sustain your posterity forever
Your throne shall endure in all ages.
For ever shall he be able to count on my mercy,
my bond with him shall endure for ever.
I will not put an end to his generation
nor his throne, as long as the heavens endure.
If his children become unfaithful to my law
and no longer live according to my commandments ;
If they violate my ordinances
they disobey my commands
then I will punish their transgressions with the rod,
with blows I will make them pay for their guilt.
But I will not deprive him of my favours.
I will remain faithful to what I have promised.
ALLELUIAH Ps 119(118), 18
Alleluia.
Open my eyes to behold, O Lord
the glory of your law.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 6, 24-34
Do not worry about tomorrow.
From the Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew
At that time Jesus said to his disciples :
‘No one can serve two masters :
He will hate the one and love the other ,
Or he will love the one and despise the other.
‘You cannot serve God and mammon.
‘Therefore I say to you
Do not be anxious about your life
for what you shall eat or what you shall drink,
nor about your body,
what you shall put on.
‘Is not life more than food
and the body no more than clothing?
‘Observe the birds in the sky :
they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns
but your heavenly Father feeds them.
‘Are you not then much more than they?
‘And which of you is able
with all your cares to add one cubit to the path of your life?
‘And what do you worry about clothes?
‘Look at the lilies in the field: how they grow.
‘They neither toil nor spin.
‘But I say to you:
Even Solomon in all his splendor
was not clothed like one of them.
‘Now if God were the harvest of the field..,
which is there today
and tomorrow is thrown into the oven
you clothed him thus ,
how much more than you, little believers?
‘So don’t worry about the question :
what shall we eat
or what shall we drink
or what shall we wear?
‘For all these things the heathen pursue.
‘Your heavenly Father knows well that you need all these things.
‘But seek first the kingdom and His righteousness :
then all these things will be given to you.
‘Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow,
for tomorrow takes care of itself.
‘Each day has enough of its own suffering.’
_______________________________________________________________
Continued
Every morning at 1 o’clock
The biblical text of this edition is from the New Translation of the Bible,
© Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations of the liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
_____________________________________________________________________________
Paulinus of Nola was a Roman poet, writer and senator, bishop of Nola.
He was born in 352 in Bordeaux and died on 22 June 431.
H. John Fisher was an English bishop. Beheaded in 1535 in the Tower of London,
due to conflict with Henry VIII’s marriage.
Thomas More was an English jurist and fought for the unity of the Church. He was also imprisoned in the Tower of London for his opposition to Henry VIII’s marriage and murdered. He was sainted in 1935.
Invitation
May I draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation wants to share with you 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
Today’s gospel paints images that we should not take literally. Jesus does not ask us to go through life so carefree that others have to pay for it. Nor is it about being carefree with those we love, or for whom we are responsible. It is a new image for what already applied yesterday: the choice between earthly goods and heavenly treasures. Jesus reminds us of what is essential and what is accessory. His command? Look at the beautiful sides of life, and above all: live! Take time to listen and look around you, to see God in nature and in creation.
FIRST READING 2 Chron. 24, 17-25
Zechariah, whom you killed between the temple and the altar.
From the second book of Chronicles
After the death of Jehoiada the priest
the prominent people of Judah came
and paid homage to King Jehoash.
And the king listened to them.
In those days the people neglected
the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers,
and worshipped sacred poles and idols.
For this sin, fierce wrath fell on Judah and Jerusalem.
The Lord sent prophets upon them to repent;
they warned them, but they would not listen.
Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah,
son of Jehoiada the priest.
He stood before the people and spoke to them.
‘Thus speaks God :
Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD
and find no profit in it?
‘Because you have forsaken the Lord,
He has forsaken you.
But the people conspired against Zechariah
and by order of the king they stoned him with stones
in the courtyard of the temple of the Lord.
So little did King Joash still think
of all the benefits Jehoiada had shown him,
that he had his son Zechariah killed.
He still cried out in his death:
‘May the Lord see him and avenge him.
At the end of the year, the army of the Arameans advanced against Joash;
They entered Judah and Jerusalem,
they killed all the people of Judah and Jerusalem,
and sent all that they had captured
to the king of Damascus.
For though the army of the Arameans
consisted of only a few,
the Lord left much spoil in their hands,
because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers,
had forsaken them.
They also executed the sentence of punishment on Joash.
For when they had left him in great pains,
his courtiers conspired against him
to avenge the blood of Joash’s son.
They killed him in his bed.
He was buried in the city of David
but not in the tombs of kings.
INTERLUDIUM Ps 89(88), 4-5, 29-30, 31-32, 33-34
He can always count on my mercy.
I have made a covenant with David
I pledged with an oath to my chosen servant:
I will sustain your posterity forever
Your throne shall endure in all ages.
For ever shall he be able to count on my mercy,
my bond with him shall endure for ever.
I will not put an end to his generation
nor his throne, as long as the heavens endure.
If his children become unfaithful to my law
and no longer live according to my commandments ;
If they violate my ordinances
they disobey my commands
then I will punish their transgressions with the rod,
with blows I will make them pay for their guilt.
But I will not deprive him of my favours.
I will remain faithful to what I have promised.
ALLELUIAH Ps 119(118), 18
Alleluia.
Open my eyes to behold, O Lord
the glory of your law.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 6, 24-34
Do not worry about tomorrow.
From the Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew
At that time Jesus said to his disciples :
‘No one can serve two masters :
He will hate the one and love the other ,
Or he will love the one and despise the other.
‘You cannot serve God and mammon.
‘Therefore I say to you
Do not be anxious about your life
for what you shall eat or what you shall drink,
nor about your body,
what you shall put on.
‘Is not life more than food
and the body no more than clothing?
‘Observe the birds in the sky :
they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns
but your heavenly Father feeds them.
‘Are you not then much more than they?
‘And which of you is able
with all your cares to add one cubit to the path of your life?
‘And what do you worry about clothes?
‘Look at the lilies in the field: how they grow.
‘They neither toil nor spin.
‘But I say to you:
Even Solomon in all his splendor
was not clothed like one of them.
‘Now if God were the harvest of the field..,
which is there today
and tomorrow is thrown into the oven
you clothed him thus ,
how much more than you, little believers?
‘So don’t worry about the question :
what shall we eat
or what shall we drink
or what shall we wear?
‘For all these things the heathen pursue.
‘Your heavenly Father knows well that you need all these things.
‘But seek first the kingdom and His righteousness :
then all these things will be given to you.
‘Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow,
for tomorrow takes care of itself.
‘Each day has enough of its own suffering.’
_______________________________________________________________
Continued
Every morning at 1 o’clock
The biblical text of this edition is from the New Translation of the Bible,
© Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations of the liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
_____________________________________________________________________________