St Johanna Francisca de Chantal was born in 1572 in Dijon
Died in 1641
Founded the Order of Visitation
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.
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
We begin the readings from the prophet Ezekiel, the prophet of exile. He was probably part of the first group of exiles in 597 before the destruction of Jerusalem in 587. So the city has not yet been taken, nor the temple destroyed, but Ezekiel sees the royal throne of God and his glory present in the place of exile. God is not bound to his temple. He is with exiles in exile. He is enthroned there on the cherubim.
FIRST READING Ez. 1, 2-5,24-28
Appearance of the Lord’s glory.
From the Prophet Ezekiel
On the fifth day of the month,
in the fifth year of King Jehoiakin’s exile,
the word of the Lord was addressed
to the priest Ezekiel, the son of Bazi ;
who was in the land of the Chaldeans,
by the river, the Kebar:
There the hand of the Lord touched him.
I looked up and saw a storm wind,
coming from the north,
a heavy cloud with flashing fire, surrounded by radiant glow.
And inside, in the middle of the fire ,
was something that looked like sparkling metal.
And in the middle of it was something
that looked like four living creatures.
And their sight was such ,
that they had the shape of a human being.
I heard the thrumming of their wings ;
it sounded like the rush of great waters,
like the voice of the Almighty.
When they moved forward, there was a thumping sound,
like the murmur of an army.
When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
This happened, when a voice echoed
above the vault, which was above their heads :
then they stood still and lowered their wings.
And above the vault, which was above their heads,
was something that looked like sapphire;
it had the shape of a throne.
And on that which had the shape of a throne,
seated on it, was a figure that looked like a human being.
I saw something that sparkled like metal ;
From that which seemed its hips towards the top,
it looked like a fire, surrounded by a shell;
and downwards from that which its hips resembled,
I saw something that looked like a fire,
surrounded by a radiant glow.
It looked like the arch
that comes into the clouds on rainy days :
that’s what that radiant glow around it looked like.
That was the sight of the appearance
of the glory of the Lord.
I saw her and threw myself down,
with my face on the ground.
Interludium Ps 148, 1-2, 11-12ab, 12c -14b, 14cd
Full are heaven and earth of your glory.
Praise the Lord from all heaven,
praise Him, all that is above.
Praise Him, all His angelic hosts,
praise Him, all His armies.
Princes of the earth with all your peoples,
lords and judges in all the land;
young men and young girls,
greybeards and children, all together ;
Let them now praise the Name of the Lord,
For this Name alone is exalted.
Glorious is He above earth and heaven,
glorious He also made our people.
He is the glory of all His faithful,
of Israel’s people, His own possession.
ALLELUIA Ps. 119(118), 135
Alleluia.
Let your Face shine before your servant, Lord,
show me your dispositions.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 17, 22-27
They will kill the Son of Man,
but on the third day He will rise.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew
While they were still gathered in Galilee
Jesus spoke to his disciples :
“The Son of Man
will be delivered into the hands of men ,
and they will kill Him,
but on the third day He will rise.”
They were greatly grieved.
When they had arrived in Capernaum
the inners of the temple tax came
approached Peter and said:
“Doesn’t your Master pay the didrachmas?”
He replied :
“Certainly!”
But when Peter entered the house
Jesus prevented him with the words:
“What do you think, Simon?
“From whom do earthly princes levy tolls or taxes ,
from their children or from strangers?”
And when he answered : From strangers, Jesus said to him :
“So the children are free.
“Yet, in order not to give them offence :
go to the lake,
cast out thy hook and seize the first fish that comes up ;
open its mouth and thou shalt find a stater ;
pay with it for Me and for you.”
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On brotherhood and social friendship
Without borders
3. There is an episode in his life that shows us his boundless heart,
capable of transcending the distances resulting from origin, nationality, colour or
religion. That is his visit to Sultan Malik-al-Kamil in
Egypt, a visit that involved great effort for him
because of his poverty, the few resources he possessed, the distance and the
difference in language, culture and religion. That journey at that historic moment
which was marked by the Crusades, showed even more the greatness of the
love he wanted to experience in his desire to embrace all.
Faithfulness to his Lord was proportional to his love for his brothers and
sisters. Ignoring the difficulties and dangers, Saint
Francis met the sultan with the same attitude as he required of his
disciples required: that they should – without denying their identity – “go into the
amidst the Saracens or other non-believers […] not quarrel or
dispute, but be subject to every human creature out of love
for God”.
In that context, it was an extraordinary request. It touches
us how eight hundred years ago Francis recommended any form of
aggression or contention and also to live a humble and fraternal “submission” even before those who did not share their faith
shared.
To be continued
Every morning at 1 am
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
Fratelli tutti Official English translation
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