Benedictine monk. Considered an apostle of the Anglo-Saxons.
Born 525 ? Died 26 May 604
Invitation
May I hereby draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation wants to make You partakers of 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
Jesus denounces another contradiction today: the contradiction between who we really are, and how we present ourselves. By this He does not mean that we should now just show off all our hidden flaws and small sides to others. He asks us to face up to our own brokenness and sinfulness, without seeking excuses for that reality or justifying it (‘all people are sinners after all’). Then we will become humble people, who – in Paul’s words – may ‘glory in their weakness’.
FIRST READING 2 Thess. 3, 6-10. 16-18
If anyone will not work, neither will he eat.
From the holy apostle Paul’s second letter to the Christians of Thessalonica
Brothers and sisters,
We command you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
shun every brother who shuns labour
and does not live according to the tradition
which ye have received from us.
How ye should follow us is known to you ;
we have shunned no work with you
And eaten no one’s bread for nothing.
Day and night we have labored
with much effort and trouble
in order not to be a burden to any of you.
Not that we have no right to do so
but we wanted to set an example to follow.
Even when we were with you, we kept telling you this rule :
if someone does not want to work he will not eat either.
The Lord of peace,
He grants you peace, always and in all kinds of ways.
The Lord be with you all.
I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.
This is a hallmark in every letter.
Such is my handwriting.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 128(127), 1-2, 4-5
Happy who fear God.
Happy who fear God,
go the way of the Lord.
Ye shall eat the fruit of your own labour,
content and prosperous shalt thou be.
Yes, so blessed is every man
who gives honour to the Lord.
You bless the Lord from Zion ;
may thou see Jerusalem prosperous
as long as thy days last.
ALLELUIA Mt 11, 25
Alleluia.
I praise Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because Thou hast
have revealed to children.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 23:27-32
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees
sons of prophet murderers.
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
At that time Jesus spoke :
‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
‘Ye resemble limbed tombs that look beautiful on the outside ,
but inside they are full of bones
and all manner of uncleanness.
‘So also ye on the outside look like saints to men
but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
‘Ye build the tombs of prophets
and decorate the tombs of saints
And ye say :
If we had lived in the time of our fathers ,
we would not have been accomplices
to the murder of the prophets !
‘Thou therefore testify against thyself
That thou art sons of prophet murderers.
‘Now then,
make thou full the measure of thy fathers!’
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
19. The lack of children, which causes an ageing population
causes, together with the abandonment in grievous loneliness
of older people, implicitly confirms that everything ends with us, that
only our individual interests count. Thus, ‘not only food and
surplus goods, but often also people are discarded’. We have
seen what happened in certain parts of the world because of the coronavirus
happened to the elderly. They did not have to die like that. But something similar
had actually already happened because of heat waves and in other circumstances: they
were cruelly discarded. We do not realise that the
isolating the elderly and leaving them to the care of others without
adequate and caring guidance from the family maims the family itself
and impoverishes them. Moreover, this ultimately robs the young of the necessary
contact with their roots and with a wisdom that youth can never
can achieve on their own.
To be continued
Every morning at 1 am
The Bible text in this issue is taken from The New Bible Translation,
©Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays
Fratelli tutti Official English translation