Saint Januarius was bishop of Benevento and a martyr
during the persecution of Christians
by emperor Diocletian.
Invitation
May I draw your attention to
the daily Gospel reading
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 God’s Word.
Available every day
Consideration
With Paul we find the oldest surviving text on the institution of the Eucharist. Today we read one of the oldest creeds. It formulates the ancient core of our faith: we confess that Christ, having died for our sins, has risen and been revealed. Beyond tradition, it also bears personal witness. In this testimony we hear both the echo of Corinthian criticism and his pride in being a true apostle.
FIRST READING Cor. 15:1-11
This we have proclaimed and this you have believed.
From the holy apostle Paul’s first letter to the Christians of Corinth
Brothers and sisters,
I call your attention to the gospel which I have preached to you,
which you have received,
upon which you have been founded
and by which you have also been saved:
In what words did I proclaim it to you?
I assume you have remembered them;
Otherwise you would have accepted the faith without question.
In the first place, I passed on to you what I myself received as lore.
What I myself have received as tradition,
namely, that Christ died for our sins,
according to the Scriptures
and that he was buried
and that he rose on the third day,
according to the scriptures,
and that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.
After that He appeared
to more than five hundred brethren at once,
most of whom are still alive,
though some had died.
Then He appeared to James,
then to the apostles.
And finally, he also appeared to me,
the knave.
Yes, I am the least of the apostles,
not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by God’s grace I am what I am.
And His grace to me has not been in vain.
I have worked harder than all the others,
not me, but the grace of God with me.
But whether it is them or me ,
that is what we proclaim and that is what you have believed.
INTERLUDIUM Ps 118(117), 1-2, 16ab-17, 28
Thank the Lord, for he is gracious.
Or: Alleluia.
Thank the Lord, for he is merciful,
for his mercy is infinite.
Say it again, tribes of Israel:
His mercy is infinite!
The Lord intervened with a mighty hand,
the hand of the Lord lifted me up,
the hand of the Lord was mighty.
I shall not die, but live
and everything around is the Lord’s work.
My dear God, You are and I thank You,
my God, I proclaim Your glory.
ALLELUIA Jak. 1, 21
Alleluia.
Accept with meekness the word of God
which is planted in you
And possesses the power to save your souls.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 7, 36-50
His sins were forgiven him, even though they were numerous
Because he showed great love.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
One day, one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him.
Jesus entered the Pharisee’s house and sat down.
A woman, who was known in the city as a sinner,
had come to know
that Jesus was a guest in the Pharisee’s house.
She took an alabaster cup of balm
and stood weeping behind Him at His feet.
Her tears wet His feet,
which she wiped off with her hair.
She kissed them again and again and anointed them with her balm.
Seeing this, the Pharisee who had invited Him said
to himself:
‘If this man were a prophet, he would know
who and what kind of woman she is;
After all, she is a sinner.
Jesus answered him:
‘Simon, I must tell you something’.
To which he said:
‘Say it, Master’.
‘A moneylender had two debtors,
one owed him five hundred,
the other owed him fifty and ten pence.
‘Since they could not repay him
he cancelled them both.
‘Which of them will want him more now?’
‘I think so.
– Simon replied, ‘I think so.
‘The one to whom I have forgiven more.
Jesus said to him :
‘Your judgement is right.’
Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon:
‘Do you see that woman there?
‘I came into your house;
You did not even pour water on my feet
but my feet were wet with her tears
and she wiped them with her hair.
‘You didn’t even give me a kiss ,
but she, from the moment I came in
never stopped kissing my feet.
‘You didn’t even anoint my head with oil
but she anointed my feet with balm.
‘Therefore I say to you
her sins are forgiven her, though they have been many,
for she has shown much love.
‘Little love is shown
To whom little is forgiven.
Then he said to her:
‘Your sins are forgiven you’.
The companions wondered:
‘Who is this man who forgives even sins?’
Jesus said to the woman :
‘Your faith has saved you: go in peace’.
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
41. I realize that some people are hesitant and fearful with regard to migrants. I consider this part of our natural instinct of self-defence. Yet it is also true that an individual and a people are only fruitful and productive if they are able to develop a creative openness to others. I ask everyone to move beyond those primal reactions because “there is a problem when doubts and fears condition our way of thinking and acting to the point of making us intolerant, closed and perhaps even – without realizing it – racist. In this way, fear deprives us of the desire and the ability to encounter the other”.
Continued
Every day at 1 am
The Bible text in this issue is from the Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling,
© Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Reflections on liturgical suggestions for the week and Sunday
Fratelli tutti Official English translation