Matthew is one of the four evangelists who lived the life of Jesus.
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
Today the Church celebrates St Matthew, the tax collector who was called by Jesus to follow him. Why did Jesus call a tax collector? What qualities made him suitable as a disciple? Aren’t tax collectors and sinners mentioned at the same time in the Gospels? But it is also written about this man: ‘He got up and followed Him’. With the Lord, it does not count what a person owns, or who he is, or even how often he has fallen short in his life. With Jesus, only the willingness with which someone responds to his invitation counts. For Matthew, his lucrative profession, his income, his livelihood no longer matter. He has found the One from whom he can expect more than all that: the true meaning of life.
FIRST READING Ephesians 4.1-7.11-13
He made some into apostles, others into prophets.
From the holy apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians in
Ephesus
Brothers and sisters,
I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you:
Live a life that responds
to the calling you have received from God ,
in all humility and meekness, with longsuffering, loving one another.
Loving one another.
Strive
to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace:
One body and one Spirit,
as also you are called to one hope,
of which God’s calling is the guarantee.
One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
One God and Father of all,
who is above all, with all and in all.
But to each of us, individually, grace is given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
According to the measure of Christ’s gift:
Some he made apostles, others prophets,
others evangelists, others shepherds and teachers.
Thus He equipped the saints for the work of ministry,
for the edification of the body of Christ,
until we all
into unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God,
to the perfect Man,
to the fullness of the fullness of Christ.
INTERLUDIUM Ps 19(18), 2-3, 4-5
His call echoes over the whole earth.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
the firmament shows us the work of his hands.
The day calls him to the next day
The night calls him to the night.
No word is uttered, no voice echoes, no sound is heard.
no sound is heard;
yet his call echoes all over the earth,
his message penetrates to the ends of the earth.
ALLELUYA
Alleluia.
Thee, O God, we praise.
You, O Lord, we praise.
You praise the glorious choir of the apostles.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 9, 9-13
Follow me. The man stood up and followed him.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew
At that moment Jesus went on
and saw someone sitting by the toll house
whose name was Matthew.
He said to him:
‘Follow me.’
The man got up and followed him.
As he sat at the table in his house
there were many tax collectors and sinners
with Jesus and his disciples.
When the Pharisees saw this
they said to his disciples:
‘Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners?’.
Jesus heard this and said:
‘It is not the healthy who need a physician, but the sick.
‘Go and learn what this means:
I prefer mercy to sacrifice.
‘I have not come to call the righteous ,
but sinners’.
________________________________________________
Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
On the other hand, digital campaigns of hatred and destruction do not – as some would have us believe – constitute the best form of mutual support, but simply an association of individuals united against a perceived common enemy. “Digital media can also expose people to the risk of addiction, isolation and a gradual loss of contact with concrete reality, blocking the development of authentic interpersonal relationships”. They lack the physical gestures, facial expressions, moments of silence, body language and even the smells, the trembling of hands, the blushes and perspiration that speak to us and are a part of human communication. Digital relationships, which do not demand the slow and gradual cultivation of friendships, stable interaction or the building of a consensus that matures over time, have the appearance of sociability. Yet they do not really build community; instead, they tend to disguise and expand the very individualism that finds expression in xenophobia and in contempt for the vulnerable. Digital connectivity is not enough to build bridges. It is not capable of uniting humanity.
Continued
Every morning at 1am
The Bible text of this issue is taken from The New Bible Translation,
The New Bible Translation, ©Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Reflections on liturgical suggestions for weekdays
Fratelli tutti Official English Translation
_______________________________________________________