It is the feast of all the Christian saints of the world.
Invitation
May I draw your attention to
The daily reading of the Gospel
This invitation seeks to celebrate 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
INTRODUCTION
At every Eucharist, we sing that God is holy.
Today we also sing about the holiness
of so many women and men
who have walked the path of the Gospel to the end.
The lives of the saints inspire and encourage us to give our lives for the gospel.
To give our lives for the gospel.
The beatitudes we listen to today
set us on our way.
Let us open ourselves to these words
and let us join the saints in praising and thanking God.
FIRST READING Apok. 7, 2-4.9-14
I saw a great crowd that no one could count
from every race and tribe and people and tongue.
From the Apocalypse of the holy apostle John
I, John, saw another angel ascending
from the rising of the sun
with the seal of the living God.
And he called with a loud voice to the four angels
who had been given power
to damage the earth and the sea:
‘Do not harm the earth
and the sea and the trees
until we have given the servants of our God the seal on their foreheads .
with the seal on their foreheads’.
And I heard the number drawn :
One hundred and forty-four thousand were
of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
Then I saw a great multitude, which no one could count,
of every race, tribe, people and language.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
clothed in white robes and holding palm branches.
And they all cried out with a loud voice:
‘To our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb belongs the victory .
And to the Lamb belongs the victory.
And all the angels stood around the throne,
the elders and the four beasts,
and fell down before the throne
and worshipped God, saying:
‘Amen!’
Then one of the elders turned to me and said :
‘Who are those in white robes, and where did they come from?
And where did they come from?’
I answered him :
‘Lord, You know.’
Then he said :
‘Those are the ones coming out of the great tribulation ,
who have washed their white robes
in the blood of the Lamb.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 24(23), 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
This is the generation that turns to you
That rises up before you, O Lord our God.
To God belongs the earth and everything on it,
the disk of the earth and all that dwells upon it;
For He founded it on the waters
He has founded it on the sea.
Who shall go up to the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in His sanctuary?
Who is pure in hand and pure in heart?
Who does not fix his eyes on what is evil.
He will be blessed by the Lord
rewarded by God his redeemer.
So will the generation that repents to Him,
who comes before the face of the God of Jacob.
SECOND READING I John 3, 1-3
We will see God as He is.
From the first letter of the holy apostle John.
Friends,
How great is the love the Father has shown us!
We are called children of God
and we are.
The world does not understand us
and does not know us
because it has not recognised Him.
Our friends,
we are already children of God
and what we will be has not yet been revealed;
but we know
that when it is revealed ,
we will be like Him
because we will see Him as He is.
Those who wait for such salvation from God ,
become pure
as Christ is pure.
Alleluia Mt 11.28
Alleluia.
Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden
and laden with burdens
and I will give you rest and refreshment.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 5:1-12a
Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew
When Jesus saw the crowd, he went up the mountain
and when he had descended, his disciples joined him.
He spoke to them and taught them thus:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit ,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are those who mourn
for they shall be comforted.
‘Blessed are the meek
for they shall possess the earth.
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
‘Blessed are those who are merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
For they shall obtain mercy.
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
For they shall see God.
‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God,
for they shall be called children of God.
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake ,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are ye when men taunt you, persecute you, blaspheme you .
And slanderously accuse thee of all kinds of evil for my sake:
‘Rejoice and be glad,
for great is thy reward in heaven’.
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Fratelli Tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
The request of the stranger
84. Finally, I recall that in another passage of the Gospel
Jesus says: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me’ (Mt 25:35).
(Mt 25.35). Jesus was able to utter these words because he had an open heart
that accepted the dramas of the other. Paul
admonished, ‘Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep’ (Rom. 12:15).
(Rom. 12:15). When the heart adopts this attitude, it is able to
identify with the other person without paying attention to where he or she was born
or where he comes from. When it follows this dynamic, it experiences
ultimately experiences that others are ‘its own flesh’ (cf. Isa 58:7).
Continued
Every day at 1 am
The Bible text in this issue is taken from The New Translation of the Bible,
©Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Reflections on liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Fratelli tutti Official English translation
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