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. Everyone, no one excepted,
can experience that joy by opening their hearts
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day
Consideration
The author clearly speaks with the authority of a prophet. The seven letters have a prophetic accent. Each letter ends with the same warning: he who has ears must hear what the spirit says to the community. This is a call to repentance. This call is very specific, e.g. yesterday: ‘Repent and behave as before’ and today ‘repent’, twice . The end of the reading is remarkable and has had a great impact in spirituality: ‘I stand at the door and knock’. That call has enduring topicality.
FIRST READING Apok. 3, 1-6. 14-22
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and I will have meal with him.
From the Revelation of the holy apostle John
I, John, heard a voice speaking :
‘Write to the angel of the church at Sardes :
Thus speaks He
Who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars :
I know thy deeds :
Ye have the name that ye live but ye are dead.
‘Awake,
restore what is left of thy life and threaten to die.
‘None of thy deeds have I found worthy
before the eye of my God.
‘Remember the word which thou hast received and heard ;
keep it and come to repentance.
‘If ye awake not, I will come like a thief ,
and ye know not at what hour I will surprise you.
‘But ye have some in Sardes
Who have not defiled their garments.
‘These shall lead Me in white robes
For they have earned it.
‘He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white.
‘And I will not blot out his name from the book of life
but confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
‘He who has ears, hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
‘And write to the angel of the church at Laodicea :
Thus speaks ‘Amen’
the faithful and true witness,
the origin of the creation of God :
I know thy deeds :
Thou art neither cold nor hot !
‘Were thou but cold or hot!
‘Because thou art lukewarm and neither hot nor cold ,
therefore I will vomit thee out of my mouth.
‘Thou sayest : I am rich
for I have enriched myself and lack nothing
And ye realize not that ye are more than all,
miserable and wretched,
a blind and naked beggar.
‘Follow My counsel
and buy from Me gold, purified in fire,
to become rich,
and white clothes to clothe thee
and to cover the shame of thy nakedness,
and ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see again.
‘Whom I love, whom I punish and discipline.
‘Well, be noble, come to repentance!
‘I stand at the door and I knock.
‘If anyone hears My voice and opens the door
I will come in to him
and I will have meal with him and he with Me.
‘Whoever overcomes, him I will place beside Me on My throne,
as I myself have overcome
and sit with My Father on His throne.
‘He who has ears, hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 14, 2-3ab, 3cd-4ab, 5
He who overcomes,
him will I place beside Me on My throne.
(Apok, 3, 21).
He who is righteous and lives honourably,
cherishes in his heart no evil plans,
does not deceive with his tongue;
Who does not harm his equals
And does not disgrace his neighbours ;
Who despises the evildoer,
But honours the servants of the Lord ;
Does not lend his property against usury,
is not corruptible as a witness.
He who behaves in this way
shall not falter for ever.
ALLELUIA Ps. 19(18), 9
Alleluia.
Your precepts, Lord, are trustworthy,
ignorant they make wise.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 19, 1-10
The Son of Man has come to seek,
and to save what was lost.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
At that time, Jesus entered Jericho.
As He passed through it,
a certain Zacchaeus,
chief toll collector and a rich man,
to see who Jesus was.
But he did not succeed because of the crowd,
for he was small in stature.
To see Him anyway, he walked fast ahead
and climbed a wild fig tree
because Jesus would pass by there.
When Jesus came to that place
He looked up and said to him:
‘Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must be a guest in your house.’
Zacchaeus came down quickly and received Him full of joy.
All saw this and noted morosely:
‘He has gone to take up residence with a sinner!’
But Zacchaeus stepped up to the Lord and spoke:
‘Lord, by this I donate half my property to the poor ;
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I will give it back to him fourfold.’
Jesus spoke to him:
‘Today salvation has come to this house ,
for this man too is a son of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek ,
and to save what was lost.’
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
102. What reaction might this story provoke today in a
world in which social groups are constantly appearing and growing that are
cling to an identity that separates them from others? How might it move those who tend to organise themselves in such a way as to
impede any outside presence that would make this identity and this
self-defending and self-involved organisation?
In this scheme, the possibility of becoming a neighbour remains excluded and is
it is only possible to become a neighbour to whom the personal benefits can reinforce. Thus, the word ‘neighbour’ loses all meaning,
and the word ‘partner’ gains meaning only for those who are associates
for certain interests.
To be continued
Every day 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 and Sundays
Fratelli tutti Official English translation
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