One of the 12 apostles
Founder and first bishop of the Church
of Byzantium
Invitation
May I hereby draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation wishes 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
Of the disciples who followed Jesus, most practised an independent profession: Andrew, like so many of his peers, was a simple fisherman. From what was written about the apostles, they were not quiet, pious, pensive people, but people with temperament, with talents and flaws, headstrong and selfish, then enthusiastic and persuasive. What was decisive for Jesus to choose them as his disciples was their openness to the world, their daring, their boldness, the simplicity with which they looked at the essentials. In this way, they paved the way for today’s Church. For our witness to be heard, we must joyfully devote ourselves to God’s cause, with a view of the whole and the essential, with the courage and confidence to face people, with the enthusiasm to do what is asked of us: boldly proclaim the message of the Gospel.
FIRST READING Rom. 10, 9-18
Faith arises through preaching,
and preaching is done at the behest of Christ.
From the letter of the holy apostle Paul to the Christians of Rome
Brothers and sisters,
If your mouth confesses that Jesus is Lord,
and if your heart believes
that God raised Him from the dead ,
ye shall be saved.
The faith of thy heart brings righteousness
and the confession of thy mouth salvation.
Thus Scripture says:
‘No one who believes in Him will be disappointed.’
There is no difference between Jew and Gentile.
They all have the same Lord,
rich in gifts for all who call on Him.
For all who call on the name of the Lord,
shall be saved.
But how can one call on Him
without believing in Him?
How can one believe in Him
Without having heard of Him?
How can one hear of Him
If no one proclaims Him?
And how shall they proclaim Him
if they have not been sent?
As it is written:
‘How lovely are the feet of those
who bring the good news.’
But not all have heeded the good news.
Isaiah already says:
‘Lord, who has given faith to our preaching?’
Thus, then, faith arises through preaching
and preaching is done at the behest of Christ.
But, I ask,
did they perhaps not hear her?
Yet they did: ‘Their sound spread over the whole earth
and their words echoed to the ends of the world.’
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 19(18), 2-3, 4-5
Over all the earth their cry resounds.
The heavens proclaim God’s glory,
the firmament shows us the work of his hands.
The day calls it to the next day,
the night passes it on to the night.
No word is spoken, no voice echoes,
no sound is heard;
yet all over the earth their call resounds,
their message penetrates to the edge of the world.
ALLELUIA Mt 4, 19
Alleluia.
Come, follow Me ;
I will make you fishers of men.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 4:18-22
Immediately they abandoned their nets and followed Him.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
Once when Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee,
He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter
and his brother Andrew.
They were casting out the net into the lake;
for they were fishermen.
He spoke to them:
‘Come, follow Me;
I will make you fishers of men.’
Immediately they abandoned their nets and followed Him.
A little further on, He saw two more brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
with their father Zebedeeus they were in the boat
preparing the nets.
He called to them,
and immediately they left the boat and their father
and followed Him.
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
113. In this sentence, I again note with sadness that ‘for too long we have accepted moral
decay by playing a game of ethics,
goodness, faith and honesty. And the time has come to recognise
that this cheerful superficiality has brought us little. This
destruction of the foundation of social life leads us to become
up against each other to defend our own interests’.
Let us focus on promoting the good for ourselves and all of
humanity and thus we will move towards real and integral
growth. Every society must ensure the transmission of values
because, if this does not happen, selfishness, violence, corruption in its various
forms, indifference and finally a life that is closed to any transcendence
closed and entrenched in individual interests,
will be transmitted.
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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