St Lucia was born in Sicily in 283
Lived during Christian persecution under
Emperor Diocletian She died in Syracuse in 304
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 readings express a deep wistfulness of missed opportunity. The people of Israel missed their opportunities. “If thou hadst heeded my commandments . .’,speaks the prophet. Jesus‘ contemporaries also missed their opportunity: they do not see in John the Baptist’s coming the foreshadowing of Jesus’ coming. Will they then carelessly disregard the message of God ? Will our time, will we too miss this opportunity ? Not if we look out for God in the places where He comes present. And even after a missed opportunity, God is merciful. From Him, everyone may always make new beginnings again. We too.
FIRST READING Isa 48:17-19
Heed the commandments of the Lord!
From the Prophet Isaiah
Thus speaks the Lord your redeemer, Israel’s Holy One :
‘I am the Lord your God ,
Who will teach thee for thy sake,
and guide thee in the way which thou must go!
‘If you had heeded my commandments
prosperity would have flooded you by now
like a mountain stream,
and your prosperity would have been as vast
as the sea with its waves.
‘Thy offspring would have been numerous as the grains of sand ,
your offspring like the dust :
their name with Me would
never wiped out, never obliterated!’
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 1, 1-2, 3, 4, 6
Whoever follows You, Lord, will possess the light of life
(John 8, 12).
Happy the man who refuses to do
What wicked men advise him ;
Who does not go the ways of sinners,
does not sit in the midst of mockers.
He is like a tree, planted by water,
which bears fruit in its time;
In summer his leaves do not wither,
but everything he does brings him prosperity.
The wicked do not fare so ;
the wind blows them away like chaff.
For the Lord watches the way of the dishes,
the way of sinners is a dead end.
ALLELUIA
Alleluia.
He comes as King and Lord of the earth.
The yoke of exile He will shatter.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 11:16-19
They listen neither to John nor to the Son of Man.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew
At that time Jesus spoke to the crowd :
‘To what shall I compare this generation?
‘It resembles children sitting in the marketplace
and calling out to the other party :
‘We have played the flute for you
and you did not dance;
we have sung a lamentation
and you have not beaten your breast.
‘After all : John comes,
he neither eats nor drinks, and they say :
He is possessed of the devil !
‘The Son of Man comes,
He does eat and drink, and they say :
Look at that glutton and wine drinker,
that friend of tax collectors and sinners !
‘But wisdom finds its justification in its works.’
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
Pope Francis
On brotherhood and social friendship
126. We are talking about a new network of international
relations, because there is no way to solve the serious problems of our
world if we continue to think purely in terms of mutual
assistance between individuals or small groups. We should also not
forget that inequality affects not only individuals but entire countries
and it obliges us to think about an ethics of international
relations. And justice requires that not only individual rights
but also social rights and the rights of peoples should be recognised
and respected. This means that we must find a way
to guarantee peoples’ fundamental right to their survival and
progress, a right that is sometimes seriously hampered by the pressure of
of foreign debt. In many cases, the
repayment of that debt does not promote development, but
also subjects it to many conditions.
To be continued
Every day at 1 am
The Bible text in this edition is taken from The New Bible Translation,
©Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays.
Fratelli tutti English translation