Invitation
May I draw your attention to
The daily reading of the Gospel
This invitation seeks to convey the joy
of the Gospel. Everyone, without exception
can experience that joy by opening his or her heart
to the healing power of the Word of God.
Available every day
Consideración
The Lord sends a messenger before He Himself comes. This is how He Himself prepares His people to meet Him. This messenger calls the people to turn to one another. The messenger who is announced has a name and a face in the gospel: John, ‘God is merciful’. It is a name with a mission, a vital calling: he will proclaim God’s mercy. John will proclaim a baptism of repentance: we are called to repent for God and for others.
FIRST READING Mal. 3, 1-4 ; 4, 5-6
The prophet Elijah will be resurrected before the day of the Lord arrives.
From the prophet Malachi
Thus speaks the Lord:
‘I am sending my messenger before me
To prepare the way before me.
‘And soon the Lord will come into his sanctuary,
the Lord whom you seek, the angel of the covenant,
whom you look forward to with longing.
‘Beware, for He is coming,’ says the Lord of hosts.
‘But who will be able to endure the day of His coming?
‘Who will stand firm when He appears?
‘For He is like the fire of the foundry,
as the lye of the whiteners.
‘He will melt and purify the silver ,
to purify the Levites and cleanse them, like gold and silver,
so that they may return to offer the required sacrifices to the Lord.
required sacrifices to the Lord.
‘Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord again ,
as in the years of old, in the years of old.
‘Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet
before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.
‘He will win the hearts of the fathers for the children
and the hearts of the children for the fathers;
If not, I will come and punish the land with the curse.’
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 25(24), 4bc-5ab, 8-9, 10, 14
Arise and lift up your heads
for your redemption is at hand (Lk 21:28).
Show me your ways, O Lord
Teach me to know your ways.
Guide me according to your word
For you are my God and my Redeemer.
The Lord is good and just,
therefore he shows sinners the way.
He leads the humble in honourable paths,
He teaches the simple what to do.|
God’s ways are good and trustworthy.
For everyone who keeps his covenant.
The Lord is a friend to those who fear him,
He shows them the value of his covenant.
HALLELUYA
Alleluia.
The day of the Lord is at hand;
Behold, he comes to deliver us.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 1, 57-66
Birth of John the Baptist.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
The time came for Elizabeth to become a mother;
She gave birth to a son.
When her neighbours and relatives heard
how great was the mercy
the Lord had shown her
they shared her joy.
On the eighth day, they came and circumcised the child.
|And they wanted to name him after his father Zechariah.
But his mother replied
‘No, he should be called John.
They answered her:
‘But there is no one in your family with that name.
With gestures, they then asked his father
what he wanted to call him.
He asked for a tablet and wrote on it:
‘John shall be called’.
Everyone was amazed.
Immediately afterwards, his mouth opened,
his tongue was loosened
and proclaimed the praises of God.
Amazement filled everyone around
and throughout the mountainous land of Judea
all the events were told all around.
All who heard it thought about it and wondered :
‘What will become of this child?’
For the hand of the Lord was with him.
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
136. In a broader perspective, with the Grand Imam Ahmad
Al-Tayyeb recalled that ‘the relationship between the West and the East is an indisputable
mutual necessity, which should not be replaced or neglected,
so that by the exchange and
dialogue of cultures with each other to enrich each other’s civilisation.
The West could find in the civilisation of the East remedies
for some of the spiritual and religious diseases caused by the domination of materialism.
And the East might can find in the civilisation of the West many elements
that can help it save itself from the weakness,
division, conflict and scientific, technical and cultural decay. It is important to
pay attention to the religious, cultural and historical differences
that are an essential part of the personality, culture and
civilisation of the East; and it is important to consider
general and common human rights to contribute to
all people in the East and West to live with dignity, avoiding the politics of double standards.
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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