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
‘Love leaves no room for fear,’ says the first reading. ‘Do not fear,’ Jesus says to the frightened apostles in the storm.This theme ties both readings together. God in Jesus is God-with-us. His love banishes all fear. This is not about illness or accidents, failure or misfortune. From all these things the believer is not spared. It is about the deepest thing a human being can talk about: the experience that God loves us beyond death. Those who trust in the Lord and devote themselves to loving Him and neighbour will hear the word of Jesus: ‘Rest assured. It is I. Do not fear’. If God loves me so much, what things do I fear? What worries do I worry about? Do I hear the Lord saying to me, ‘Do not fear’? Do I trust 100 per cent in Jesus? If not, what is holding me back?
FIRST READING I John 4:19-5:4
He who loves God must also love his brother.
From the first letter of the holy apostle John
Friends,
We love because God first loved us.
But if anyone says he loves God
While he hates his brother,
he is a liar.
For if he does not love his brother whom he sees,
he cannot love God
whom he has never seen.
This commandment, then, we have received from Him :
he who loves God
must also love his brother.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Saviour
is a child of God.
Well, he who loves the father
also loves the child.
If we are to love God and keep his commandments
then we must also love God’s children.
That is our yardstick.
Loving God means
keeping his commandments,
and his commandments are not difficult to keep
for everyone born of God
overcomes the world.
And the weapon with which we overcome the world
is none other than our faith.
INTERLUDIUM Ps 72(71), 2, 14, 15 bc, 17
Him all the princes of the earth honour
And all nations serve Him.
My God grant the king thy wisdom,
the king’s son your justice.
He may rule your people justly,
your poor with equity.
Princes of Tarsis, from distant shores,
send gifts,
Arab rulers and Etiopes pay Him cijns.
In grateful prayer they will remember Him,
Blessing Him every day.
Forever His name remain praised,
in honour as long as there are days.
His name be a blessing to all tribes,
mentioned with praise to all peoples.
ALLELUIA Lk. 4, 18-19.
Alleluia.
The Lord has sent me
To bring to the poor the Good News,
and to make known to prisoners their release.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 4, 14-22a
The Word of Scripture which you have heard
is now fulfilled.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
At that time Jesus returned
in the power of the Spirit returned to Galilee
and people spoke of Him throughout the region.
He was now acting as a teacher in their synagogues
and was universally praised.
This is also how He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.
According to His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day
and stood up to read aloud.
They handed Him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He opened the scroll
and found the place where it was written :
The spirit of the Lord has come upon me ,
because He has anointed me.
He has sent me
to bring the Good News to the poor,
to make known to prisoners their release
and to the blind that they may see ;
to let the oppressed go to freedom,
to proclaim a year of grace from the Lord.
Thereupon He rolled the book closed,
handed it back to the servant and sat down.
In the synagogue, all eyes were tense on Him.
Then He began to address them :
‘The Scripture word which ye have just heard
is now fulfilled.’
All expressed their assent to Him
and marvelled,
that words, so full of grace flowed from His mouth.
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
153. There are powerful countries and large corporations that take advantage of
this isolation and prefer to negotiate with each country individually.
For small or poor countries, on the other hand, the possibility opens up
to conclude regional agreements with neighbours that allow
negotiate as a bloc and can prevent them from becoming
marginal segments dependent on the major powers.
Today, no isolated state is capable of ensuring the general
welfare of its own population.
To be 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.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Fratelli tutti Official English translation.
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