Thirteen-year-old martyr. Born in the nineties of the third century.
Patron saint of chastity.
Invitation
May I hereby draw your attention to
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
To keep us on our feet and steadfast in our purpose, we need to do the same as people walking on ice. They hold each other by the hand, or support each other under the arm. If someone slips, the other makes sure he does not fall, and vice versa, one also supports the other, when the latter in turn threatens to slip. Our life on earth is like walking on the ice, because every time there are occasions to stagger and fall. (Francis de Sales, Conferences, p.36)
FIRST READING Hebrews 6, 10-20
Hope is the safe and firm anchor of our souls.
From the letter to the Hebrews
Brothers and sisters,
God is just ;
He cannot forget
what ye have done for love of His name :
All the services ye have rendered and still render to the saints.
But I wish
That every one of you continue to show the same ardent zeal
until your hopes are completely fulfilled.
Ye must not become lazy,
but you should take an example from those
who by faith and patience gain part in the promises.
When God made His promise to Abraham
He swore by Himself
since He had no one above Himself to swear by :
‘I promise that I will bless you
and make your descendants numerous.’
Abraham therefore received what was promised to him,
after waiting long and patiently.
People swear by a higher power,
and the oath is for them the highest form of affirmation
that must exclude all contradiction.
And so God sought to vouch for his promise with an oath,
to show the heirs of the promise
show even more clearly how unshakably firm his decision was.
God has thus committed two irrevocable acts
which make it impossible for Him to deceive us ;
and us refugees, they strongly urge
us to cling to the hope of salvation.
Hope is the safe and firm anchor of our souls.
It penetrates, within the sanctuary
where Jesus has entered for us as forerunner
now that He has become an eternal high priest
in the manner of Melchisédek.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 111(110), 1-2, 4-5, 9, 10c
Always the Lord remembers His covenant.
Or : Alleluia.
To the Lord I give thanks from all my heart,
in the midst of the pious, for all the congregation.
Great is all that He performs,
captivating the attention of all who contemplate it.
Miracles He performed never to be forgotten,
kindly and lovingly the Lord shows Himself.
Food He gives to those who worship Him,
always remembering His covenant.
He has brought salvation to His people,
made His covenant with them forever;
holy and highly honoured is His Name,
in eternity He must be praised.
ALLELUIA Ps. 119(118), 27
Alleluia.
Lead me in the way of your commands, Lord,
then I will be mindful of your deeds.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mk. 2, 23-28
The Sabbath was made for the sake of man but not man for the Sabbath.
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Mark
Once Jesus went through the cornfields on a Sabbath
and His disciples, while going, began to pick ears of wheat.
The Pharisees said to Him :
‘Why are they doing something on the Sabbath that is not lawful?’
He answered them in reply :
‘Hast thou never read what David did, when he was in want
and he and his companions went hungry ?
‘How he under high priest Abjatar
went into the house of God
and ate of the showbread, which only the priests are allowed to eat,
and how he also gave of it to his companions ?’
And He added :
‘The Sabbath was made for man’s sake
but not man for the sake of the Sabbath.
So the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath.’
__________________________________________________
Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
165. True charity is able to integrate all this in its devotion,
and even when expressed in an encounter from
person to person, it is capable of reaching a distant or even ignored brother or
a sister through the various means provided by the
institutions of an organised, free and creative society
can produce. Similarly, in this particular
case needed an inn that allowed him to solve what he
could not provide on his own at that time. Charity is realistic and
wastes nothing necessary for a historical change that is
aimed at the welfare of the least. On the other hand, leftist
ideologies or social doctrines associated with individualistic
habits and inefficient procedures that reach few.
Meanwhile, the mass of the downtrodden remain at the mercy of
ideologies or social doctrines associated with individualistic
habits and inefficient procedures that only few reach.
This shows the need for
not only to grow a spirituality of brotherhood, but
at the same time a more efficient global organisation to help solve the pressing
problems of the abandoned who suffer and
die in poor countries. This in turn implies that there is not one
way out, one acceptable methodology, one economic recipe that must be applied in
the same way for all, and assumes that even
the most rigorous science can propose different paths.
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
__________________________________________________________________