First Spanish martyr under emperor Diocletian. Died 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
‘While praying, it dawns on me that I am connected to God, loved by Him, in His hands, even when I encounter darkness and resistance. Disconcerting is this love, a near nothingness, a gossamer thread through the darkness. And I know it can slip away from me if I neglect that one hour I was asked to keep vigil ‘lest I fall into temptation’. That is why I, along with a lot of spiritual masters from other religious traditions of humanity, believe that we must persevere in prayer. I must pray without expecting anything in return’.
(Brother Christian de Chergé, L’invincible espérance)
FIRST READING Hebrews 7, 1-3.15-17
Thou art priest forever in the manner of Melchisedec.
From the letter to the Hebrews
Brothers and sisters,
Melchisedec,
king of Salem, priest of God the Most High,
came to meet Abraham
when he had defeated the kings
And he blessed him;
and Abraham gave him a tenth part of everything.
The name Melchisedec first means
king of righteousness;
next, he is king of Salem, which is ‘prince of peace’.
He has no father, no mother, no family tree;
his life has neither beginning nor end.
He resembles the son of God; he remains a priest forever.
All this becomes much clearer when we consider
that as the likeness of Melchisedec a new priest rises,
who became a priest
not by virtue of legally required descent
but by virtue of an imperishable life.
For to Him the testimony refers:
Thou art priest forever in the manner of Melchisedec.’
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 110 (109), 1, 2, 3, 4
Thou art priest forever in the manner of Melchisedec.
The Lord spake unto my lord: sit at my right hand;
I lay thy enemies as a footstool before thy feet.
From Zion the Lord stretch forth the sceptre of thy power;
Rule in the midst of your adversaries.
Your people stand around you in white armour,
the young men in the field like morning dew.
Sworn is the Lord, it shall not repent:
Thou art a priest like Melchisedec for ever.
ALLELUIA Ps. 119 (118), 34
Alleluia.
Give me understanding to observe Your law, Lord,
to follow it with all my heart.
Alleluia.
Gospel Mk. 3, 1-6
Is it not lawful on Sabbath to save someone rather than to kill?
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
In those days Jesus went to the synagogue
where a man was present with a shriveled hand.
The Pharisees were watching Him
to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath,
with the intention of accusing Him of doing so.
He now said to the man with the shrivelled hand:
‘Come and stand in the middle.’
Thereupon He asked them the question:
‘Is it not lawful on Sabbath to do good rather than evil,
to save anyone than to kill?’
But they remained silent.
Then He left wrathful,
but at the same time saddened by the inflexibility of their hearts
circulated His gaze
and said to the man:
‘Hold out your hand.’
He held out his hand
and it was healthy again.
The Pharisees went out
and soon they were plotting with the Herodians
to get Him out of the way.
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
166. All this would be very inconsistent if we
lose the ability to recognise the need for a change in the heart, the
habits and lifestyle of human beings. That is what happens, when the
political propaganda, the media and the creators of public opinion
insist on fuelling an individualistic and naive
culture in the face of unregulated economic interests and an
organisation of corporations at the service of those who already have too much power.
Therefore, my critique of the technocratic paradigm does not mean
that we will be safe if we try to control the excesses,
because the greatest danger lies not in things, in the
material reality, in organisations, but in the way the
people use them. The issue is human frailty, the
constant human tendency towards selfishness, which is part of what the
Christian tradition calls ‘desire’: man’s tendency to shut himself up
into the immanence of one’s own self, of one’s own group, of one’s
own petty interests. This covetousness is not a defect of our
time. It has existed, since man has been human, and simply changes,
takes different forms in the course of the centuries and uses
the instruments that the historical moment puts at its disposal.
However, it is possible to control it with God’s help.
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 and Sundays
Fratelli tutti official English translation
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