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
When we have experienced something special,
we like to share it with others.
The evangelist Luke allowed himself to be touched
by the figure of Jesus of Nazareth.
In Jesus’ words he discovered a message full of love and hope.
He found this message worth
to tell and share with others.
On this Sunday of the Word of God, let us too be touched
by the joy the Lord gives us
in the words He speaks to us through the ages.
FIRST READING Neh. 8, 2-4a. 5-6. 8-10
They read from the book of God’s law and explained the meaning so that all understood the reading.
From the book of Nehemiah
In those days the priest Ezra brought the book of the law
Before the assembly
‘.It was the first day of the seventh month.
From dawn till noon, Ezra read from the book
in the square in front of the Water Gate
in front of men and women
and of all who could follow.
The people listened attentively
to the reading of the book of law.
Ezra, the scribe, stood on a wooden platform
which had been stored for the occasion.
In front of all the people
-for he towered above them all –
Ezra opened the book.
At that moment everyone stood up.
Ezra praised the Lord, the great God,
and all the people answered, ‘Amen, amen!’
They raised their hands, they bowed their heads
and they worshipped the Lord
with their faces to the ground.
They read from the book of God’s law,
explained it and explained the meaning,
so that all understood the reading.
Then Nehemiah, the governor, said,
Ezra, the priest and scribe,
and the Levites who gave the interpretation,
to all the people:
‘This day is dedicated to the Lord your God.
‘Ye must not therefore grieve or weep.’
Indeed, the whole people had burst into tears
when they heard the words of the law.
And they said to them:
‘Come, go and eat well and drink sweet wine with it
and share of it to those who have nothing,
for this day is dedicated to our Lord.
Do not be sad, but the joy that the Lord gives you
be your strength.’
RESPONSORIAL Ps 19(18) 8, 9, 10, 15
Keervers
Your words, Lord, are spirit and life.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
it strengthens the uncertain spirit.
His precepts are trustworthy,
they make the ignorant wise.
Lawful are all His commands,
satisfying to the mind.
Clear as glass are his commandments,
they are a light to the eye.
The word of the Lord is fair,
it remains true for ever.
His judgments are true,
righteous in every matter.
Let all my speaking and thinking
be acceptable to You, Lord,
before You, my rock and saviour.
SECOND READING 1 Cor 12:12-30
You are the body of Christ, and every one of you is a member of this body.
From the holy apostle Paul’s first letter to the Christians
of Corinth
Brothers and sisters,
The human body
with its many limbs forms one whole;
All the limbs, however many, together make up one body.
So it is also with Christ.
All of us, Jews and Greeks, slaves and free,
in the power of one and the same Spirit
became one body through baptism
and all of us were watered with one Spirit.
After all, a body does not consist of one member
but of many members.
Suppose the foot says:
‘because I am not a hand ,
I do not belong to the body’,
does it therefore not belong to the body?
If the whole body was eye ,
where did that leave the hearing?
If the whole was hearing,
where was the smell?
In reality, however, God has given the limbs and organs
each individually designated their place in the body
as He willed.
If they all formed one member together ,
where did that leave the body?
In fact, however, there are many limbs,
but only one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand:
‘I don’t need you’
nor the head to the feet:
‘I don’t need you’.
Even stronger:
the very parts of the body that seem to be the weakest,
are indispensable.
And those we consider less honourable,
we surround with greater honour.
Our less noble limbs
are treated with greater delicacy,
the others don’t need it.
God composed the body in such a way
that He gave greater honour to the lesser,
so that there would be no division in the body
and the limbs would care for each other in unison.
When one member suffers,
all the members share in the suffering;
one member is honoured,
all share in the joy.
Well, ye are the body of Christ
and every one of you is a member of this body.
Now God has appointed in the Church all kinds of people:
first, apostles,
secondly prophets,
thirdly teachers;
further, there are miracle workers,
then gifts of healing, counselling, administration and many tongues.
Are sometimes all apostles,
all prophets, all teachers,
all miracle workers?
Do all have gifts of healing?
Do all speak in rapture?
Can all give explanations?
Verse for the gospel Lk. 1, 1-4; 4, 14-21
The Word of Scripture is now fulfilled.
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
Already many have tried to
to recount the events
that have taken place among us,
on the basis of the information given to us
by people who were eyewitnesses from the very beginning
and entered into the service of the word.
Hence, noble Teófilus, I too decided
– after having carefully examined everything from the beginning –
to write an orderly report for you,
with the intention of making you understand
how reliable is the teaching in which you have been taught.
At that time, Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit
returned from the desert 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.
He went according to His custom
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 to the poor the Good News,
to make known to prisoners their release
and to the blind that they may see;
to make the oppressed go free,
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.’
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
International power
170. I allow myself to reiterate that ‘the financial crisis of 2007-
2008 was an opportunity to develop a new economy that was more
attention to ethical principles, and to a new regulation
of speculative financial activity and virtual wealth. But there has been no
response that has led to rethinking the
outdated criteria that continue to dominate the world’. What’s more, it seems
that the actual strategies that have subsequently developed in the world
are aimed at more individualism, less integration, more
freedom for the truly powerful, who always find a way to
get away with this unscathed.
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
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