Saint Thomas Aquinas was born c. 1225 and died on 7 March 1274.
He was an Italian philosopher and theologian.
Invitation
May I hereby draw your attention to
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
Reading and interlude form a beautiful unity because Psalm 40, in particular, is quoted. The psalm takes on a deeper meaning in the reading as the writer applies it to the sacrifice of the body of Christ. Obedience to the will of God is more important than sacrifice. In Christ, both coincide so that his sacrifice becomes perfect.
FIRST READING Hebrews 10, 1-10
‘’I have come, O God, to do your will.‘’
From the letter to the Hebrews
Brothers and sisters,
The law shows of the good things that were to come
only a shadow, not their true form.
Therefore it cannot possibly
by the annual dedication of the same sacrifices over and over again
the participants in its cult to perfection.
Otherwise one would have ceased that sacrificial service :
After all, one would once and for all know oneself to be cleansed
and freed from guilt.
But these sacrifices, on the contrary, should
keep the thought of sins alive ;
it is also out of the question
that the blood of bulls and goats would take away sins.
That is why Christ therefore says, when He comes into the world :
‘’Sacrifices and gifts thou hast not wanted ,
but thou hast prepared for me a body.
‘”Burnt offerings and kissing offerings could not please Thee.
‘”Then I said :
Here I am.
‘”As it is written about me in the scroll,
I have come, O God, to do Thy will.”’
First He says :
Sacrifices and gifts,
burnt offerings and kissing offerings Thou hast not wanted,
which could not please Thee
though the law required them to be brought.
And then He says :
Here am I,
I have come to do Thy will.
So He abolishes the first in order to assert the second.
By that will we are sanctified, once for all,
through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 40 (39), 2, 4ab, 7-8a, 10, 11
I come, Lord, to do your will.
With great confidence I have hoped in the Lord,
He has bowed down to me,
heard my cry.
He put in my mouth a new song,
a song to our God.
Gift and sacrifice hast Thou never desired,
but thou hast opened my ears to thy voice.
Thou askest no burnt offering, no kissing offering from me;
so I said, ‘Yes, I come!’
In the assemblies I have preached righteousness,
my lips not closed, Lord, Thou knowest.
I did not keep Your benefits hidden in my heart,
Your faithfulness, Your assistance I made known.
ALLELUIA Ps. 130(129), 5
Alleluia
In the Lord I put my hope,
on his word I trust.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mk. 3, 31-35
My brother and my sister and my mother
are those who fulfil the will of God.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
Once Jesus’ mother and his brothers came ,
and while they remained outside,
they sent someone to call to Him.
There were many people around Him, who relayed the message :
‘Your mother and your brothers out there are asking for You.’
Jesus answered them in reply :
‘Who is my mother ,
who are my brothers?’
And as He passed His gaze
over the people sitting in a circle around Him, He said :
‘Behold my mother and my brothers.
‘For my brother and my sister and my mother are those
who fulfil the will of God.’
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
172. The 21st century ‘is witnessing a loss of power of national
states, especially as the financial-economic world has a transnational
character that tends to dominate politics. In this context
the development of stronger and more effectively organised international
institutions becomes indispensable, with powers that are impartially
determined through agreements between national governments
and with the power to impose sanctions’.
When talking about the possibility of some form
of world authority regulated by law, one need not
not necessarily think of a personal authority.
However, it should at least
provide for the creation of more efficient world organisations, which would have the authority
to ensure the global general welfare, the elimination of hunger and
misery, and the concrete defence of fundamental human rights
guarantee.
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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