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
In itself, it is significant that the whole of this chapter is devoted to faith. Starting with Abraham, we pass by a whole series of figures who have gone before us in faith. But there is more: The Second Vatican Council drew its inspiration from this, among others, to present the Church as God’s people on the way . This is a particularly rich model of the Church. We are mere strangers and passers-by who behold from afar (in faith) the goal of our journey. We are on our way to a homeland that is not here.
FIRST READING Hebrews 11, 1-2. 8-19
Abraham looked forward to a city
of which God is the designer and builder.
From the letter to the Hebrews
Brothers and sisters,
What is faith?
Faith is a firm ground of what we hope for,
it convinces us of the reality of unseen things.
For their faith, the ancients were mentioned with honour.
By faith
did Abraham respond to the call of God,
and set out for a land
that was destined for him and his heirs ;
he departed without knowing whither.
By faith
he sojourned as a stranger
in the land that had been promised to him ;
he lived there in tents,
as did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise;
For he looked forward to the city with foundations,
of which God is the designer and builder.
By faith, Sara too,
although her time had long since passed
received the power of fruitfulness,
for she knew that He who had made the promise
would keep His word.
Therefore, therefore, to one man ,
and still in his old age
an offspring sprouted,
numerous as the stars in the sky,
countless as the grains of sand on the beach of the sea.
In faith they all died
without having received what was promised to them.
They have seen and greeted salvation only from afar.
They have called themselves
called strangers and passers-by on earth.
Those who speak like this clearly indicate
that they are in search of a homeland.
Had they been homesick for the land of their origin
they could easily have returned,
but their desire was for a better homeland,
the heavenly one.
That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for He has built a city for them.
By faith, Abraham,
when he was put to the test
sacrificed Isaac.
He who had received the promise
was about to sacrifice his only son,
of whom he had been told :
‘Only those who descend from Isaac ,
will count as your offspring.’
For he was convinced
that God even has the power to raise the dead to life ;
and from death he has, so to speak
recovered his son too.
INTERLUDIUM Lk. 1, 69-70, 71-72, 73-75
Praised be the Lord, the God of Israel,
for He cares for His people and delivers them.
A saviour He has begotten for us
in the lineage of David, His faithful;
as He had declared from of old
through His holy prophets :
Deliverance from the power of our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus will He be merciful to our fathers,
keep his holy covenant.
The oath of our father Abraham sworn
to grant us once ;
To be delivered from the grip of enemies
To serve Him without fear ;
in piety and righteousness
all our days before His Face.
ALLELUIA Mt 11:25
Alleluia.
I praise Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because You have revealed these things to children.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mk. 4, 35-41
Who is He anyway, that even wind and water obey Him ?
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
On a certain day, towards nightfall,
Jesus spoke to his disciples :
‘Let us cross over.’
They sent the people away
and took Him as He sat there in the boat ;
Other boats accompanied Him.
A violent storm arose
and the waves beat over the boat so that it was already filling up.
Meanwhile, Jesus was sleeping on the cushion at the stern.
They woke Him up and told Him :
‘Master, does it not touch You that we are perishing?’
He stood up,
addressed a compelling word to the wind
and spoke to the water :
‘Be silent!’
The wind died down and it became perfectly silent.
He spoke to them :
‘Why are you so afraid?
‘How is it possible that you do not yet have faith?’
They were overcome by a great fear and asked one another :
‘Who is He that even wind and water obey Him?’
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
A social and political charity
176. For many today, politics is a dirty word, and one cannot
deny that behind this fact are often the mistakes, the corruption, the inefficiency
of some politicians. Added to this are the strategies that
aimed at weakening it, replacing it with the economy or
dominate it with some ideology. And yet, can the world function
without politics? Can it find an efficient path to universal
brotherhood and social peace without good politics?
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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