St Scholastica was born at Nursia (c. 480-543).
She is the twin sister of St Benedict and patroness against thunderstorms.
Invitation
May I hereby draw your attention to
the 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
The book of Genesis was written down some twenty-six centuries ago, when the Israelites were living in exile. The questions that were on their minds were answered in Genesis: How did everything become the way it is? Where did we come from and where are we going? The book is not a historical scientific work on the how of this world, it is a work of faith that searches for the why of this world. The writer explains theologically what God is concerned with heaven and and earth, with his people, originally. In Israel, God is concerned with the whole earth, the whole of humanity. In other words, Israel is like a testing ground for the whole world. God’s little history with this people therefore stands for the great world history.
FIRST READING Gen 1:1-19
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
From the Book of Genesis
In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was desolate and empty;
darkness lay over the deep,
and a violent wind chased the waters.
Then God spoke :
‘There must be light!’
And there was light.
And God saw that the light was good.
God separated the light from the darkness ;
the light God called day, and the darkness He called night.
It became evening and it became morning ;
That was the first day.
God spoke :
‘There must be a firmament between the waters ,
a separation between one water and another.’
And God made the firmament ;
He separated the waters under the firmament
from the water above it.
So it happened.
The firmament God called heaven.
It became evening and it became morning ;
That was the second day.
God spoke :
‘The water under heaven
must flow together to one place ,
so that the dry becomes visible.’
So it happened.
The dry called God land,
and the confluent water He called sea.
And God saw that it was good.
God spoke :
‘The land should adorn itself with young green grass,
seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each according to its kind
bearing their fruit, with seed in them.’
And out of the land sprung up young green
grass, seed crop, of all kinds,
and trees, each bearing fruit according to its kind,
with seed in them.
And God saw that it was good.
It became evening and it became morning ;
That was the third day.
God spoke :
‘There must be lights in the firmament ,
which shall separate the day from the night;
they must serve as signs ,
both for the feasts and the days and the years
and also as lamps on the vault of heaven
to illuminate the earth.’
So it happened.
God made the two great lamps,
the largest to rule over the day,
the smaller to rule over the night,
and He also made the stars.
God gave them a place in the firmament
To illuminate the earth,
to rule over the day and over the night,
and to keep the light and the darkness apart.
And God saw that it was good.
It became evening and it became morning ;
That was the fourth day.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 104(103), 1-2a, 5-6, 10, 12, 24, 35c
He Lord finds his joy in all his creatures.
Glorify, my soul, the Lord,
How great art Thou, Lord my God!
With glory and splendour art Thou clothed,
Thy mantle is pure light.
Thou hast also set the earth upon her pillars,
in eternity she falters not.
Thou hast given her the primal sea as a garment,
Its waters rose above the mountains.
The springs made Thou flow out like streams,
that penetrate among the mountains.
And on their banks birds nest
And sing among the bushes.
How much is it that Thou hast done, Lord,
and made all things in wisdom,
the earth is full of Thy creatures.
glorify, my soul, the lord :
the lord be praised always !
ALLELUIA John 15, 15b
Alleluia.
I have called you friends, says the Lord,
for I have told you all
What I have heard from the Father.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mk. 6, 53-56
All who touched Jesus became healthy.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Mark
At that time,
when Jesus and his disciples had crossed over,
they reached the shore at Gennésaret and walked into the harbour.
As soon as they stepped out of the boat
the people recognised Him.
They walked all over the region
and they began to carry the sick on their beds to the place
where they heard He was.
Wherever He entered,
in village or town or hamlet,
they laid the sick on the squares and begged Him
if they might at least touch the hem of His robe.
And all who did so became healthy.
________________________________________________________
Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
185. Love needs the light of truth which we constantly
seek and ‘this is at the same time the light of reason and of faith ’
without relativism. This also presupposes the development of the sciences
and their irreplaceable contribution to finding the concrete and most certain
ways to achieve the desired results. For when the
well-being of others is at stake, good intentions are not enough,
but is about actually achieving what they and
their nations need to thrive.
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