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
What needs to disappear and be removed from our midst? Threatening, falsely accusing fingers? Lies and injustice? People who are oppressed and hungry? What then comes into the midst of us? Light and joy, life, strength and hope. The image of rebuilding ruins is not just the image of destroyed Jerusalem. It is the image of God himself being violated in every human being and needing to be restored again and again. Closing breaches where people have grown apart, bringing life again where it has been hurt and broken, that is surely the task par excellence for our Lent. Follow me, Jesus says in the Gospel.
FIRST READING Isa 58 , 9b-14
When you no longer pursue your advantage, you will find joy in the Lord.
From the Prophet Isaiah
Thus speaks God the Lord :
‘When ye remove from among you the oppression
and the threatening fingers and evil speaking,
when thou openest thine heart to the hungry
and satiate the gloomy ,
then thy light shines in the darkness,
then thy night becomes like noon.
‘Then the Lord will continue to guide thee ;
He will saturate thee in barren places
and to your bones He will give strength.
‘As a sprinkled garden thou shalt then become,
like a spring, whose waters never stay away.
‘Then thou shalt rebuild the old ruins
And restore ye the foundations of old.
‘The breaker’ thou shalt be called,
‘the one who brings life to the streets again’.
‘When on the Sabbath ye
undertake no more journey
and on my holy mountain
no longer pursue your advantage,
when ye call the Sabbath your delight
and observe the holy day of the Lord,
when ye observe that day
by not pursuing your business
and not seeking your advantage
and doing no trading,
then ye shall find joy in the Lord ;
then I will carry you over all the mountains of the earth
and I will let you enjoy
of the inheritance of Jacob thy father.’
Truly, by the mouth of the Lord
is this word spoken !
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 86(85), 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Teach me your way, Lord, to follow it faithfully.
Hear my prayer, Lord, and will answer me,
I am unhappy and poor.
Protect me, for You I am devoted,
Take care of Your servant, he counts on You.
My God be Thou, have mercy on me,
continually I cry out to Thee.
Delight the heart of Your servant, Lord,
I turn to Thee with confidence.
For Thou art good and merciful, Lord,
merciful to every one who calls upon Thee.
Listen then, Lord, to my prayer,
heed my pleading voice.
VERS FOR THE GOSPEL Ez. 18, 31
Cast away all transgressions, which thou hast committed,
from thee, saith the Lord,
And renew thy heart and thy mind.
GOSPEL Lk. 5, 27-32
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, that they may repent.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
At that time,
coming to the toll house, Jesus fixed his gaze
on a tax collector who was sitting there,
a certain Levi.
He said to him :
‘Follow Me.’
The man got up, left everything behind and followed Him.
Levi now offered Him a great feast in his house,
at which, among others, numerous tax collectors dined with them.
The Pharisees,
especially the scribes among them,
grumbled about this to His disciples :
‘Why
-they said
do ye eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners ?’
But Jesus took the floor and spoke :
‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick.
‘I have not come to call the righteous
but sinners ,
that they may repent.’
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
Consensus and truth
211. In a pluralistic society, dialogue is the most appropriate
way to acknowledge what must always be said and respected and
goes beyond casual consensus. We are talking about a dialogue
that must be enriched and enlightened by reasons, rational arguments,
a variety of perspectives, contributions of different knowledge
and points of view and which does not exclude the belief that it is possible to
arrive at some fundamental truths that one must and will always
must uphold. Accepting that there are enduring values, although it is
not always easy to recognise them, lends solidity and stability
to a social ethic. Even when we have recognised and
adopted thanks to dialogue and consensus, we see that these basic values
go beyond any consensus, we recognise them as values that
transcend our context and are never negotiable. Our understanding of
their meaning and importance will be able to grow – and in this sense,
consensus is a dynamic reality – but in themselves they are
valued as fixed for their intrinsic meaning.
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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