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
Opening word
Lent invites us
to align ourselves with the Gospel.
Those who are ready for that conversion
and wants to be a Christian in the image of Jesus,
will therefore want to listen to his Word.
God himself asks us today
to give ear to his Son.
Let us open our hearts
to the dead and risen Lord
who is given to us here.
FIRST READING Gen 15, 5-12.17-18
God made a covenant with Abram.
From the book of Genesis
In those days, God led Abram outside and said:
‘Look at the sky and count the stars, if you can.’
And He assured him:
‘So numerous shall thy posterity be.’
Abram believed the Lord
and the latter counted this to him as righteousness.
Then God said to him:
‘I am the Lord, who led you out of Ur in Chaldea
to give you possession of this land.’
Abram asked:
‘Lord God, how can I know that I will indeed get it?’
God said to him:
‘Get a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old buck,
a three-year-old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.’
Abram fetched all these, cut the animals in the middle
and laid the pieces opposite each other;
only the birds he did not cut.
Birds of prey descended on the dead animals,
but Abram chased them away.
At sunset, Abram fell into a deep sleep;
intense fear and darkness overtook him.
When the sun had set
and it had become completely dark,
Abram saw a smoking furnace and a fiery torch
passing between the pieces.
On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram.
He said:
‘To your descendants I grant this land ,
from the brook of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.’
Responsorial Ps. 27(26) 1, 7-8a, 8b-9abc, 13-14
Refrain
The Lord is my light and my guide.
The Lord is my light and my guide, whom should I fear;
The Lord is the brace of my life,
of whom should I fear?
Will listen, Lord, to my crying voice,
have mercy and will hear me.
To You my heart speaks, to You I look up,
Your face, Lord, I seek to see.
Will not hide Your countenance from me,
reject me, thy servant, not in thy wrath.
For thou art my helper, therefore do not drive me away,
forsake me not, God, my Redeemer.
I count on being in the land of the living
To behold the salvation of the Lord.
Look forward to the Lord and stand firm bravely,
Be bold in heart and trust in the Lord.
SECOND READING Phil. 3:17 – 4:1
Christ will make us like his glorified body.
From the letter of the holy apostle Paul to the Christians of Philippi
Brothers and sisters,
Follow after me and keep in mind those
who behave according to the example I have given you.
For I have often spoken to you about it
and must now repeat it under tears:
many lead a life that classifies them
among the enemies of Christ’s cross.
They are headed for destruction,
their belly is their god,
in their shame they set their honour,
they have set their sights on the earthly.
But our homeland is in heaven
and from heaven we expect our Saviour,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will recreate our poor body
and make it like His glorified body,
with the same power
that enables Him to subdue the universe to Himself.
Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, for whom I so long,
my joy and my crown,
thus endure in the Lord, my beloved.
Verse for the gospel
Praise and honour be to Thee, Lord Jesus.
From a shining cloud
the voice of the Father was heard:
This is my beloved Son, listen to Him.
Praise and honour be to Thee, Lord Jesus.
GOSPEL Lk. 9, 28b-36
While He was in prayer, His countenance changed.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
At that time Jesus took
Peter, James and his brother John with him
and ascended the mountain to pray.
While He was praying, His countenance changed in appearance
and His clothes became blindingly white.
And behold, two men were conversing with Him;
They were Moses and Elijah
Who had appeared in glory,
and they spoke of His going away
which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions, meanwhile, were overcome by sleep.
Wide awake, they saw His glory
and the two men standing by Him.
When these were about to depart from Him, Peter said to Jesus :
‘Master, it is good that we are here.
‘Let us build three tents,
one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’
But he did not know what he was saying.
As he spoke like this, a cloud came and overshadowed them.
As the cloud enveloped them, they were overcome with fear.
From the cloud sounded a voice that spoke:
‘This is My Son, the Chosen One,
listen to Him.’
As the voice echoed
they realised that Jesus was alone.
They kept silent about it
and at the time did not tell anyone anything
of what they had seen.
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
219. When a section of society claims to enjoy
everything the world has to offer, as if the poor did not exist, this has
at some point has its consequences. Ignoring the existence and
rights of the other sooner or later causes a form of violence, often
unexpected. Dreams of freedom, equality and fraternity can
remain at the level of mere formalities because they are not for everyone
effective. Therefore, it is not only about seeking a
meeting between those who hold different forms of economic
political or academic power. A genuine social encounter
brings the major cultural forms that represent the majority of the population
into dialogue. Often, the most impoverished sectors
do not internalise the good proposals because they present themselves in a
cultural guise that does not belong to them and with which they cannot
identify with. Consequently, a realistic and inclusive social pact must also
be a ‘cultural pact’ that reflects the different visions of the world, cultures
and lifestyles that coexist in society must be respected and
incorporate.
To be continued
Every day at 1 am
The Bible text in this issue is taken from The New Translation of the Bible,
©Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Fratelli tutti Official English translation
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