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
We read from Luke the parable about the rich miser and Lazarus. It is a parable that frames well in Lent. Are we paying enough attention, not only to the gap between rich and poor, but to the poor right on our doorstep? Yet it is a parable with a double bottom line. There is more to it. Who are these brothers who will not listen to Moses and the prophets? Who will not even listen to anyone who rises from the dead? Isn’t this about Jesus himself and those who stuck in stubborn unbelief even after the resurrection?
FIRST READING Jer. 17, 5-10
Cursed is he who trusts in men ; blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
From the Prophet Jeremiah
This is what God the Lord says :
‘Cursed is he who trusts in men ,
who relies on a creature and turns away from the Lord.
‘He is a barren bush in the steppe,
never does he get rain.
‘He stands on barren desert ground,
in a barren, desolate land.
‘Blessed is he who trusts in the Lord,
and knows himself to be safe with Him.
‘He is a tree by a river,
its roots reaching down to the water.
‘He does not suffer from the heat,
his leaves remain green.
‘A time of drought does not bother Him,
he always continues to bear fruit.
‘Nothing is so unreliable as the heart,
incorrigible is it, who can gauge it ?
‘I, God the Lord, fathom heart and kidneys,
I repay each according to his conduct,
according to the fruit of his labours.’
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 1, 1-2, 3, 4, 6
Happy is the man,
who puts his hope in the Lord (Ps. 40 (39), 5a)
Happy is the man who refuses to do
what wicked men advise him ;
Who does not go the ways of sinners,
does not sit in the midst of mockers.
he is like a tree, planted by water,
which bears fruit in its time;
In summer his leaves do not wither,
but everything it does brings it prosperity.
The wicked do not fare so :
the wind blows them away like chaff.
For the Lord watches the way of the dishes,
the way of sinners is a dead end.
VERS FOR THE GOSPEL Ps. 130(129), 5 and 7
In the Lord I put my hope,
in his word I trust;
For the Lord is ever merciful,
his mercy unlimited.
GOSPEL Lk. 16, 19-31
Thou hast received thy portion of good, and Lazarus fell to evil.
Now he experiences consolation and thou art tortured.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
At that time, Jesus said to the Pharisees :
‘Once there was a rich man
who was dressed in purple and fine linen
and celebrated lavishly every day ,
while a poor man, whose name was Lazarus,
lay with sores covered at the gate.
‘He longed to satisfy his hunger
with what fell from the rich man’s table.
‘But only dogs came and licked his sores.
‘Now it happened that the poor man died
and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s lap.
‘The rich also died and was given an honourable burial.
‘In the underworld, prey to many pains
he lifted up his eyes and saw from afar Abraham
and Lazarus in his womb.
‘Then he cried out :
Father Abraham, have mercy on me
and instruct Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water
and come and refresh my tongue with it,
for I am being tortured by the flames here.
‘But Abraham answered :
My son, remember how during your lifetime you
received your share of good
and how in like manner to Lazarus fell the evil part ;
therefore he is now experiencing consolation here
but you are being tortured.
Moreover, between us and you there is forever a wide gulf,
so that there is no possibility,
– even if one wanted to –
from here to you nor from there to us.
‘The rich one said :
Then I ask thee, father Abraham,
that thou wilt send him to my father’s house ,
for I have five more brothers ;
let him warn them
lest they also
end up in this place of torment.
‘But Abraham spoke :
They have Moses and the prophets ; let them listen to them.
‘But he said : Oh no, father Abraham !
But if one goes to them from the dead ,
they will repent.
‘He, however, spoke to him :
If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets ,
neither will they be persuaded
if someone rises from the dead.’
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On brotherhood and social friendship
223. Saint Paul mentioned a fruit of the Holy Spirit with the
Greek word chrestotes (Gal. 5, 22), which expresses a state of mind
which is not bitter, abusive or harsh, but is benevolent and mild, supporting
and comforts. A person who possesses this quality helps others so that their
existence becomes more bearable, especially when they carry the burden of their problems
needs and fears. It is a way of treating the other that
manifests itself in different forms: as kindness in the
dealings, as attentiveness not to hurt in words or gestures, as an
attempt to ease the other person’s burden. It involves ‘speaking words of
encouragement to speak that strengthen, that give strength, that comfort, that
encourage’ rather than ’words that humiliate, that sadden,
that irritate, that despise’.
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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