May I ask for your attention for
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation is to share the joy
of the gospel with you. Everyone, without exception,
can experience that joy by opening their heart
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day.
Introduction
After the image of the barren fig tree
and the parable of the merciful father,
today we witness the encounter
between Jesus and the adulterous woman.
Three weeks in a row we listen to stories of
conversion and reconciliation in the liturgy.
They strengthen our faith
that God ultimately does not write anyone off,
but that He always makes a new beginning.
Let us open our hearts to the new future
that God wants to give us today.
FIRST READING Isaiah 43:16-21
See, I am doing a new deed, now it begins; do you not perceive it?
I will give water to my people from a full cup, from the full bowl they shall drink.
From the prophet Isaiah
Thus says the Lord
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters;
and let the chariot and horse pass over it,
army and battle array,
– but now they lie down, never to rise again,
extinguished, quenched like wick. Think not of the former things
nor consider the things of long ago.
I will do a new thing,
now it shall spring forth; shall you not be aware of it?
‘I will make a way through the wilderness,
rivers will flow through the desert.
“The wild animals will respect me,
the jackals and the ostriches;
for I will make rivers flow through the wilderness,
creeks through the desert,
so that my chosen people may drink.
And this people, which I have formed for myself
shall declare my praise!‘’
RESPONSORIAL Ps. 126(125) 1-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6
Refrain
Great was the Lord’s deed to us.
The Lord brought back Zion’s exiles:
it was as if we were dreaming.
Then all mouths were filled with laughter
and every tongue rejoiced.
Then the nations said:
Great is what the Lord did to them.
Great was what the Lord did to us,
that is why we are so happy.
Now turn our fate for the better, Lord,
like a stream in the southern desert.
Those who sow in tears
reap with cheers.
Full of worry they set out
laden with seed-sacks.
But they sing as they return,
laden with their sheaves.
SECOND READING Phil 3:8-14
I have given up everything for Christ, to be like him in his death.
From the letter of the holy apostle Paul to the Christians of
Philippi
Brothers and sisters,
I consider everything a loss,
for knowing my Lord Jesus Christ
is everything.
For Christ I have given up everything
and I hold nothing back
when it comes to gaining Him
and being one with Him.
I have no righteousness of my own based on the law;
my righteousness comes through faith in Christ,
it is God’s gift and is based on faith.
I want to know Christ,
I want to feel the power of his resurrection
and share in his suffering,
I want to become more and more like him in his death
so that I may one day experience the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already achieved this.
I am not yet perfect.
But I strive fervently to grasp it,
to be grasped by Christ Jesus.
No, my friends, I do not imagine that I have already arrived.
Only this:
I forget what lies behind,
I reach for what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal:
the prize of God’s upward calling.
VERSE FOR THE GOSPEL Joël 2, 12-13
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus.
Return to me with all your heart,
for I am gracious and merciful.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus.
GOSPEL John 8:1-11
Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
John
At that time Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
Early in the morning he went back to the temple
and all the people came to him.
He sat down and taught them.
Then the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought to him a woman
who had been caught committing adultery.
They made her stand in the middle and said to him,
“Teacher, this woman
was caught in the act of committing adultery.
‘Now in the Law, Moses commanded us
to stone such women.
But what do you say?
What do you think?”
They wanted to catch him in a trap
and hoped to accuse him of something.
But Jesus bent down
and started writing on the ground with his finger.
As they kept on questioning him,
he straightened up and said to them,
‘Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again He bent down and wrote on the ground.
When they heard this
they went away one by one,
the elders first,
until Jesus was left alone with the woman
who had remained standing there.
Now Jesus stood up and spoke to her:
‘Woman, where have they left you?
‘Has no one condemned you?’
She replied:
‘No one, Lord.’
Then Jesus said to her:
‘Neither do I condemn you;
go and sin no more.’
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Frattelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCIS
On fraternity and social friendship
240. When we reflect on forgiveness, peace and social harmony,
we encounter a surprising saying of Christ:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth;
I have not come to bring peace,
but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law; and one’s own household shall be his enemies’
(Matthew 10:34-36). It is important to place this statement in the context of the
chapter in which it appears. It is clear that the theme at hand is
being true to one’s own choice, without shame, even if it evokes
resistance, and even if loved ones oppose that choice.
Therefore, these words do not invite us to seek conflict, but
simply to endure an inevitable conflict, so that
human respect does not lead one to betray fidelity, with a view to
an alleged peace in the family or society. St John
Paul II has said that the Church ‘does not intend to condemn any or all forms
of social conflict: the Church is well aware that in
history conflicts of interest between different
social groups inevitably arise and that in this regard a Christian must often
firmly and consistently choose a position.’
To be continued
Every day at 1 am
The Bible text in this edition is taken from The New Bible Translation,
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Fratelli tutti Official English translation
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