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
Many fragments of the Biblical story of Stephen are strongly reminiscent of Jesus Christ. Both Stephen and Jesus are said in the Bible to have been filled with the Holy Spirit, performing miracles thanks to God’s grace and power. And as with Christ, groups of Jews rebel against this, argue about his actions, make false statements and finally drive Stephen out of the city, where he will be executed. It seems that with Stephen, a ‘different Christ’ emerges. A martyr is someone in whom Jesus dies and rises again: in Stephen, Christ comes to people with his love and redemption. How do we respond when people around us ‘resist’ God’s love ?
FIRST READING Acts 6:8-15
His opponents could not resist the wisdom and
the spirit with which Stephen spoke.
From the Acts of the Apostles
In those days Stephen did,
full of grace and power,
performed great miraculous signs among the people.
However, some members
of the so-called synagogue of the Freedmen,
Cyrenians and Alexandrians
and some people from Cilicia and Asia
began to argue with Stephen ,
but they could not stand the wisdom
and against the spirit with which he spoke.
Toe they secretly stirred up men to declare :
‘We heard him speaking slander
against Moses and against God.’
At the same time, they ruffled both the people
as well as the elders and scribes.
Unexpectedly, they took possession of him
and brought him before the Sanhedrin,
where they had false witnesses appear who claimed :
‘That man does not cease
speaking against the holy place and against the Law.
‘For we have heard him say
That that Nazarene Jesus will tear down this place ,
and change the precepts,
which Moses handed down to us.’
All the members of the Sanhedrin fixed their gaze on him
and saw that his countenance resembled that of an angel.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 119(118), 23-24, 26-27, 29-30
Happy are those whose way of life is pure.
Though even princes conspire against me,
Your servant heeds what You have decreed.
I take Your decrees to heart,
They give me good advice.
My ways Thou knowest, Thou hearest my prayers;
Teach me what Thou hast ordained.
Lead me in the way of thy precepts,
then I will remember thy deeds.
Do not permit me to go astray,
but guide me by Thy law.
I have chosen the way of faithfulness,
I abide by what You decree.
ALLELUIA
Alleluia.
We know
that Christ is truly risen from the dead.
Have mercy on us, Thou King and Victor.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Jn 6:22-29
Work not for the food that perishes but for the food
that abides for eternal life.
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John
The people who had remained on one side of the lake
after the miraculous multiplication of bread,
had seen that only one boat had lain there,
that Jesus had not set sail with his disciples
but that his disciples had left alone.
The next day, however, boats came from Tiberias
close to the place where they had eaten the bread
after the Lord’s thanksgiving prayer.
When the people noticed
that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they got into the boats
and sailed in the direction of Capernaum
in search of Jesus.
They found Him across the lake and said :
‘Rabbi, when did Thou come here?’
Jesus took the floor and said :
‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee :
‘Not because ye have seen signs do ye seek Me ,
but because ye have eaten of the loaves
until your hunger was satisfied.
‘Work not for the food that perishes
but for the food that endures to everlasting life
and which the Son of Man will give you.
‘Upon Him, indeed, the Father, God Himself, has stamped His seal.’
Thereupon they said to Him :
‘What works must we do for God?’
Jesus answered them in reply :
‘This is the work that God asks of you :
to believe in the One He has sent.’
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
Pope Francis
On brotherhood and social friendship
268. ‘The arguments against capital punishment are numerous and well known. The
Church has rightly underlined some of them, such as the possibility of a
miscarriage of justice and the use that totalitarian and dictatorial regimes
make of this punishment, using it as an instrument to persecute a political
dissidence or suppress religious and cultural minorities,
all victims who, according to their respective laws
‘criminals’. All Christians and people of good will are therefore
called today to fight not only for the abolition of the death penalty
whether legal or illegal, and in all its forms, but also to
improve prison conditions, respecting the
human dignity of persons deprived of their freedom. I
link to this the life sentence. […] Lifelong
imprisonment is a hidden death sentence’.
To be continued
Every day at 1 am
The Bible text in this edition is taken from The New Bible Translation,
© Netherlands Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays.
Fratelli tutti official English translation