Benedictine monk. Considered apostle to the Anglo-Saxons
Born 525 ? Died 26 May 604
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
After the pleasant experiences in Philippi, there now follow the severe trials that Paul undergoes there with his companions and to which he will later refer in letters. There is something very curious in Acts. Catechesis obviously precedes baptism, cf. the Ethiopian, Cornelius, Lydia, the prison guard, but this catechesis often seems rather brief. It then limits itself to the core message (kerygma): believing in Jesus (the risen one) who saves us. In the later centuries, catechumens will have to go through a long preparation to be baptised at the Easter Vigil.
FIRST READING Acts 16:22-34
Believe in the Lord Jesus, then you and your house will be saved.
In those days the people of Philippi
against Paul and Silas,
whereupon the magistrates gave orders
to tear off their clothes
and to scourge them with rods.
After giving them quite a few blows
they threw them into prison
and ordered the jailer
to guard them strictly.
At this express command
the jailer put them in the inner dungeon
and locked their feet in the block.
Around midnight
paul and Silas were in prayer and singing God’s praises
while the prisoners listened to them.
Suddenly there came a shock so violent
that the prison trembled on its foundations.
Immediately all the doors flew open
and the shackles of all the prisoners sprang free.
The jailer was startled awake,
and when he saw that the prison doors were open
he drew his sword
and wanted to commit suicide,
because he thought the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul cried out in a loud voice:
“Do not harm yourselves,
we are all still here.”
The man now asked for light,
rushed inside
and shudderingly fell at Paul and Silas’ feet.
He led them out and said:
“Gentlemen, what must I do to be saved?”
They replied:
“Believe in the Lord Jesus ,
then you and your house will be saved.”
Thereupon they proclaimed the word of the Lord
to him and all his household members.
Still in that night hour he took them away
and he washed their wounds.
Immediately afterwards, he and all his companions were baptised.
He brought them to his dwelling,
and served them a meal,
rejoicing because he and all his family now believed in God.
INTERLUDIUM Ps 138(137), 1-2a, 2bc-3, 7c-8
Always your outstretched hand is my salvation, Lord.
Alleluia.
You I want to praise, Lord, from all my heart,
because You have listened to my prayer.
I sing to Thee and all the heavenly powers
and cast me down, bowed down to Your sanctuary.
Thee I praise for Thy goodness and Thy faithfulness,
for Thou hast maturely fulfilled Thy promise.
Whenever I cried out to Thee, Thou hast always answered me,
Thou hast always given me new courage.
Always Thy outstretched hand is my salvation:
The Lord completes for me all that I undertake.
Thy goodness, Lord, endures without end;
forget not the workmanship of Thy hands!
Alleluia
Alleluia.
Christ rose from the grave
and became a Light to all
whom He redeemed in His blood
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Jn 16:5-11
If I do not go, the Helper will not come to you.
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples:
“Now I go to Him who sent Me ,
and none of you ask Me:
Where art thou going?”
Because I have told you this, your heart is full of sorrow.
Yet I tell you the truth:
It is good for you that I am going ;
for if I do not go, the Helper will not come to you.
Now that I do go I will send Him to you.
Once He has come
he will give the world the convincing proof
of what is sin, righteousness and judgement:
Of what sin is because they do not believe in Me;
of what is righteousness,
because I go to the Father, so that ye see Me no more;
of what judgment is, because the prince of this world is judged.”
Laudato Si
Encyclical by
Pope Francis
On caring for the common home
Nothing in this world leaves us indifferent
3. More than 50 years ago, when the world was on the brink of an
atomic crisis, the saintly Pope John XXIII wrote an
encyclical by which he not only limited himself to rejecting war
reject war, but also sought to make a peace proposal. He addressed his message
Pacem in terris to all the “Catholic world”, but added
“and to all people of good will”. Now, in the face of
the global degradation of the environment, I want to address everyone who inhabits this
planet. In my apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium, I have
written to the members of the Church to initiate a process of reform
that has yet to be completed. In this encyclical, I set
my aim to enter into dialogue with all concerning our common home.
To be continued
Every day at 1 am
The Bible text in this edition is taken from The New Bible Translation,
©Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation
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