Monday in the twelfth week

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

The Abraham cycle from the book of Genesis begins with the curious words: lekh, lekha. -Lekh= go;
but apparently this going is not enough. It is followed by a strong emphasis. Lekha = go away from, pull away, i.e.: break with, pull out.
What happens here, then, is a ‘breaking’ of all human ties and leaving for the unknown, relying only on God’s promise. That is precisely why Abraham, the type, remains the model of faithfully entrusting oneself and setting out on the road, wherever that road may lead us. It is therefore both a spatial and a spiritual path that can be meant by this.

FIRST READING           Gen. 12, 1-9

Abram set out, as the Lord had instructed him.

From the Book of Genesis

In those days, God the Lord said to Abram :
“Depart from your land, your tribe and your family ,
to the land I will appoint for you.
“I will make of you a great people.
“I will bless you and make your name great ,
so that he will be a blessing.
“I will bless those who bless you,
but those who curse you, I will curse.
“Through you will come blessing on all the generations of the earth.”

Then Abram set out, as the Lord had instructed him,
and Lot went with him.
Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
With his wife Sarah and with Lot,
his brother’s son,
with all their possessions and with all
whom they had employed in Haran,
abram set out for Canaan.
Arriving in Canaan,
abram entered the land,
as far as the holy place of Shechem,
the oak tree of More.
At that time, the Canaanites were still in the land.
There God the Lord appeared to Abram and said :
“To your descendants I will give possession of this land.”
Then Abram set up an altar there
in honour of the Lord, who had appeared to him.
From there he moved on to the mountain range
east of Betel,
pitched his tent
between Betel on the west and Aï on the east,
set up an altar to the honour of the Lord
and called on the name of the Lord.
Then Abram moved on towards the Negeb.

INTERLUDIUM          Ps 33(32), 12-13, 18-19, 20, 22

Blessed are the people who have the Lord as God,
the nation chosen by Him to be His inheritance.

Blessed the people who have the Lord as God,
the nation chosen by Him to be His inheritance.
High from heaven God looks down,
looks down on the sons of men.

It is God who guards his servants,
those who trust in His favour,
that He will save them from death,
in times of famine will feed them.

Therefore our hearts trust in the Lord,
he is our shield and helper.
Give us therefore, Lord, your mercy,
as we trust in You.

ALLELUIA cf. Acts 16, 14b

Alleluia.
Make our hearts receptive, Lord,
and that we turn to the word of your Son.
Alleluia.

GOSPEL            Mt 7:1-5
First remove the beam from your own eye !

From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew

At that time, Jesus said to his disciples :
“Judge not, lest ye be judged.
“For with the judgment that ye pass
ye shall be judged,
and the measure that you use
shall also be used for you.
“Why dost thou look at the mote in thy brother’s eye
and perceive not the beam in thine own eye?
“Or how canst thou say to thy brother :
let me take the mote out of thy eye, and behold ,
in thy own eye is still the beam!
“Hypocrite, first remove that beam out of thine own eye,
and then you will see clearly enough
to remove the mote
from thy brother’s eye.”

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Laudato Si

Encyclical of

POPE FRANCISCUS

On caring for the common home

30. As the quality of available water continues to deteriorate,
the tendency is growing in some places to privatise this scarce
resource, to be turned into a commodity, subject to the
laws of the market. In reality, access to safe drinking water is
an essential, fundamental and universal human right, because it determines the
survival of human beings and therefore a prerequisite for the
exercise of other human rights. This world has a
heavy social debt towards the poor, who do not have access
to drinking water, because this means denying them the right to live,
which is rooted in their inalienable dignity. This debt
is partially removed by a greater economic effort
to provide clean water and treatment facilities for the poorest
people. But one observes a waste of water in developed
countries, but also in developing countries that have large reserves.
This makes it clear that the water problem is partly a matter of
education and culture, because there is no awareness of the seriousness of this
behaviour in a context of great inequality.

To be continued
Every day at 1 am