Wednesday in the twelfth week through the year

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

Two central themes dominate the Abraham cycle and always intersect: the care of offspring and a land of one’s own, and the relationship with God. Both themes appear together in this reading. The Covenant makes Abraham the father of the people of Israel and the founder of Israel’s religion.

FIRST READING            Gen 15, 1-12. 17-18

Abram believed the Lord,
and He counted it to him as righteousness,
and He made a covenant with him.

In those days the word of the LORD sounded
in a vision to Abram:
“Thou must not fear, Abram; I will be thy shield.
Thy reward shall be very great!”
Then Abram said:
“LORD God, what availeth me thy gifts?
For I remain but childless
and the Damascene Elijah will become the possessor of my house.
Surely you have not given me any descendants,
and a subject shall be my heir.”
Then the word of the LORD was addressed to him:
“Not thou shalt be thy heir;
thy heir shall be one whom thou shalt beget.”
He led him out and said:
“Look at the sky and count the stars, if thou canst.”
And He assured him:
“So numerous shall thy posterity be.”
Abram believed the LORD
and the LORD counted this to him as righteousness.
Then the LORD said to him:
“I am God the LORD, who led you out of Ur into Chaldea
to give you possession of this land.”
Abram asked:
“LORD God, how can I know
that I will indeed get it?”
He said to him:
“Get a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old buck,
a three-year-old ram, a turtle and a young pigeon.”
He fetched all these, cut the animals in half,
and laid the pieces opposite each other;
only the birds he did not cut.
Birds of prey descended on the dead animals,
but Abram chased them away.
At sunset, Abram fell into a deep sleep;
intense fear and darkness overtook him.
When the sun had set ,
and it had become completely dark,
abram saw a smoking furnace and a fiery torch,
which passed between the pieces.
On that day, the LORD made a covenant with Abram.
He said:
“To your descendants I grant this land ,
from the brook of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.”

INTERLUDIUM           Ps. 105(104), 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9

Forever God’s covenant remains in force.
Alleluia.

Glorify the Lord and worship His Name,
proclaim to the nations His deeds.
Sing to Him and pluck the strings for Him,
recount all His wondrous works.

Go great on the holy Name of the Lord,
rejoice, ye that follow Him.
Abide in Him, in His mighty arm,
always seek His Face.

Ye offspring of His servant Abraham,
ye sons ofJakob, his beloved.
The Lord, He is our only God,
what He decrees applies to all the earth.

For ever and ever His covenant remains in force,
which He has promised for a thousand generations.
The bond He once made with Abraham,
the oath He once swore to Isaac.

ALLELUIA      cf. Eph. 1, 17-18

Alleluia.
The God of our Lord Jesus Christ
may enlighten our inner eye,
to see how great is the hope
to which He calls us.
Alleluia

GOSPEL    Mt 7, 15-20

By their fruits you will know them!

At that time, Jesus said to his disciples:
“Beware of the false prophets,
people who come to you in sheep’s clothing
but are inside predatory wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.
Does one sometimes pluck grapes from thorns
or figs from thistles?
Thus every good tree brings forth good fruit,
but the sick tree brings forth bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit
nor a sick tree good fruit.
Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit
shall be cut down and thrown into the fire.
By their fruits, therefore, you will know them.”

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Laudato Si

Encyclical of

POPE FRANCISCUS

On caring for the common home

The loss of biodiversity
32. Earth’s resources are also being plundered as a result of
of views on economics and commercial activities that are too
linked the short-term outcome. The loss of forests and tropical
forests simultaneously implies the loss of species that could in the future be
extremely important resources, not only for the
food, but also for curing diseases and many services. The
different species contain genes that could
be important resources to meet some human
needs or to solve some environmental problems.

To be continued
Every day at 1 am