Martyrs who became victims under Emperor Nero.
They were burned alive as fire torches, among other things.
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
Today’s lecture can already be considered a masterpiece of world literature in its own right. It is a wonderful example of oriental storytelling, and one can so imagine how the story was told at the entrance of the tent. But we should not stick to the literary: it is at the same time a story that shows who and how God is: mild, merciful, forgiving. A God for people. Once again, Abraham’s relationship to his God comes fully into focus: obedient, submissive but at the same time reverently questioning and interceding. A certain image of God also emerges in his attitude, which breaks through completely in the New Testament.
FIRST READING Gen 18:16-33
Surely you will not let the righteous
die together with the wicked ?
When the men who had visited Abraham at Mamre
moved on, they saw Sodom lying in the depths.
Abraham went with them to see them off.
The LORD thought:
“Would I keep secret from Abraham what I intend?
For Abraham will surely become a great and mighty people ,
and through him all the nations of the earth will receive blessing.
For I have chosen him
to teach to his sons and his descendants,
that through a righteous and virtuous life
to the way of the LORD;
then the LORD can fulfil his plan with Abraham.”
Therefore the LORD said:
“Loudly the cry for vengeance rises from Sodom and Gomorrah!
Extremely heavy is their sin!
I am going down to see ,
whether their deeds really correspond
with the cry that has penetrated Me;
I want to know.”
Then the men set off
in the direction of Sodom.
However, the LORD still remained standing with Abraham.
Abraham stepped up to Him and said:
“Wilt Thou really with the wicked
also destroy the righteous?
Perhaps there are fifty righteous in the city;
wilt Thou then destroy them?
Wilt Thou not pardon the city
because of the fifty righteous who dwell there?
Surely Thou canst not do such a thing:
let the righteous die along with the wicked!
Then the righteous would perish like the wicked;
surely You cannot do that!”
Will He, who judges the whole earth,
not do justice?
And the LORD said:
“If I find in Sodom fifty righteous people in the city ,
i will for their sake
forgive the whole city.”
Abraham started again and said:
“May I be so bold as to speak to my LORD ,
even though I am but dust and ashes?
Perhaps five of the fifty righteous are missing;
wilt Thou then still for the sake of those five destroy the whole city?”
And the LORD said:
“I will not destroy it, if I find five and forty.”
Again Abraham spoke to Him:
“Perhaps only forty can be found.”
And the LORD said:
“I will not do it, for the sake of those forty.”
Now Abraham said:
“Do not let my LORD get angry ,
if I insist again:
perhaps only thirty can be found.”
And He said:
“I will not, if I find thirty.”
Abraham said again:
“I may be bold if I insist with my LORD;
but perhaps only twenty will be found.”
And the LORD said:
“I will not destroy the city for the sake of those twenty.”
Abraham said:
“Do not let my LORD get angry,
if I speak one more time:
perhaps only ten can be found.”
And the LORD said:
“I will not destroy the city for the sake of those ten.”
As soon as the LORD finished his conversation with Abraham,
he went away,
and Abraham returned to his hometown.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 103(102), 1-2, 3-4, 8-9, 10-11
The Lord is merciful and benevolent.
Glorify, my soul, the Lord,
his holy Name from the depths of thy being !
Glorify, my soul, the Lord,
forget not his benefits !
It is He who forgives you your debts,
who heals thee from thy afflictions.
It is He who saves you from destruction,
who surrounds you with his favour and mercy.
The Lord is merciful and benevolent,
longsuffering and kind.
He does not continually keep reproaching,
He is not forever wroth.
He does not deal with us as we deserve,
does not retaliate our guilt.
As wide as the heavens span the earth,
so all-encompassing is His mercy.
ALLELUIA I Thess. 2, 13
Alleluia.
Receive the divine word of preaching,
not as a word of men
but as what it is indeed :
the word of God.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 8:18-22
Follow me.
At that time,
when Jesus saw a great crowd around Him,
he gave orders to go to the other side.
A scribe approached Him and said:
“Master,
i will follow You wherever You go.”
Jesus spoke to him:
“The foxes have their dens
and the birds of the air their nests,
but the Son of Man
has nothing on which He can rest His head.”
Another of His disciples said to Him:
“Lord, let me go back first to bury my father.”
Jesus said to him:
“Follow Me;
let the dead bury their dead.”
Laudato Si
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On caring for the common home
37. Some countries have made progress in effective
conservation of certain places and areas – on land and in the oceans
– where any human intervention that
may affect its original composition is prohibited. In caring for biodiversity,
the experts on the need to pay particular attention
to those areas richest in a variety of species that are
less common or have a lesser degree of effective protection
enjoy. There are places that require special care by virtue of
their enormous importance to the global ecosystem or that constitute important
water resources and thus safeguard other forms of life.
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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