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 great figures of the Old Testament, David and Solomon, Moses and the patriarchs, are not simply idealised. They are people with flaws, and those flaws are boldly highlighted. So is Abraham today. Even though he is the father of all believers, his attitude towards Hagar and Ishmael is lackadaisical – even if it is somewhat condoned. In fact, that attitude corresponds to the legal practice of the time.
FIRST READING Gen. 21, 5. 8-20
The son of the slave woman
may not become joint heir with my son Isaac.
From the Book of Genesis
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born.
The child grew up and was taken from the breast.
On the day that Isaac was taken from the breast,
abraham gave a great feast.
But when Sarah gave the son that Hagar, the Egyptian,
had given to Abraham, once smiled,
she said to Abraham :
“Chase away that slave woman with her son ,
for the son of that slave woman
must not become a joint heir with my son Isaac.”
Abraham found this demand highly inappropriate,
because after all, this was a son of his.
God, however, told him :
“What Sarah demands regarding the boy and your slave girl ,
thou must not regard as improper.
“Listen to everything she says to you :
For only through Isaac wilt thou have an offspring
that shall bear thy name.
“But also the son of the slave woman
i will make a people ,
because he too is a child of thine.”
Abraham provided Hagar with bread the next morning
and a bag of water, put the child on her shoulder
and sent them away.
But on the way, they got lost in the desert of Berseba.
When the bag of water was empty ,
she put the child under a bush
and sat down a bowshot away,
for she thought : I cannot watch my child die.
She stayed there and cried loudly.
God heard the boy’s cry
and the angel of God called out from heaven to Hagar :
“What is it, Hagar, do not be afraid ,
for God in his abode
heard the weeping of thy child.
“Arise, take the boy and hold him well,
for I will make of him a great nation.”
Then God opened her eyes,
so that she saw a well of water;
she filled the bag with water again
and gave the boy to drink.
And God protected the boy.
When he grew up, he lived in the desert
and became an experienced archer.
INTERLUDIUM PS. 34(33), 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
Who cry out in distress, to them the Lord listens.
Who cry out in distress, to them the Lord listens
and rescues them from their misery.
The angel of God puts a bulwark around them,
to protect every one who fears God.
Reverence the Lord, ye who are consecrated to Him,
for he who honours Him never suffers want.
The rich have become poor and needy,
who go to the Lord never lack anything.
Come, children, listen to what I say to you ;
i teach you to fear the Lord.
Who is there with you who loves life
and desires days of prosperity?
ALLELUIA 2 Tim. 1, 10b
Alleluia.
Our Saviour Christ Jesus has destroyed death,
and lit up imperishable life
through the gospel.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 8:28-34
What hast Thou to do with us, Son of God ?
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matteiis
When Jesus had come across the lake
into the land of the Gadarenes,
two possessed men walked towards Him.
They emerged from the sepulchres
and were very dangerous, so that no one could pass by them.
Suddenly they began to shout :
“What hast Thou to do with us, Son of God?
“Hast Thou come here to torment us before time?
Some distance away from them
one was herding a large herd of boars.
The devils now begged Him :
”If Thou dost cast us out, send us into that herd of swine *”
He said to them : “Go away.”
And they left them.
Hardly had they taken possession of the swine,
or the whole herd plunged from the steep bank into the lake
and perished in the water.
The boar herders took flight,
and coming into the city they told everything,
including what had happened to the possessed.
Thereupon the whole city ran out to meet Jesus;
and when they saw Him
they begged Him to leave their region.
Laudato Si
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On caring for the common home
39. Also, the replacement of wild flora with areas of forest plantations
which are mostly monocultures, is not usually the subject of
adequate analysis. In reality, this replacement may increase a
biodiversity, which is not accepted by the new species being planted
accepted, seriously affect it. Similarly, wetlands that are turned into agricultural
are changed, lose a tremendous biodiversity that they
housed. In some coastal areas, the disappearance of ecosystems formed by
mangroves formed ecosystems is worrying.
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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