Saint Alphonsus was an Italian jurist and bishop.
Founder Redemptorists Born 27/9/1696. Died 1/8/1786.
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 book of Leviticus lists all the laws relating to worship, ministers, sacrifices and feasts. Often we are left with the outward rite. Two questions can then be asked. Do we still consider Sunday an actual “feast-day”? Is it a day of joy? How can I express that to my surroundings, family, relatives? A second question concerns the social character of this festive (Sunday) day. No feast without gathering, without a gathering of people. Do I consider the Eucharist as “my personal feast”, or do I feel part of the community-building event? “Be holy, for I, the Lord, am holy” we read today. May it run like a thread through our Sundays.
FIRST READING Lev. 23, 1. 4-11. 15-16. 27. 34b-37
These are the feasts in honour of the Lord,
which thou must celebrate as holy days.
From the Book of Leviticus
In those days, God spoke to Moses :
“These are the feasts before the Lord, the holy days ,
which ye must celebrate at the appointed time.
“The fourteenth day of the first month, at sundown ,
is Easter in honour of the Lord.
“The fifteenth day of that month
is the feast of unleavened bread in honour of the Lord ;
then ye must eat unleavened bread for seven days.
“The first day is a holy day for you ;
you must not work then.
“Seven days in succession ye must offer sacrifices to God the Lord.
“The seventh day is a holy day ;
then you must not work.”
God spoke to Moses :
“Say to the Israelites :
When ye come into the land which I give unto you ,
and reap the harvest there,
bring the first sheaf to the priest.
“Standing before the Lord, he set it aside
as the priest’s share ;
then the Lord takes pleasure in you.
“This must be done the day after the Sabbath.
“From the day after the Sabbath, on which you have brought the sheaf
intended for the priest, you must count seven Sabbaths.
“And day after the seventh Sabbath, on the fiftieth day,
you must offer fresh grain to the Lord.
“The tenth day of the seventh month
is the day of atonement ;
it is a holy day for you.
“Thou must then chastise thyself
and offer a sacrifice to the Lord.
“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month
begins the Feast of Tabernacles in honour of the Lord,
which lasts for seven days.
“The first day is a holy day ;
you may not work then.
“Seven days in a row you must offer sacrifices to the Lord.
“The eighth day is a holy day for you ;
even then you must offer sacrifices to the Lord.
“That is the closing feast; you may not work then.
“These are the feasts in honour of the Lord,
which you must celebrate as holy days
and on which ye must offer him sacrifices :
burnt offerings, lake offerings, victims and libations,
according to the different days.”
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 81(80), 3-4, 5-6ab, 10-11ab
Homage to the Lord, our strength !
Let your songs be heard, strike the cymbals,
play your zither and lyre.
Let sound the horn on new moon,
on full moon, our feast day.
As it was established for Israel,
commanded by Jacob’s God;
as He commanded Joseph’s people
when He went to war against Egypt :
Never may there be a foreign god with you,
worship no gods from other lands.
For I am the Lord your only God ,
who led you out of Egypt.
ALLELUIA cf Lk. 8, 15
Alleluia.
Blessed are those who keep the Word of God they heard
in a good and noble heart
and bring forth fruit by their constancy.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 13:54-58
Is He not the carpenter’s son ?
Where did He get all this from ?
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew
In those days Jesus went to his father city
and taught them in their synagogue, so that they said in amazement :
“Where did He get this wisdom
and the power to do miracles ?
“Is He not the carpenter’s son?
“Is not his mother called Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas ?
“Don’t His sisters all live with us?
“Where did He get all that?”
And they took offence at it.
But Jesus spoke to them :
“A prophet is honoured everywhere
except in his own city and in his own circle.”
And because of their unbelief, He did not do many miracles there.
Laudato Si
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On caring for the common home
69. While we may use things responsibly,
we are called to recognise that the other living beings have a distinctive
value before God and “by their mere existence they bless and praise the
Lord ” because the Lord finds his joy in his works
(cf. Ps 31). Precisely by virtue of his unique dignity and because he is endowed with
intellect, man is called to respect creation with its inner
laws, since “the Lord by wisdom the earth
founded” (Spr 3:19). Today, the Church does not say that the other creatures
are entirely subject to the welfare of man, as if they had
no value in themselves and we could dispose of them at will. Thus
the bishops of Germany have explained that with regard to the
other creatures “one could speak of the priority of being
relative to ‘being useful'”. The Catechism questions in a very direct
and penetrating way to question what a wrong anthropocentrism
would be: “Every creature has its own goodness and perfection […]. The
different creatures, willed according to their own being, reflect
in their own way the infinite wisdom and goodness of God. Therefore
man must respect each creature’s own goodness in order to avoid a
disordered use of things”.
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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