Thursday – Saint Juliana of Cornillon, mgd.- HH. Sixtus II, pope and s., Mar. – H. Cajetanus, pr.

St Juliana of Cornillon was a nun.
Born in 1192. She was canonised in 1869.

Saint Sixtus II was elected bishop of Rome on 30 August 257.
Beheaded under Emperor Valerian on 6 August 258.

Saint Cajetanus was a priest, born at Vicenza in 1480.
Died in 1547 at Naples. Founder of the Theatines.

Invitation

May I hereby call your attention
for the daily reading of the Gospel?

This invitation wishes to share with you
in 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.

Reflections

We end the readings from the book of Numbers with the death of Miriam and the familiar theme of grumbling. But here Moses himself is being punished and this is a problem for many. So what did he do so wrong? After all this experience with the people in the desert, surely his action is quite understandable. Is it that perhaps Moses did not doubt God’s power, but rather God’s goodness? Yet is it the case that he repeatedly pleaded on behalf of the people against a punishing God (It is surely about several traditions and about an attempted solution viz. 1)fact: Moses did not get into Canaan. 2)That must have an explanation. 3)In that context, only a punishment from God could be thought of. 4)So he fell short).

FIRST READING Num. 20, 1-13
Thoumust command the rock to water in the presence of the community

From the Book of Numbers
In those days
came all the community of the Israelites in the desert of Sin.
During the people’s stay in Kadesh
miriam died and was buried on the spot.
Once there was no water for the community.
The people then marched against Moses and Aaron
and began to reproach Moses. They said :
“”If only we had died by the Lord’s intervention
like our brethren !
“”Have you led the congregation of the Lord
led into this desert to leave man and beast
find death there?
“‘Why hast thou led us out of Egypt
into this miserable place where there is no corn,
no fig, no vine, no pomegranate,
and not even water ?””
Then Moses and Aaron removed themselves from the congregation
and threw themselves to the earth.
The glory of the Lord appeared to them
and God spoke to Moses :
“”Take the staff and, with your brother Aaron, call the congregation together,
and thou shalt cause water to flow out of the rock
and make the community and the cattle drink.””
Moses took the staff from the sanctuary,
as the Lord had told him.
Then Moses and Aaron called the congregation together before the rock.
Moses said to them :
“” Listen, unruly people!
“” Shall we make water flow from this rock for people like you ?”””
Moses raised his hand and struck the rock with his staff, twice :
then plenty of water flowed out ,
so that the community and the cattle could drink.
But the Lord said to Mzes and Aaron :
“Thy trust in Me has not been so great ,
that before the Israelites
have upheld My holiness.
“Therefore thou shalt not lead this congregation into
into the land which I have given them.””

That water is the water of Meriba,
where the Israelites reproached the Lord
and He revealed His holiness with them.

INTERMEDIATE SINGING Ps. 95(94), 1-2, 6-7, 8-9

Listen today to the voice of the Lord,
and be not obstinate.

Come, let us greet the Lord with jubilation,
to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us appear before Him with a song of praise,
Honour Him with songs.

Come, let us fall to the earth adoringly,
kneel down before Him who created us.
He is our God and we are His people,
He is the shepherd and we his flock.

So listen to his voice this day:
Be not obstinate as once in Meriba,
as at Mass in the desert;
where your fathers wanted to defy me
though they had seen my deeds.

ALLELUIA John 14, 23

Alleluia.
If any man love Me ,
will he keep My Word;
my Father will love him
and We will come to him.
Alleluia.

GOSPEL            Mt 16, 13-23 Thou art Peter ;
I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

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

When Jesus had come to the region of Caesarea from Philip
he asked His disciples this question :
“According to the opinion of men, who is ,
the Son of Man?”
They replied:
“Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
“But thou
– spoke He to them –
who do ye say that I am?”
Simon Peter replied :
“Thou art the Christ ,
the Son of the living God.”
Jesus resumed :
“Blessed art thou Simon, son of Jonah ,
for not flesh and blood have revealed this to thee
but my Father who is in heaven.
“In my turn I say to you :
“Thou art Peter ;
and on this rock I will build my Church
and the gates of hell shall not overwhelm her.
“I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven
and what ye shall bind on earth ,
shall also be bound in heaven
and what ye shall dissolve on earth
shall also be dissolved in heaven”
Thereupon He emphatically forbade His disciples
telling anyone that He was the Christ.
From that moment
jesus began to make it clear to His disciples
that He had to go to Jerusalem ;
that there He would have to suffer much from the elders,
the high priests and the scribes,
but that after being put to death
he would rise on the third day.
Then Peter took Jesus aside
and began to entertain Him earnestly about it :
“That forbids God, Lord!
“Such a thing must never happen to You!”
But Jesus turned and said to Peter :
“Go away Satan, back !
“Thou art an offence to Me ,
for thou art guided by human considerations
and not by what God wills.”
________________________________________________________

Laudato Si

Encyclical by

POPE FRANCISCUS

On caring for the common home

75. We cannot support a spirituality that forgets God the Almighty and the Creator. In this way, we would end up worshipping other powers of the world or putting ourselves in the Lord’s place, so that we would even have the pretence of trampling underfoot the reality created by Him without knowing limits. The best way to show man his place and put an end to his pretence of being an absolute ruler of the earth is to again hold up the figure of a Father as Creator and sole ruler of the world, because otherwise man will tend to impose his own laws and his own interests on reality.
To be continued
Every day at 7 am