These guiding angels are involved in a special way
in the redemption of humanity
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
Many people think of angels as religious fairy figures: good fairies who bring salvation when everything is stuck, playful fairies who liven up the daily grind. Thus, they place angels in the twilight of legend. Yet angels, as protective figures, are an established biblical fact. To pass by them is a sign of inconsistent faith. We like to believe Jesus when he says:’ Do not disadvantage anyone, be righteous, love your neighbour’. After all, it makes our adult world livable. But incredulously we shrug our shoulders at the words: ‘To truly believe, you must become like children whose angels stand before the throne of the Father’. (From the Mass for weekdays and saints’ celebrations)
FIRST READING Dan. 7, 9-10,13-14
A thousand times thousands served Him.
From the Prophet Daniel
In my vision I saw that thrones were placed
and that a highborn sat down.
His robe was white as snow
and his head hair white as wool.
His throne was made up of flames,
its wheels from blazing fire.
A stream of fire welled up
and flowed before Him.
A thousand times thousands served Him
and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.
The court sat down
and the books were opened.
In my night vision I saw with the clouds of heaven
someone arriving who looked like a human being.
He went to the aged one and was led before Him.
Then dominion was given to Him,
glory and royal power;
all nations, tribes and languages paid homage to Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that never perishes,
his kingdom never perishes.
Entrebillo Ps 138(137), 1-2a, 2b-3, 4-5
I sing to You, Lord, and all the heavenly powers.
You I want to praise, Lord, from all my heart,
because Thou hast listened to my prayer.
I sing to Thee and all the heavenly powers
and cast me down, bowed down to Your sanctuary.
Thee I praise for Thy goodness and Thy faithfulness,
for Thou hast maturely fulfilled Thy promise.
Whenever I cried out to Thee, Thou hast always answered me,
Thou hast always given me new courage.
Thee shall all the kings of the earth honour
when they hear what Thou sayest to them.
They too will sing the deeds of the Lord :
Yes indeed, mighty is the greatness of the Lord.
ALLELUIA Ps. 103(102), 21
Alleluia.
Glorify the Lord, all His armies,
faithful servants who do what He wills.
Alleluia.
Gospel Jn 1:47-51
Thou shalt see the heavens open
and see the angels of God ascending and descending.
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
John
At that time Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him
and said, referring to him :
“This is truly an Israelite in whom there is no guile!”
Natanael said to Him :
“How knowest thou me?”
Jesus answered him in reply :
“Before Philip called thee
i saw thee sitting under the fig tree.”
Then Nathanael said to Him :
“Rabbi,
Thou art the Son of God,
Thou art the King of Israel.”
Jesus replied :
“Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree do you believe?
“Thou shalt see greater things than these.”
And He added :
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee :
Thou shalt see the heavens open
and see the angels of God ascending and descending
in the service of the Son of Man.”
Laudato Si
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On caring for the common home
128. We are called to labour from our creation. One should not
seek to increasingly replace human labour with technological
progress: by doing so, humanity damages itself.
Labour is a necessity, is part of the meaning of life on this
earth, a path of growth, human development and personal fulfilment.
In this sense, helping the poor with money must always be a
provisional solution to cope with emergencies. The
true goal should always be to allow them, through labour, a dignified life
allow them. However, the orientation of the economy has promoted a kind of technological progress aimed at reducing production costs
through the reduction of jobs being replaced by machines.
There is another way in which the actions of the
man can turn against himself. The reduction of jobs
“also has a negative impact at the economic level through continued
erosion of ‘social capital’, that is, by undermining the whole
of relationships based on trust, reliability and compliance with
rules, which are indispensable for any life together
of citizens”. Ultimately, “the human price is also the economic price
and economic wrongs also demand a human price”. Refraining from
investing in people to achieve more immediate gains is a
very bad thing for society.
To be continued
Every day at1 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
Laudato Si Official english translation
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