Wednesday – Saint Teresa of Lisieux, vir. and clergw.

 

French saint and church teacher. Born 2 Jan 1873 in Alençon
and died 30 Sep 1897 at Lisieux.

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
Besides Ezra, Nehemiah is a major figure in the restoration of Jerusalem after the exile. He is a court official of the king of Persia. Perhaps it is partly thanks to him that official records ended up in the books Ezra-Nehemiah. Here he is given (commissioned) permission to go to Judah to rebuild the city and its walls.

FIRST READING     Neh. 2, 1-8

May the King send me to Judah,
to rebuild the city of my fathers.

From the Book of Nehemiah

It happened in the month of Nisan
of the twentieth year of king Artachsata’s reign.
The wine was on the table ;
i, Nehemiah, took the wine and offered it to the king.
Never had I been grieved in his presence ,
but now the King said to me :
“Why do you look so sad ?
You are not ill, so there must be something
that makes you sad.”
I dismayed violently
and said to the King :
“The king live in eternity!
“How would I not look sad,
now that the city,
the place where my forefathers are buried,
has become a wasteland and its gates
have been consumed by fire ?”
To this the king asked :
“What is your desire?”
I prayed to the God of heaven
and said to the king :
“If it pleases the king
and if your servant has found mercy in your eyes ,
may you send me to Judah,
to the city where my fathers are buried,
to rebuild it.”
The queen sat next to the king.
The king asked :
“How long will the journey take and when will you return?”
I called him a deadline ;
the king agreed
and gave me leave to leave.
Then I said to the king :
“If it pleases the king ,
may he give me letters
so that they may grant me passage on my journey to Judah.
“And also a letter for Asaph, the royal woodsman,
that he should deliver me tree trunks
to make beams out of them
for the gates of the temple fortress,
for the city wall and for a house for myself.”
Because my God was gracious to me,
the king complied with my request.

Interludium   Ps. 137(136), 1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

May my tongue stick in my mouth
when I think of you no more.

We sat by Babylon’s streams and wept
thinking of Zion ;
and on the willows standing there
hung the citrons.

Our captors demanded songs,
our oppressors a joyful song :
Sing to us of Zion !

Could we then sing of the Lord
here in this strange land ?
If I, Jerusalem, ever forget thee
may my hand be paralysed .

May my tongue stick in my mouth
if I think of you no more .
If I would trade Jerusalem
for some pleasure.

ALLELUIA    Col 3:16a, 17c

Alleluia.
The word of Christ
may dwell among you in full riches ;
give thanks to God the Father through Him.
Alleluia.

Gospel  Lk. 9, 57-62

I will follow You wherever You go.

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

At that time, someone said to Jesus :
“I will follow Thee wherever Thou goest.”
Jesus spoke to him :
“The foxes have dens and the birds their nests ,
but the Son of Man
has nothing on which He can rest His head.”
To another He spoke :
“Follow Me.”
This one asked :
“Lord ,
first let me go back to bury my father.”
Jesus said to him :
“Let the dead bury their dead ;
but thou ,
go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Yet another said :
“I will follow You Lord ,
but first let me say goodbye to my companions.”
To him Jesus spoke :
“Whoever puts his hand to the plough
but looks back to what lies behind him ,
is unfit for the Kingdom of God.”

________________________________________________________

Laudato Si

Encyclical of

POPE FRANCISCUS

On caring for the common home

Biological renewal through research
130. In the philosophical and theological view of creation that I have
tried to advocate, it is clear that the human person with the
special characteristic of his reason and his science is not an external factor
that must be completely excluded. Although man can intervene in the plant
and animal world “.and make use of it when
necessary for his life, the Catechism nevertheless teaches that experimentation
on animals are only legitimate if “they remain within reasonable
limits and contribute to caring for humans or saving human lives”.
He forcefully reminds us that man’s power has limits
and that “making animals suffer uselessly or waste their lives is in
contrary to human dignity”. Every use and experimentation
“requires a religious reverence for the wholeness of creation”.

To be continued
Every day at1 am