Leo I the Great (Tuscany, 400 – Rome, 10 November 461) was the 45th pope of the Roman Catholic Church,
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 Wisdom begins with an appeal to the (pagan) judges of the earth. Deviance and duplicity are punished, God sees through the hearts of men. Above all, it is justice that is to be pursued. The judges – but also we – are invited to learn to think like God, to seek Him in simplicity of heart. This is the guiding principle for all Christians: We are righteous when we subordinate ourselves to God’s word, and put it into practice. The intervening psalm plays beautifully into this first reading, with verses from Psalm 139.
FIRST READING Wis. 1, 1-7
Wisdom is a spirit of humanity ;
the spirit of the Lord fills the earth.
Love justice, ye judges of the earth!
Be mindful of the Lord,
and seek Him in goodness and simplicity of heart.
For He allows Himself to be found by those who do not try Him,
He communicates Himself to those who do not distrust Him.
Ambiguous thoughts remove from God,
and whoever tests His strength
is struck down by it.
In a false mind there is no place for wisdom:
it cannot dwell in a body, slave to evil.
For the spirit of holy discipline
abhors all insincerity,
wants nothing to do with sinful schemes,
and withdraws when iniquity approaches.
Though wisdom is a spirit of humanity,
does not, however, let the language of the slanderer go unpunished.
God himself sees through the hearts of men,
is an undeceived observer
of what lives within them,
and hears what their tongue says.
For the spirit of the Lord fills the earth,
and his voice is known in all the universe!
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 139(138), 1-3, 4-6, 7-8, 9-10
Lead me, Lord, along tested paths.
Thou knowest me, Lord, and Thou seest me through,
Thou seest me where I go or stand.
From afar Thou knowest my thoughts,
Thou knowest why I am working or resting,
Thou watchest all my ways.
Lord, before the word is yet on my tongue
thou knowest already what I am going to say.
Wherever I turn, Thou art on guard,
thy hand always rests on my shoulder.
Thy knowledge is too wonderful for me,
so heavenly that I cannot grasp it.
Where would I ever escape Thy Spirit,
where could I hide from Your Face?
Though I ascend to heaven: There already art Thou,
though I descend into the kingdom of the dead, Thou art present.
Though I borrow the wings of dawn
and come down beyond the sea:
Even there it is Thy hand that continues to guide me ,
there too Thou holds me fast.
ALLELUIA John 17, 17b, a
Alleluia.
Your word is truth, Lord,
consecrate us to You in truth.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Lk. 17, 1-6
If your brother turns to you seven times a day
with the words : I am sorry, then you must forgive him.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
At that time, Jesus spoke to his disciples:
“That annoyances come is inevitable,
but woe to the man by whose doing they come.
It would be better for him
if one put a millstone around his neck and threw him into the sea,
than for him to give cause to sin to one of these little ones.
Beware of that.
If your brother has sinned, rebuke him;
then if he shows remorse, forgive him.
Though he transgress against thee seven times a day,
but seven times also he turns to thee with the words:
I am sorry,
then you must forgive him.”
The apostles now said to the Lord:
“Give us more faith.”
The Lord replied:
“If thou hadst faith like a mustard seed ,
would you say to that mulberry tree:
Untie thy roots from the ground and plant thyself in the sea,
and it would obey you.”
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Laudato Si
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCISCUS
On caring for the common home
180. One cannot think of uniform recipes, because there are specific
problems and limitations of each country and region. Admittedly
political realism may also call for transitional measures and transitional technologies provided they are accompanied by planning and an acceptance
of gradual binding commitments, but at the same time there is always at
national and local level much can be done, for example promoting
forms of energy saving. This implies favouring industrial
modes of production with the greatest efficiency in terms of
energy use and lower consumption of raw materials, whereby
products that, from an energy point of view, are less efficient or more
polluting, are removed from the market. We can also include here a
good management of transport or construction and renovation techniques at
buildings that reduce energy consumption and pollution.
On the other hand, local policies can focus on a change in
consumption, the development of a waste and recycling economy, on
the protection of certain species and programming a diversified
agriculture with a rotation of cultures. It is possible
to favour an agricultural improvement of poor regions
through investments in rural infrastructures, in the organisation
of the local or national market, in irrigation systems, in the development of
sustainable agricultural techniques. One can facilitate forms of cooperation and
joint organisation that facilitate the interests of
small producers and protect local ecosystems from
looting. There is much one can do!
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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