Saturday – St Lucia, virg. and Mar.

St Lucia was born in Sicily in 283
Lived during Christian persecution under
emperor Diocletian. She died in Syracuse in 304

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

In the second century BC, Elijah was an almost legendary figure, as great as Moses. He would return at the end of time to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. In certain Jewish circles today, it is still a fine custom to provide an extra place at the table for Elijah. Jesus alludes to that Jewish belief by extending it to the figure of John the Baptist. Elijah had come, but people did not recognise him. Again, we are warned not to let the auspicious moment pass us by. God is also coming now. Let us therefore learn to read the signs of the times and not miss the coming of God in our daily lives.

FIRST READING                   Sir. 48, 1-4.9-11

Elijah will return.

Elijah the prophet rose up like a fire;
his word burned like a torch;
he brought famine upon the people
and in his zeal for the Lord he made them few in number.
By the word of the Lord he closed the heavens,
and likewise he sent down fire three times.
How glorious were ye, Elijah, by your miraculous works:
Who may boast like thee?
Thou who was taken up in a whirlwind of fire
on a chariot with fiery horses,
of whom it is written that he is destined for the time
when he shall appease the wrath of God before it ignites,
will turn the hearts of the fathers to the son
and will raise up the tribes of Jacob.
Happy are those who have seen you
and slept in love.

INTERLUDIUM                  Ps 80(79), 2ac, 3b, 15-16, 18-19

God of hosts, raise us up again ;
smile upon us again and we shall be saved.

Shepherd of Israel, hear us,
Thou who art enthroned on the Kerub, appear with glory ;
cast thy might into battle,
come to assist us.

God of hosts, do return,
look down from heaven and watch over thy vineyard.
Protect what Thy own hand has planted,
the cutting that Thou hast grown.

Let Thy hand rest on Thy favourite,
on the child Thou hast raised.
Never again will we forsake Thee ;
if Thou dost preserve our life, we will praise Thee.

ALLELUIA

Alleluia.
The day of the Lord is at hand ;
behold, He comes to deliver us.
Alleluia.

GOSPEL                      Mt 17, 10-13

Elijah has already come, but they have not recognised him.

On descending from the mountain
the disciples asked Jesus the question:
“Why do the scribes still say
that Elijah must come first?”
He replied to them:
“Indeed, Elijah will come to restore everything.
In fact, I tell you:
Elijah has already come,
but they have not acknowledged him
but dealt with him at will,
as also the Son of Man will suffer from them.”
Now the disciples understood
that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

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Laudato Si

Encyclical of

POPE FRANCISCUS

On caring for the common home

213. There are several areas of education: the school, the family
the means of communication, catechesis and others. A good education at
youth can bear fruit throughout life. But I
want to stress the central importance of the family because “it is the place
where life, which is a gift of God, can be appropriately
received and can be protected from the frequent attacks
to which it is exposed, and can develop according to the requirements
of authentic human growth. Against the so-called culture
of death, the family constitutes the seat of the culture of life”. In
the family the first behaviour of love and care for life is cultivated,
such as, for example, proper use of things, order and
cleanliness, respect for the local ecosystem and the protection of all
creatures. The family is the place of integral formation, where the closely
interrelated different aspects of personal maturation
unfold. In the family, one learns to ask permission, to say “thank you
thank you” as an expression of a deeply felt appreciation for the
things we receive, to restrain aggression or greed, and to ask for an apology,
when we do something wrong. These small gestures of sincere
courtesy help build a culture of coexistence and of respect for what
surrounding us.

To be continued
Every day at1am