Brother of the Christian schools
Invitation
May I draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation is intended to share with you the joy
of the Gospel. Everyone, without exception,
can experience that joy by opening their heart
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day.
Consideration
David’s exceptional faith and prayer life do not hide the fact that he too is a poor man, a great sinner. After all, the Bible tells the story of a people of sinners, of saved sinners. The premeditated murder of Uriah is a dark and lamentable story. All the thoughts and calculations of an intelligent and great man are harnessed for personal gain. Here we already hear the distant echoes of the Gospel, about the Samaritan woman at the well, the repentant sinner, the adulterous woman; about Jesus who says to us: ‘I have not come for the righteous, but for sinners’.
FIRST READING 2 Sam. 11:1-4a, 5-10, 13-17
You have despised me
and taken Uriah’s wife as your wife.
From the Second Book of Samuel
Around the turn of the year,
when kings go out to battle,
David sent Joab with his own bodyguard
and all the Israelites;
they destroyed the Ammonites
and laid siege to Rabbah.
David himself remained in Jerusalem.
One evening David rose from his bed
and went for a walk on the roof terrace of the palace.
From the terrace he saw a woman bathing;
she was very beautiful.
David sent for the woman
and was told:
“She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam,
the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
Then David sent messengers to fetch the woman;
she came to him and he slept with her.
The woman became pregnant and sent word to David:
“I am pregnant.”
Then David sent a message to Joab:
“Send Uriah the Hittite to me.”
Joab sent Uriah to David.
When Uriah came to him, David inquired of him,
how Joab was doing,
and the army, and the war.
Then he said to Uriah,
“Go down to your house and wash your feet.”
Uriah left the palace,
and a dish from the king’s table
was brought after him.
But Uriah spent the night in the porch of the palace,
with his lord’s servants,
and he did not go home.
When it was reported to David
that Uriah had not gone home, he said to Uriah:
“You have come a long journey.
Why did you not go home?”
David invited him
to eat and drink at his table
and made him drunk.
Yet Uriah went to sleep on his bed
with his master’s servants
and did not go home.
The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab,
which he sent by Uriah.
In the letter he wrote:
“Put Uriah in the thick of the battle,
where the fighting is fiercest,
and then withdraw from behind him,
so that he will be struck down and killed.”
Then Joab, during the siege of the city,
placed Uriah in a certain place,
where he knew there were strong troops.
The inhabitants of the city made a sortie against Joab;
some of the people, David’s bodyguards, fell;
Uriah the Hittite also died.
INTERLUDIUM Ps . 51(50), 3-4, 5-6a, 6b-7,10-11
God, have mercy on me in your kindness, blot out my transgressions in your compassion.
God, have mercy on me in your kindness,
wash away my sin in your mercy.
Wash away my guilt,
cleanse me from all my sins.
I acknowledge my transgressions,
I am always mindful of my sin.
Against you alone have I sinned,
I have done what is evil in your sight.
Therefore your judgement is just,
the sentence you pass is well-founded.
Alas, I was born burdened with guilt,
it was my mother’s fault that she conceived me.
Make me receptive again to joyful sounds,
give my chastised body new courage to face life.
Turn your eyes away from my faults,
forgive me all my debts.
ALLELUIA Ps . 130(129), 5
Alleluia.
I place my hope in the Lord,
I trust in his word.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mark 4, 26-34
The sower sows, he sleeps and rises;
meanwhile, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not know how.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Mark
At that time, Jesus said to the crowd:
“The kingdom of God is like
a man who sows his land;
he sleeps and rises, night and day,
and meanwhile the seed sprouts and grows,
but he does not know how.
“Of its own accord the earth produces fruit,
first the green stalk, then the ear,
then the full grain in the ear.
“As soon as the fruit is ripe, he puts the sickle to it,
for it is time for harvest.”
And further:
“What comparison can we find for the Kingdom of God
and in what parable shall we present it?
“It is like a mustard seed.
“When it is sown in the ground,
it is the smallest seed on earth;
but once sown, it springs up
and becomes larger than all the garden plants,
and it puts out large branches
so that the birds can nest in its shade.”
In many such parables He taught them His doctrine
in a way they could understand.
He did not speak to them in parables,
but once He was alone with His disciples,
He explained everything to them.
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Laudato Si
Encyclical of
Pope Francis
On Care for OurCommon Home
My appeal
13. The urgent challenge to protect our common home
involves a concern to unite the entire human family in the
search for sustainable and integral development, since we know
that things can change. The Creator will not abandon us;
He will not forsake His plan of love. He does not regret
having created us. Humanity still has the capacity to work together
to build our common home. I would like to express my appreciation,
encourage and thank all those who work in the
most diverse sectors of human activity to ensure the
protection of the home we share. Special gratitude is due to all
those who fight vigorously to resolve the dramatic
consequences of environmental degradation in the
lives of the world’s poorest. Young people demand change from us.
They wonder how it is possible to claim to be building
a better future without considering the environmental crisis
and the suffering of those who are excluded.
To be continued
Every day at 1 a.m.
The Bible text in this publication is taken fromThe New Bible Translation,
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Reflections from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation