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
Jesus’ relatives and family members, of all people, do not accept what He says and take offence at Him. The same amazement that Jesus feels at the storm on the lake now takes hold of Him: “Why are you so afraid? Do you still not believe?” The Gospel then briefly and subtly mentions that Jesus “could not perform any miracles there”. This inability is not due to unwillingness or a lack of power on Jesus’ part, but to the people’s lack of faith. After all, a miracle requires faith, but faith is not a prerequisite for it: faith is not required to bring about a miracle, but to see it as a miracle, to understand it, to receive it.
FIRST READING 2 Sam. 24, 2, 9-17
I alone have sinned, but these sheep,
what have they done?
From the Second Book of Samuel
In those days, King David said to Joab, his army commander:
“Go throughout all the tribes of Israel,
from Dan to Beersheba,
and count the people;
I want to know how numerous the people are.”
When the census was completed,
Joab reported the results to the king:
Israel had eight hundred thousand able-bodied men
who could wield the sword,
and Judah had five hundred thousand.
But when David had ordered the census,
his heart began to pound with fear,
and he said to the Lord:
“I have sinned greatly in doing this.
“O Lord, please forgive the sin of your servant;
I have acted very foolishly.”
When David rose the next morning,
the word of the Lord had already come to the prophet Gad,
David’s seer:
“You must go to David and say:
Thus says the Lord:
I will propose three things to you,
from which you must choose one;
with that I will strike you.”
Gad went to David,
and presented this to him, asking:
“Shall there be seven years of famine in your land,
or shall you flee for three months,
pursued by your enemies,
or shall the plague ravage your land for three days?
Think carefully and then decide
what I should answer to Him who sent me.”
Then David said to Gad:
“I am at a loss,
but we are better off in the hand of the Lord
— for His mercy is great —
than in the hands of men.”
So the Lord sent the plague upon Israel,
from that morning until the appointed time,
and seventy thousand people died from Dan to Beersheba.
When the angel of the Lord stretched out his hand
to strike Jerusalem as well,
the Lord repented of the disaster and said to the angel
who was bringing destruction upon the people:
“It is enough; withdraw your hand.”
The angel of the Lord was then
standing by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
When David saw the angel who was destroying the people,
he said to the Lord:
“Ah, Lord, I alone have sinned,
I alone have done wrong,
but these sheep, what have they done?
“Let your hand fall upon me
and upon the house of my father!”
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 32(31), 1-2, 5, 6,7
I confess my fault before the Lord;
and You have forgiven my sin.
Blessed is the one whose fault has been forgiven,
whose sin has been covered by God.
Blessed is the man who has no guilt before God,
whose heart hides no crime.
Then I confessed my sins to You,
no longer denying my guilt.
I said: I confess my sin to the Lord;
then You forgave my sin.
Therefore the pious will turn to You
when he is threatened by disaster;
even if a deluge breaks out over him,
misfortune will not touch him.
You are my refuge, my saviour in times of need,
You envelop me in prosperity and joy.
ALLELUIA Mt . 4, 4b
Alleluia.
Man does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mk . 6, 1-6
A prophet is honoured everywhere except in his own town.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
At that time,
Jesus went to his hometown,
and his disciples went with him.
When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue.
The many listeners asked in amazement:
“Where did he get this?
“And what is this wisdom that has been given to him?
“And what are these miracles that his hands perform?
“Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary
and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon?
“And do not his sisters live here among us?”
And they took offence at him.
But Jesus said to them:
“A prophet is honoured everywhere
except in his own town,
among his relatives and in his own circle.”
He could not perform any miracles there,
except that He healed a few sick people
by laying His hands on them.
He was amazed at their unbelief.
________________________________________________________
Laudato Si
Encyclical of
Pope Francis
On Care for Our Common Home
18. The constant acceleration of changes in humanity
and the planet today goes hand in hand with an intensification of the pace of life
and work in what some in Spanish call “rapidación” (acceleration).
Although change is part of the dynamics of Although change is part of the dynamics of complex systems, the speed at which human activities impose it today is contrary to the natural inertia of biological evolution.
Added to this is the problem that the objectives of this rapid and continuous change are not necessarily directed towards the common good and sustainable and integral human development.
Change is desirable, but it becomes disturbing when it turns into a deterioration of the world and the quality of life of a large part of humanity.
The challenge is to ensure that change is directed towards the common good and sustainable and integral human development.
The challenge is to ensure that change is directed towards the common good and sustainable and integral human development.
The challenge is to ensure that change is directed towards the common good and sustainable and integral human development.
The challenge is to ensure that change is directed towards the common good and sustainable and integral human development.
Change is desirable, but it becomes disturbing when it
leads to a deterioration of the world and the quality of life
of a large part of humanity.
To be continued
Every day at 1 am
The Bible text in this edition is taken fromThe New Bible Translation,
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Reflections from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation