Thursday in the fifth week

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
In fact, this reading theologically prepares for the division of David’s kingdom. In truth, Solomon’s missteps did not just occur at the end of his life, but were present from the beginning. However, the shattering of this mighty and glorious empire presents the faithful Jew with the inescapable question of the cause of all this. The faithful answer can only be unfaithfulness to the Covenant. There are also historical causes, and the Bible (1 K 12) is well aware of this.

FIRST READING               1Kings 11, 4-13

Because you have not kept my covenant,
I will tear the kingdom away from you,
butI will leave one tribe to your son, for David’s sake.

From the First Book of Kings

In his old age, the women seduced Solomon
into serving other gods;
he was no longer devoted to the Lord his God
with all his heart and soul
as his father David had been.
Solomon worshipped Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians,
and Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites;
he did what was displeasing to the Lord
and did not serve Him as faithfully as his father David.
So Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab,
and for Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites, on the hill east of Jerusalem.
He did the same for all his foreign wives
who wanted to burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods.
Then the Lord, the God of Israel, became angry with Solomon
because he had turned away from Him,
after He had appeared to him twice.
The Lord had expressly forbidden him to worship other gods,
but Solomon had not kept
the Lord’s command.
Therefore the Lord said to him,
“Because you have done this
and have not kept my covenant
or the statutes I have given you,
I will tear the kingdom away from you
and give it to one of your servants.
“But for the sake of your father David,
I will not do this during your lifetime;
I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
“Yet I will not tear out the whole kingdom:
I will leave one tribe to your son,
for the sake of David, my servant,
and of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen.”

INTERLUDIO                   Ps. 106(105), 3-4, 35-36, 37, 40

Do not forget me, Lord, who are gracious to your people.

Blessed are those who follow the Lord’s precepts,
behaving well at all times.
Do not forget me, Lord, who are gracious to your people,
and come down to me with your help.

Your people mingled with the heathen
and adopted their evil ways.
They bowed down to their idols,
which became a snare to them.

They sacrificed their own sons,
their daughters to the demons.
Therefore the Lord was angry with his people
and abhorred his inheritance.

ALLELUIA                   Ps. 119(118), 105

Alleluia.
Your word is a lamp for my feet, Lord,
it is a light on my path.
Alleluia.

GOSPEL                      Mk. 7, 24-30

The dogs under the table eat the crumbs from the children’s table.

From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark

At that time,
Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
He entered a house
and did not want anyone to know about it,
but He could not remain unnoticed.
A woman
whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit
came up to him as soon as she heard about him
and threw herself at his feet.
The woman was a Hellenic of Syrophoenician descent.
She asked him to drive the devil out of her daughter.
Jesus said to her:
“Let the children be fed first.
“For it is not right
to give the bread intended for the children
to the dogs.”
But she replied and said to Him:
“Yes, Lord.
“For even the dogs under the table
eat the children’s crumbs.”
Then He said to her:
“Because you have said this, go,
the devil has left your daughter.”
She returned home,
found her child in bed
and saw that the devil had left.

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Laudato Si

Encyclical of

POPE FRANCIS

On Care for Our Common Home

26. Many of those who have the most resources and economic or political power seem to focus primarily on concealing the problems or hiding their symptoms by merely trying to reduce some of the negative effects of climate change.
However, many symptoms indicate that these effects could become increasingly severe if we continue with current production and consumption patterns.
It is therefore urgently necessary to develop a policy to drastically reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases in the coming years, for example by replacing fossil fuels and developing renewable energy sources.
There is a very low level of access to clean and renewable energy in the world.
Technologies suitable for energy storage must also be developed.
However, progress has been made in some countries that is beginning to be significant, although it is still far from reaching a substantial scale. Technologies suitable for energy storage must also be developed. There have been some investments in methods of production and transport that consume less energy and require fewer raw materials, as well as in ways of constructing and renovating buildings that improve energy efficiency. But these good practices are still far from becoming widespread.

To be continued
Every day at 1 am