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
During the first days of Lent, the readings focused on what fasting actually is: how one should and should not fast, what kind of fasting pleases the Lord. In the second week, the theme of suffering comes to the fore, traditionally especially on Wednesdays and Fridays. In the Gospel, Jesus speaks bluntly about his suffering in Jerusalem. In response to the insistence of the mother of the sons of Zebedee, He repeats the theme. The theme of suffering is linked to the attitude of the servant of all: his death becomes a sacrifice of atonement.
FIRST READING Jer. 18:18-20
We are plotting against him.
From the Prophet Jeremiah
Those who sought the prophet’s life said:
“We are plotting against Jeremiah.
“The priests never lack instruction,
the wise never lack counsel, or the prophets never lack words.
“We no longer pay attention to what he says.”
Hear me, Lord God, listen to my complaint:
Can one repay good with evil?
Yet they dig a pit for me.
Do not forget that I stood before you
to speak on their behalf
and turn your wrath away from them.
INTERLUDIUM Ps . 31(30), 5-6, 14, 15-16
Save me, Lord, by your grace.
I escape the net that people secretly set for me
because of You who always protect me.
I trustingly place my spirit in Your hands,
You will protect me, faithful God.
I hear them whispering around me,
threats on all sides.
They are plotting against me together
to take my life.
Yet I continue to trust in You, Lord,
I always say: You are my God.
You hold my fate in Your hands,
deliver me from my persecutors.
VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL John 11, 25a , 26
I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me will never die.
GOSPEL Mt . 20, 17-28
The chief priests and the scribes will condemn Jesus to death.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew
When Jesus was about to go to Jerusalem,
He took the twelve aside and on the way He said to them:
“We are going up to Jerusalem,
where the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and
scribes.
They will condemn Him to death
and hand Him over to the Gentiles
to be mocked, flogged and crucified;
but on the third day He will rise again.”
At that time, the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with them
and knelt before him to ask him something.
He said to her,
“What do you want?”
She replied,
“Let these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and one at your left, in your kingdom.”
But Jesus answered,
But Jesus answered:
“You do not know what you are asking.
“Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”
They said to him:
“Yes, we can.”
He said:
“Indeed, you will drink my cup,
but it is not for me
to grant you a place at my right or left hand,
for only those for whom my Father has prepared it
will obtain it.”
When the ten others heard this,
they became angry with the two brothers.
But Jesus called them to him and said:
“You know that the rulers of the nations
rule them with an iron fist
and that the great ones abuse their power over them.
“This shall not be so among you;
whoever wishes to be great among you
must be your servant,
and whoever wishes to be first among you
must be your slave,
just as the Son of Man
did not come to be served,
but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Laudato Si
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCIS
On Care for Our Common Home
46. The social components of global change also include the effects on employment of certain technological innovations, social exclusion, inequality in the availability and consumption of energy and other services, social fragmentation, an increase in violence and the emergence of new forms of social aggression, drug trafficking and increasing drug use among the youngest, and loss of identity.
These are some of the signs that show how the growth of the last two centuries, in all its aspects, has not meant integral progress and an improvement in the quality of life.
Some of these signs are also symptoms of social decline, a silent breaking of the bonds of integration and social community.
Is this the beginning of a new era of social decline, a silent breaking of the bonds of integration and social community?
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
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