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
The first reading, responsorial psalm and Gospel deal with radical forgiveness of guilt. The parable of the prodigal son is a parable for all times and for every sinner. Yet the introduction places the parable in a context where Pharisees and scribes are inevitably identified with the older son. They do not accept God’s mercy for the sinner. But do we ourselves accept that mercy so easily when we are asked to grant forgiveness? Do we follow the example of the Father?
FIRST READING Micah 7, 14-15, 18-20
God will cast our sins into the depths of the sea.
From the prophet Micah
Take your shepherd’s crook and feed your people, Lord,
the sheep that are your inheritance;
among the trees, in the middle of the forest,
they are so lonely.
Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead,
as in days of old.
I will show wonders,
as in the days when you came out of Egypt.
What God is like you, who forgives iniquity, who passes over the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance; who does not retain his anger forever, but delights in showing mercy?
He will again have compassion on us,
He will crush our guilt
under His feet.
He will cast all their sins
into the depths of the sea.
To Jacob you will show your faithfulness,
to Abraham your goodness,
as you swore to our fathers
in days of old.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 103(102), 1-3, 3-4,9-10, 11-12
The Lord is merciful and gracious.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
his holy Name from the depths of your being!
Praise the Lord, my soul,
do not forget his benefits!
It is He who forgives your debts,
who heals you of your ailments.
It is He who saves you from ruin,
who surrounds you with His favour and mercy.
He does not constantly reproach us,
He is not eternally angry.
He does not treat us as we deserve,
He does not repay us for our guilt.
As far as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his mercy.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our sins from us.
VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL Lk. 15, 18
I will return to my father
and I will say to him:
Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
GOSPEL Lk. 15, 1-3, 11-32
Your brother was dead and has come to life.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
At that time, tax collectors and sinners of all kinds kept coming to Jesus
to listen to him.
The Pharisees and scribes grumbled about this and said,
“That man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
He told them this parable:
“A man had two sons.
“Now the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’
“So he divided his property between them.
“Not long after that, the younger son gathered everything together
and set off for a distant country.
“There he squandered his wealth in wild living.
“When he had spent everything,
a severe famine struck that country,
and he began to suffer.
“So he went to work for one of the citizens of that country,
who sent him to the fields to tend pigs.
“And although he would have liked to fill his stomach
with the husks that the pigs ate,
no one gave them to him.
“Then he came to his senses and said:
How many of my father’s hired servants have food in abundance,
and here I am dying of hunger.
“I will return to my father
and I will say to him:
Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;
I am no longer worthy to be called your son,
but take me on as one of your labourers.”
So he set off to go to his father.
His father saw him coming from a distance
and was moved with compassion;
he ran to him,
threw his arms around his neck and kissed him warmly.
“But the son said to him:
Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;
I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
“But the father ordered his servants:
Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him,
put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
Bring the fattened calf and slaughter it; let us eat and celebrate,
for this son of mine was dead and has come back to life,
he was lost and has been found.
“So they began to celebrate.
Meanwhile, his eldest son was in the field.
But when he returned and approached the house,
he heard music and dancing.
He called one of the servants
and asked what this meant.
The servant replied:
Your brother has come home,
and your father has had the fattened calf slaughtered
because he has got him back safe and sound.
“But he became angry and did not want to go inside.
“When his father came out and urged him,
he replied to his father:
For so many years I have served you and never broken your commandments,
yet you have never given me a goat
to celebrate with my friends.
“And now that your son has come,
who has squandered your wealth with bad women,
you have had the fattened calf slaughtered for him.
“Then the father replied:
Son, you are always with me,
and everything I have is yours.
“But we must celebrate and rejoice,
because your brother was dead and has come to life,
was lost and has been found.”
Laudato Si
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCIS
On Care for Our Common Home
49. I would like to note that people are often not clearly aware of
the problems that particularly affect the marginalised. They are
the majority of the planet, billions of people. They are today the subject
of international political and economic debate, but most of the time
it seems that their problems are presented as an afterthought, as an issue that is almost obligatory or marginal, if not considered purely incidental. When it comes down to it, they are often last on the list. This is partly due to the fact that many academics, opinion makers, the media and centres of power are far removed from them, in isolated urban areas, with no direct contact with their problems. They live and think in abstract terms, far removed from the reality of the marginalised.
They live and think based on the convenience of a development and quality of life that are beyond the reach of the majority of the world’s population. This lack of physical contact and interaction, which is sometimes exacerbated by the fragmentation of our cities, contributes to a hardening of conscience
and a tendency to ignore parts of reality in fragmented analyses. This is sometimes accompanied by ‘green’ discourse.
However, today we cannot avoid recognising that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach, which must integrate justice into discussions about the environment, in order to listen both to the cry of the earth and to the cry of the poor.
To be continued
Every day at 1 am
The Bible text in this edition is taken from The New Bible Translation, © Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
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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