Invitation
May I draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation aims to share with you the joy of the Gospel. Everyone, without exception,
can experience that joy by opening their hearts
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day
Consideration
Jesus warned his disciples of what lay ahead. The world would hate them, persecute them, threaten them. In those days, this was still taken literally: Jesus had become a thorn in the side of those in power because he would not swallow his criticism, because he publicly stood up for the poor and the sinners. More and more people were following him. In our time, a different ‘danger’ will loom, one which Jesus warns of elsewhere and which makes believers particularly vulnerable: they will be ‘attacked’ by their own family or friends because of their faith.
Indifference, pitying words or gestures: they must not stop us from showing that we believe!
FIRST READING Acts 16:1-10
Cross over to Macedonia and help us.
From the Acts of the Apostles
In those days, Paul came to Derbe and Lystra.
There was a disciple there,
named Timothy,
the son of a Jewish woman who had become a believer,
but of a Greek father.
Because he had a good reputation among the brothers in Lystra and Iconium,
Paul wanted him as a travelling companion.
For the sake of the Jews living in that region,
he had him circumcised,
for everyone knew that his father was a Greek.
In the towns through which they passed,
because the Holy Spirit had prevented them
from preaching the word in Asia.
When they came to Mysia,
they attempted to travel to Bithynia,
but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do so.
So they passed through Mysia and went to Troas.
There, during the night, Paul had a vision:
A Macedonian stood before him, pleading:
“Cross over to Macedonia
and help us.”
After his vision, we immediately sought an opportunity
to set out for Macedonia,
for we realised
that God had called us to preach the Gospel to them.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 100(99), 2, 3, 5
Rejoice in the Lord, all nations
or: Alleluia
Rejoice in the Lord, all nations,
serve the Lord with gladness,
come before him with joyful hearts.
Truly, the Lord is God,
He is the Creator and Master,
we are his flock, his people.
He is gracious to us,
endless is his mercy,
faithful from generation to generation.
ALLELUIA Rev . 1:5ab
Alleluia.
Jesus Christ, faithful witness,
firstborn from the dead;
You have loved us
and redeemed us from our sins by Your blood.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL John 15:18-21
You are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
John
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples:
“If the world hates you,
remember that it hated me before it hated you.
“If you were of the world,
the world would love what is its own.
“But because you are not of the world,
but I have chosen you out of the world,
therefore the world hates you.
“Remember what I have told you:
a servant is not greater than his master.
“If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.
“If they kept My word,
they will also keep yours.
“But all this they will do to you because of My Name,
for they do not know Him who sent Me.”
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Laudato Si
Encyclical of
Pope Francis
On Care for Our Common Home
110. Specialisation, which is inherent in technology, makes it very difficult
to maintain an overview of the whole. The fragmentation of knowledge
becomes apparent when it comes to concrete applications. This often leads
to a loss of the sense of the whole, of the relationships that exist between
things, and of the broader horizon, which becomes irrelevant. This very fact prevents us from discovering adequate ways to solve the most complex problems of the modern world, especially
the problems of the environment and the poor,which cannot be tackled by starting from
a single point of view or a single set of interests. A science that
claims to offer solutions to the major issues would necessarily have to
with knowledge generated in other fields, including
science, philosophy and social ethics. But this
is an approach that is difficult to muster nowadays. Consequently,
one cannot truly recognise ethical reference points either. Life
is determined by circumstances conditioned by
technology, which constitutes the primary source for interpreting existence.
In concrete reality, various symptoms become apparent
that reveal this erroneous assumption, such as environmental pollution,
anxiety, and the loss of the meaning of life and of living together.
Thus it is demonstrated once again that ‘reality takes precedence over the idea’.
The biblical 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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