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
Introduction
Today we hear Jesus speaking to his disciples just before his suffering.
They think they understand him now, but he knows that a time will come
when they will fall apart and feel alone.
We too know moments of uncertainty, of struggle, of questions.
Jesus does not promise an easy path, but He does promise that He will remain with us
and that His victory is our foundation.
Let us open our hearts to the peace He gives,
in the midst of all that weighs us down.
Today we commemorate Saint John I, Pope and Martyr (526). It is to him that we owe our current calendar,
which takes the birth of Christ as its starting point.
FIRST READING Acts 19, 1-8
Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you came to believe?
From the Acts of the Apostles
Whilst Apollos was in Corinth,
Paul,
after his journey through the interior,
arrived in Ephesus.
There he met some disciples,
to whom he asked:
“Did you receive the Holy Spirit,
when you came to believe?”
They replied:
“We have not even heard
that there is a Holy Spirit.”
Then he said:
“How then were you baptised?”
They replied:
“With the baptism of John.”
Paul continued:
“John baptised as a sign of repentance,
but he told the people
that they must believe in the One who came after him,
that is, Jesus.”
When they had heard this,
they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus.
After Paul had laid his hands on them,
the Holy Spirit came upon them;
they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
There were about twelve of them in all.
He went to the synagogue,
where for three months he spoke boldly
and tried to persuade them
through his discourses
about the Kingdom of God.
RESPONSORIAL Ps. 68(67), 2-3, 4-5ac, 6-7ab
Sing now to God, kingdoms of the earth.
orAlleluia.
When God rises up, the enemy is scattered;
wherever He appears, those who hate Him flee.
Like smoke that is blown away, so do the sinners vanish;
like wax before the fire, so they perish before God.
But all the righteous rejoice with joy
and stand carefree before the face of God.
Sing therefore to God, glorify His Name,
He is the Lord, acclaim Him!
A father to the fatherless, a support to widows,
is God in His holy dwelling.
To the forsaken He gives a home of their own,
to prisoners, freedom and prosperity.
ALLELUIA John14, 26
Alleluia.
The Holy Spirit will teach you all things
and remind you of everything
that I have told you.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL John 16, 29-33
Take heart: I have overcome the world.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
John
At that time, the disciples said to Jesus:
“Look, now You speak plainly and use no figures of speech.
“Now we see that you know everything.
“You do not need anyone to question you.
“We therefore believe that you have come from God.”
Jesus answered them:
“Do you believe now?
“Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it is already here,
when you will be scattered in all directions and leave me alone.
“Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with Me.
“I have told you this so that you may have peace in Me.
“You will have trouble in the world,
but take heart:
I have overcome the world.”
—————————————————————-
Laudato Si
Encyclical of
Pope Francis
On Care for Our Common Home
119. Criticism of a distorted anthropocentrism should not, however,
lead us to place the value of human relationships in the background.
If the ecological crisis is a manifestation of an ethical, cultural
and spiritual crisis of modern times, then we must not
delude ourselves that we can restore our relationship with nature and the environment
without restoring all fundamental human relationships
to health. When Christian thought claims
a special place for human beings above other creatures,
it creates space for an appreciation of every human person and
thus encourages the recognition of the other. Being open to a ‘you’ who
is able to know, to love and to engage in dialogue remains the great nobility of humankind.
Therefore, with regard to an adequate relationship with creation,
it is not necessary to downplay the social dimension of humankind,
nor its transcendent dimension, its openness to the divine ‘You’.
After all, one cannot build a relationship with the environment
whilst at the same time disregarding the relationship with other people and with God.
That would be a form of romantic individualism and a suffocating self-enclosure
within immanence.
To be continued
Every day at1 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