Wednesday – St Augustine of Canterbury. b.

 

Benedictine monk. Born in the 6th century and died in 604.
Founder of the Church in England

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
Today’s reading is clearly divided into two parts, and twice it strikes at the very heart of the Gospel message. The first part is doctrinal: You have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. God raised Him from the dead. The second part is the heart of the moral message: to love one another as those born anew and from God, the eternal One. With a contrast to conclude: the transience of all earthly things; a quotation from Isaiah 2 (40:8).

FIRST READING                        1 Peter 1, 18–25

You have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ,
the Lamb without blemish or defect. 

From the first letter of Saint Peter the Apostle

Brothers and sisters,

You know that you were not redeemed with perishable things,
such as gold or silver, from the empty way of life
you inherited from your forefathers.
You were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ,
the Lamb without blemish or defect,
who was chosen before the foundation of the world
but appeared only at the end of time
for your sake.
Through Him you believe in God,
who raised Him from the dead
and gave Him glory;
therefore your faith in God is also hope in God.
Now that you have purified your souls
by your obedience to the truth,
you must love one another with sincere brotherly love,
with heart and fervour,
as people who have been born again,
not from perishable seed,
but through the imperishable word
of the living and eternal God.
For all flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like a flower of the field.
The grass withers,
the flower falls away,
but the word of the Lord remains for ever.
And this word is the message
which has been proclaimed to you in the Gospel.

INTERLUDIUM                           Ps. 147, 12–13, 14–15, 19–20

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
or: Alleluia.

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem,
Zion, glorify your God!
For He has firmly secured your gates,
blessed your sons within your walls.

He lets you cultivate your fields in peace
and feeds you with wheat flour.
He sends His command across the earth,
and His word runs swiftly.

It is He who sent His word to Jacob,
His law and commandments to Israel.
Never has He treated any people thus,
nor does He make His ways known to any other.

ALLELUIA                          cf . Eph. 1, 17-18

Alleluia.
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten our inner eye,
that we may see how great is the hope
to which He calls us.
Alleluia.

GOSPEL                         Mk 10, 32-45

We are now going to Jerusalem,
where the Son of Man will be handed over.

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

At that time, the disciples set out for Jerusalem
and Jesus went before them
they were distressed
and those who followed Him were also afraid.
He took the Twelve aside again
and began to speak to them about what was to befall Him:
“We are now going up to Jerusalem,
where the Son of Man
will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes.
“They will condemn Him to death,
and hand Him over to the Gentiles;
they will mock Him and spit on Him,
flagellate Him and kill Him,
but three days later He will rise.”
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
came to him and said:
“Master, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
He replied to them:
“What do you want me to do for you?”
They said to Him:
“Grant that in Your glory one of us may sit at Your right hand
and the other at Your left.”
But Jesus said to them:
“You do not know what you are asking.
“Are you able to drink the cup that I drink
and be baptised with the baptism
with which I am baptised?”
They replied to Him:
“Yes, we can.”
“Indeed,”
– Jesus admitted –
“the cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptised,
you will be baptised;
but it is not for Me
to make you sit at my right or left hand,
for this is reserved only for those
for whom it has been prepared.”
When the other ten heard this,
they were indignant with James and John.
But Jesus called them to him and said to them:
“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the nations
rule them with an iron fist,
and that the great ones abuse their power over them.
“This must not be the case with you;
whoever among you wishes to become great
must be your servant,
and whoever wishes to be first among you
must be the slave of all,
for even the Son of Man
did not come to be served,
but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

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