Flemish Belgian priest Born in Temse on 18 December 1890
and died in Moerzeke on 10 June 1923. Beatified on 3 October 1999
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
Set against the historical background, it was a formidable challenge for the religion of Israel to hold its ground in a world of fascinating gods and goddesses. Elijah is seen as the uncompromising and relentless champion against idolatry. A far greater evil than all other grave sins.
Alongside the theological implications, we must also admire the literary qualities of the passage. With biting irony, the all-too-human God ridicules the prophets of Baal. Shout a little louder: perhaps he has dozed off.
FIRST READING 1 Kings 18, 20–39
Answer, so that this people may recognise that You, Lord,
are the true God, and thus turn their hearts back to You.
From the First Book of Kings
In those days
King Ahab sent a message to all the Israelites
and summoned all the prophets to Mount Carmel.
Elijah stood before all the people and asked:
“How long will you waver between two opinions?
If the Lord is God, follow Him;
if it is Baal, follow Baal.”
But the people gave him no answer.
Then Elijah said to the people:
“I am the only prophet of the Lord left;
the prophets of Baal number four hundred men.
“Give us two bulls.
“Let the prophets of Baal choose one of the two bulls,
cut it into pieces and place it on the wood;
but they must not set the wood alight.
“Then I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood,
but I too will not set the wood alight.
“Then call on the name of your god;
I will call on the name of the Lord;
the god who answers by fire is the true God.”
And all the people said:
“That is good.”
Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal:
“You begin by choosing the bull
and preparing it, for there are many of you.
“Then call upon the name of your god;
but you must not light the fire.”
So they took the bull that was given to them,
prepared it, and from morning until midday
they called upon the name of Baal:
“Baal, answer us!”
But there was no sound and no answer,
no matter how much they leapt about the altar they had built.
When it was midday, Elijah called out to them mockingly:
“Shout a little louder; after all, he is a god.
“He is surely deep in thought,
or he has withdrawn or is away on a journey;
perhaps he is asleep and needs to be woken.”
Then they cried out even louder,
and cut themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom,
until blood dripped down their bodies.
Midday passed,
but they continued in their frenzy
until the time of the evening sacrifice;
yet there was no sound and no answer came:
they found no response.
Now Elijah said to the people:
“Come closer.”
And they all drew near to him.
Then he rebuilt the altar of the Lord,
which had been torn down.
He took twelve stones,
corresponding to the number of tribes
of the sons of Jacob,
to whom the Lord had said:
‘You shall be called Israel.’
With those stones he built an altar to the Lord,
dug a trench around the altar
holding two measures of seed,
stacked the logs,
cut the bull into pieces and laid them on the wood.
Then he said:
“Fill four jars with water
and pour them out over the burnt offering and the wood.”
Then he said:
“Do it again.”
And when they had done it a second time, he said:
“Now for the third time.”
When they had done it a third time,
the water flowed down all sides of the altar;
he also had the trench filled with water.
When the time for the evening sacrifice came,
the prophet Elijah stepped forward and said:
“Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
show today that You are God in Israel,
and that I, Your servant, have done all this at Your command.
“Answer, Lord, answer,
so that this people may recognise that You, Lord, are the true God,
and thus turn their hearts back to You.”
Then the fire of the Lord fell,
consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones and the dust;
it even licked up the water in the trench.
When the people saw this,
they fell prostrate on the ground and cried out:
“The Lord is the true God! The Lord is the true God!”
Interludium Ps . 16(15), 1-2a, 4, 5, 8, 11
Preserve me, O God, for in You I take refuge.
Protect me, O God, for in You I take refuge;
You are my Lord, I acknowledge it.
But he brings misfortune upon himself,
he who follows foreign idols.
I will not offer them libations of blood,
their name shall not pass my lips;
The Lord is my inheritance, my portion from the cup;
He holds my destiny in His hand.
I keep my eyes fixed on the Lord at all times;
I shall not fall, for He stands by my side.
You will show me the path of life,
that I may find my joy in You,
everlasting happiness at Your side.
ALLELUIA Ps . 25(24), 4c, 5a
Alleluia.
Teach me your ways, Lord;
guide me according to your word.
Alleluia
GOSPEL Mt . 5, 17-19
I have not come to abolish
but to bring fulfilment.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abrogate the Law and the Prophets,
but to bring them to fulfilment.
“For truly I say to you:
Heaven and earth will pass away,
before a single jot or tittle of the Law passes away,
until all is accomplished.
“Whoever, therefore, breaks one of these commandments,
even the least of them,
and teaches people to do so,
shall be considered the least in the Kingdom of Heaven,
but whoever keeps them and teaches them
shall be considered great in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
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Laudato Si
Encyclical of
Pope Francis
On Care for Our Common Home
142. Since everything is interconnected, the quality of a society’s
institutions also has consequences for the environment and
the quality of human life: “Any damage to solidarity and
friendship harms the environment”. In this sense, a social
ecology necessarily has an institutional dimension and
gradually the various other dimensions, beginning with the family
as the basic social unit, through the local community and the nation, right up to
international life. Within every social stratum and between the
various strata, the institutions that govern human
relationships develop. Anything that harms these institutions brings about harmful
effects, such as the loss of freedom, injustice and
violence. Various countries are governed by a fragile institutional
system at the expense of the suffering of the population and to the benefit of those
who profit from this state of affairs. Both within the
state administration and in the various sectors of civil society, or in the
relationships between citizens, one observes with remarkable
frequency. Laws may be drafted correctly, but often remain a dead letter. Can one then
hope that legislation and standards concerning the environment are truly
effective? We know, for example, that in countries with clear
legislation for the protection of forests remain silent witnesses to
their regular violation. Moreover, what happens in one region
has a direct or indirect impact on other regions. Thus,
drug use in affluent societies creates a constant or growing
demand for products originating from impoverished areas, where
behaviour degenerates, lives are destroyed and, ultimately, the environment
is ruined.
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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