Invitation
May I take this opportunity to 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 longer we look at Jesus and admire his words and deeds, the more we are captivated by his steadfast and tender love for children, the little ones and the weak, sinners! He truly had and has a heart for humanity. He himself is gentle and humble of heart. That is why he can offer rest and relief to those who are exhausted and despondent. His ideals are not a paralysing yoke. We can bear them and find happiness in them, if, like Him, we wish to grow in intimacy with God, our loving Father.
FIRST READING Deut. 7, 6-11
The Lord has loved you and chosen you.
From the Book of Deuteronomy
In those days Moses spoke to the people:
“You are a people set apart for the Lord your God.
“He has chosen you from all the peoples on earth
to be his own people.
“It is not because you are more numerous than any other nation
that the Lord has set his heart on you and chosen you,
for you are the smallest of all nations;
but because the Lord loved you
and He wished to fulfil the oath He swore to your forefathers;
therefore He brought you out with a mighty hand
from the land of slavery
and delivered you from the power of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
“Know then that the Lord your God is indeed God,
the faithful God, who keeps His covenant,
who shows mercy to those who love Him
and keep His commandments to the thousandth generation,
but who punishes and destroys all who reject Him,
punishes and destroys in their own person, personally.
“He does not wait: He punishes anyone who rejects Him,
him personally.
“Therefore, keep the commandments, statutes and ordinances
which I prescribe to you today.”
Responsorial Ps. 103(102), 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8 and 10
Refrain: God’s mercy endures for ever and ever.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
his holy Name from the depths of your being!
Praise the Lord, O my soul,
do not forget his benefits!
It is He who forgives your sins,
who heals you of your ailments.
It is He who saves you from ruin,
who surrounds you with his favour and mercy.
The Lord is just in all that He does,
He brings justice to the oppressed.
He made His ways known to Moses,
He revealed His works to the people of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He does not treat us as we deserve,
nor does he repay us for our sins.
SECOND READING 1 John 4, 7–16
God loved us first.
From the first letter of Saint John the Apostle
Friends,
Let us love one another
for love comes from God.
Everyone who loves is a child of God,
and knows God.
A person without love does not know God,
for God is love.
And the love that is God
has been revealed among us
by sending his only Son into the world,
to bring us life.
This is what love consists of:
It was not we who loved God,
but He loved us,
and He sent His Son
to wipe out our sins
to take away our sins.
Friends,
if God has loved us so much,
we too must love one another.
No one has ever seen God,
but if we love one another,
God dwells in us,
and his love is made complete in us.
This is the proof that we abide in Him
just as He abides in us,
that He has given us a share of His Spirit.
And we have seen and testify
that the Father has sent His Son
to be the Saviour of the world.
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God dwells in him and he in God.
In this way we have come to know the love God has for us,
and we believe in it.
God is love: whoever lives in love
abides in God, and God abides in him.
Gospel Acclamation Mt 11, 29ab
Alleluia.
Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me:
I am gentle and humble of heart.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt. 11, 25-30
I am gentle and humble of heart.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
At that time, Jesus said:
“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned,
but revealed them to little children.
“Yes, Father, for such was Your good pleasure.
“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father.
“No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest and relief.
“Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from Me:
I am gentle and humble in heart;
and you will find rest for your souls,
for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
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Laudato Si
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCIS
On Care for Our Common Home
globalised economy, tends to homogenise cultures and weaken the immense cultural diversity
which is a treasure of humanity. To claim that one can resolve all difficulties
can be resolved through uniform sets of standards or technical interventions
therefore to neglecting the complexity of local problems, which
active participation of local residents, is neglected. The new
processes being developed cannot always be integrated
into models determined from outside, but must emerge from the local
culture itself. Just as life and the world,
the care of the world must also be flexible and dynamic.
Purely technical solutions risk focusing on symptoms, which do not
deepest problems. It is necessary to adopt the perspective of the
rights of peoples and cultures, and thus to understand that
the development of a social group is a historical
process within a cultural context and requires a
prominent role for local social actors, based on their
own culture. Nor can the concept of quality of life be imposed,
but it must be understood within the world of symbols and
customs specific to every human community.
To be continued
every day at 1 am
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Reflections from Liturgical Suggestions for Weekdays and
Sundays Laudato Si Official english translation _____________________________________________________________________________