Invitation
May I take this opportunity to 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
In two readings, we witness the fall of Jerusalem and the end of Judah, the Southern Kingdom. In 598, Jerusalem was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (Assyria had fallen in 606). The king of Judah surrendered and paid tribute. All the treasures were carried off to Babylon and all the officials and skilled craftsmen were taken into exile.
FIRST READING 2 Kings 24:8–17
The king of Babylon took Jehoiachin and all the valiant men into exile to Babylon.
From the Second Book of Kings
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king
and he reigned for three years in Jerusalem.
His mother’s name was Nechusta,
and she was a daughter of Elnathan, a native of Jerusalem.
He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,
just as his father had done.
At that time, the commanders of Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon,
marched on Jerusalem
and laid siege to the city.
During the siege,
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, appeared in person before the city.
Then King Jehoiachin of Judah, together with his mother,
his courtiers, his senior officials and his eunuchs,
surrendered to the king of Babylon.
And he took him captive.
This was in the eighth year of his reign.
Nebuchadnezzar carried off all the treasures of the temple of the Lord
and of the royal palace from Jerusalem,
and stripped the gold from all the articles
which King Solomon of Israel
had had made for the temple of the Lord,
just as the Lord had foretold.
From Jerusalem he carried off into exile all the high officials and all the warriors,
a convoy of ten thousand men,
along with all the smiths and goldsmiths;
no one remained there except the poorest of the land.
He took Jehoiachin to Babylon;
he also took the king’s mother,
his wives, his courtiers and the leading men of the land
from Jerusalem to Babylon.
Seventeen thousand warriors, a thousand smiths and silversmiths,
all the valiant men who had taken part in the war,
were carried off into exile by the king of Babylon.
Afterwards, the king of Babylon appointed
Mattaniah, who was a uncle of Jehoiachin,
as king in his stead
and changed his name to Zedekiah.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 79(78), 1–2, 3–5, 8, 9
God of our salvation, for your Name’s sake, deliver us.
God, the pagans have invaded your inheritance,
they have desecrated your holy temple
and reduced your city to ruins.
They have slain your servants;
their corpses lie like carrion for the birds;
the wild beasts devour their flesh.
Their blood flowed like water from the walls;
and there was no one to bury them.
We are the object of our neighbours’ scorn;
those who live round about us mock us.
How long, O Lord, will You remain angry for ever,
and let Your wrath burn like fire?
Do not make us pay for past sins,
come to meet us with your mercy,
for we are but weak human beings.
Oh, help us, God of our salvation, for your Name’s sake,
deliver us, forgive our sins.
ALLELUIA cf . Acts 16:14b
Alleluia.
Make our hearts receptive, Lord,
and may we follow the word of your Son.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 7:21–29
One house was built on rock, the other on sand.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’
will enter the Kingdom of Heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
“Many will say to me on that day:
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name,
and did we not drive out demons in your name,
and perform many miracles in your name?’
“But then I will declare to them plainly:
‘I never knew you;
depart from Me,
you who practise lawlessness!’
“Now everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice,
may be likened to a wise man
who built his house on rock.
“The rain fell, the floods came,
the wind blew and beat against that house,
but it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
“But anyone who hears these words of Mine
yet does not put them into practice,
may be likened to a foolish man
who built his house on sand.
“The rain fell, the floods came,
the storm raged and beat against that house,
so that it was completely destroyed.”
When Jesus had finished this discourse,
the people were utterly amazed at his teaching.
For he did not teach like their scribes,
but as one who has authority.
____________________________________________________________
Laudato Si’
Encyclical
by Pope Francis
On Care for Our Common Home
157. The common good presupposes respect for the human
person as such, with fundamental and inalienable rights that are
aimed at their integral development. It also requires the instruments
for social welfare
and social security, and the
development of civil society through the application of the principle of
subsidiarity. In this context, the family stands out in particular as the
primary cell of society. Finally, the common good requires social peace, that is to say, stability and security of a certain order, which cannot be achieved without attention to distributive justice.
Violations of this principle always result in violence.
Society as a whole – and within it, above all, the state – has a duty to defend and promote the
common good
To be continued
Every morning at 1 am
The Bible text in this edition is taken fromThe New Bible Translation,
©Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Reflections from Liturgical Suggestions for Weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official english translation