Cyril was a monk and Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444.
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
A lament from Jeremiah is indeed fitting here. At once literarily sublime and heart-rending. Particularly the passage describing the suffering of children and the innocent. Is not every act of violence, from centuries past right up to the present day, denounced here? It is a reflection, not only for believers but for every human being. The lament against the prophets is as sharp as certain laments in the Book of Job. Psalm 74 emphasises and reiterates the feelings of the Jewish believer, who looks forward to the covenant.
FIRST READING Lam. 2:2, 10–14, 18–19
Cry out with all your heart to the Lord, the bulwark of Zion.
From the Lamentations of the prophet Jeremiah
The Lord has ruthlessly
laid waste the land of Jacob;
and in his wrath he has
slaughtered the strongholds of Judah.
His kingdom and its rulers are disgraced,
cast down to the ground.
The elders of Zion sit in silence,
on the ground,
clothed in sackcloth,
with ashes upon their heads.
The maidens of Jerusalem hang their heads.
My eyes are weary from weeping;
how my heart burns,
my courage has failed me:
my people have been so grievously struck down,
children and infants
are dying in the streets.
They still asked their mothers:
‘Where is the bread and the wine?’
but, wounded, they struggled against death
in the streets of the city,
and breathed their last
in their mothers’ arms.
What more can I say,
to which I might compare you, Jerusalem?
What more can I offer,
Zion, to comfort you?
Your wounds are as vast as the sea
and there is no one to heal you.
The visions of your prophets
are lies and deceit.
They do not awaken a sense of guilt
nor do they avert disaster.
Their oracles are worthless,
deceptive.
Cry out to the Lord with all your heart,
the bulwark of Zion.
Do not cease weeping,
give your eyes no rest,
and let your tears flow freely,
day and night.
Cry out to the Lord all night long,
pour out your heart like water.
Pray, with hands raised high,
that your children may live,
who now, on the street corners,
are wasting away with hunger.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 74(73), 1–2, 3–5a, 5b–7, 20–21
Do not carelessly forget
the lives of your little ones, O Lord.
Have You now cast Your flock aside for ever?
My God, does Your wrath flare up time and again?
Remember Your people, whom You have redeemed,
the tribes You have purchased as Your own,
the Zion You have chosen as Your dwelling place.
Turn Your steps once more towards that endless ruin;
the enemy has destroyed all that stood there.
Where we sought You, Your adversaries now cry out
and plant their standard there as a trophy.
Just as one clears a path through the jungle with an axe,
so they smash down your gates with pickaxes and axes.
Your temple has been consigned to the flames,
the dwelling place of your Name on earth has been desecrated.
They said: ‘Let us lay everything waste to the ground’;
your sanctuaries have been burnt to the ground throughout the land.
Remember, Lord, your covenant: the cup is full,
wickedness lurks in every cave and crevice.
Do not disappoint the trust of the oppressed,
let the poor and the needy praise You.
ALLELUIA 2 Tim. 1:10b
Alleluia.
Our Saviour Jesus Christ has destroyed death,
and brought to light eternal life
through the Gospel.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Matt. 8:5–17
Many will come from the east and the west
and will take their places at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew
When Jesus arrived in Capernaum,
a centurion came to Him,
calling upon His help with the words:
“Lord,
my servant lies paralysed in my house and is in terrible pain.”
He said to him:
“I will come and heal him.”
But the centurion replied:
“Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof;
but a single word from You is enough
to heal my servant.
“For though I myself am a subordinate,
I have men under my command;
and to one I say, ‘Go,’ and he goes;
and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes;
and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, He was amazed
and said to those who were following Him:
“Truly, I say to you:
I have not found such great faith in anyone in Israel.
“I tell you,
that many will come from the east and the west
and will take their places at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
in the Kingdom of Heaven;
but the children of the Kingdom
will be cast out into the darkness;
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
And Jesus said to the centurion:
“Go:
as you have believed, so be it done for you.”
And at that very moment the servant was healed.
When Jesus had entered Peter’s house,
He found his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.
He touched her hand, and the fever left her;
she got up and served Him.
When evening had fallen,
many who were possessed were brought to Him;
He cast out the spirits with a word,
and He healed all who were ill, so that what had been said by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
‘He has taken away our infirmities
and borne our sicknesses.’
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Laudato Si
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCIS
On Care for Our Common Home
Intergenerational Justice
159. The concept of the common good also extends to future generations.
The international economic crises have inexorably revealed the harmful
effects of denying a common destiny,
from which those who will come after us
cannot be excluded. Meanwhile, one can no longer speak of
sustainable development without solidarity between the generations.
When we consider the state in which we are leaving the planet to the
future generations, we enter into a different logic, that of the
selfless gift which we receive and pass on. If the earth is given to us, we can
no longer think solely in terms of a utilitarian
criterion of efficiency and productivity for individual gain.
We are not talking here about an optional attitude, but about a fundamental
matter of justice, since the earth we have been given
also belongs to those who are yet to come. The bishops of Portugal
have urged us to take on this duty of justice:
“The environment is governed by the logic of receiving. It is a loan that
each generation receives and must pass on to the next generation”.
An integral ecology takes this broad perspective.
To be continued.
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