Thursday – Our Lady of Mount Carmel

The sailors’ patron saints

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

Considerattion

Isaiah prays for help in his time of need. The second part of his prayer emphasises the fact that one cannot save oneself. All effort is in vain unless God saves: He who is able to raise even the dead to life. If He can do that, how could He not be able to save Israel? How would I describe God’s saving presence in my own life?

FIRST READING                     Isa . 26:7–9, 12, 16–19

Awake and rejoice, all you who lie buried in the dust!

From the Prophet Isaiah

Lord, the path of the devout is upright.
You make the way smooth for the righteous.
Even when You walk the path of Your judgements,
we look to You with hope;
to praise You and to remember You
is the longing of our hearts.
My heart longs for You in the night
and my soul seeks You in the morning.
When Your judgements strike the earth,
the inhabitants of the whole world learn what justice is.
But grant us peace, Lord,
for all that has ever befallen us,
Thou hast done unto us.

Thou, Lord, art the One
whom men seek in times of dire need;
the harsh affliction was a punishment,
sent by Thee.
Like a pregnant woman in labour,
who writhes and cries out in her pangs,
so were we, Lord, before Your face.
We had conceived, we went into labour,
but when we gave birth, we brought forth only wind,
and brought no salvation to the land;
the world gained no new inhabitants.
But your dead shall live again,
your fallen shall rise again!
Awake and rejoice,
all you who lie buried in the dust!
For your dew, O Lord, is a radiant dew,
and the land of the shadows shall give birth.

INTERLUDIUM                                 Ps . 102(101), 13, 14, 15, 16–18, 19–21

The Lord looks down from heaven upon the earth.

You, O Lord, endure for ever,
your Name from generation to generation.

Arise and show mercy to Zion,
for now is the time to show compassion,
yes, now the hour has come!

Your servants love those stones;
with sorrow they behold the ruins lying there.

The nations shall once more revere Your Name,
the rulers of the earth Your glory, O Lord;
when You rebuild the walls of Zion,
when You return there in all Your splendour;
when You hear the voice of the plundered,
and do not turn a deaf ear to their pleas.

Let this then be written down for future generations,
and let our sons give thanks to the Lord for it.
The Lord looks down from his holy height,
He looks down from heaven upon the earth.
He will hear the cry of the captives,
and deliver those condemned to death.

ALLELUIA                              Ps. 119(118), 135

Alleluia.
Let your face shine upon your servant, O Lord,
let me see your decrees.
Alleluia

GOSPEL                                Mt . 11:28–30

I am gentle and humble in heart.

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

At that time, Jesus spoke, saying:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
“Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me:
I am meek and humble of 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

178. The tragedy of a politics focused on immediate results,
which is also fuelled by consumer society, makes it
necessary to generate short-term growth. For the sake of electoral
interests, governments are reluctant to risk upsetting the population
with measures that might affect consumption levels
or jeopardise foreign investment. A short-sighted
focus on power hinders the inclusion of a forward-looking environmental agenda
within governments’ public agendas. Thus, people forget that “time takes precedence over
space”, that it is more fruitful to focus on promoting positive processes
rather than on holding positions of power.
Political grandeur manifests itself when, in difficult
times, one acts on the basis of noble principles and with the
long-term common good in mind. Political power finds it very
difficult to incorporate this duty into a national project.

To be continued
Every day at 1 am