Tuesday – in the 17th week

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

We can detect a certain shrewdness in Jeremiah’s prayer. It seems as though Jeremiah is imploring God to spare his people from disaster ‘for their own good’: ‘Do not drag your glorious throne through the mud’, ‘Remember your covenant’, ‘For the sake of your Name…’. The courage to pray to God in such terms shows that we may say anything to Him. That we may speak to Him from the depths of our hearts. Only in this way can we experience how God can cause new hope to blossom from the depths of despair.

FIRST READING                  Jer. 14:17–22

Remember, O Lord, your covenant with us and do not break it.

From the Prophet Jeremiah

I ought to weep,
day and night, without ceasing,
for a terrible calamity has befallen my daughter,
my people have been struck down by a heavy blow.
When I go out of the city,
I see them there, struck down by the sword.
When I go into the city,
I see them there, emaciated by hunger.
Even prophets and priests
are being carried off to a foreign land.
Have You, Lord, rejected Judah,
have You turned away from Zion?
Why have You struck us so hard,
that there is no healing left?
We hoped for peace, but it did not come;
for a time of recovery,
but the terror continued.
Lord, we acknowledge our crimes
and the guilt of our forefathers.
We have indeed sinned against You.
For Your Name’s sake, do not reject us,
do not drag Your glorious throne through the mud.
Remember, we pray, Your covenant with us,
and do not break it.
Do the gods of the nations ever bring rain,
or does heaven itself pour it down?
No, it is You,
Lord our God.
We place our hope in You,
for all this comes from You.

INTERLUDIUM              Ps. 79(78), 8, 9, 11, 13

God of our salvation, for Your Name’s sake, deliver us.

Do not make us pay for past sins,
come to meet us with Your mercy,
for we are but weak human beings.

O help us, God of our salvation, for Your Name’s sake,
deliver us, forgive our sins;
let no one say: ‘Where now is their God?’

May the groans of the bound rise up to You,
deliver with Your power those who are consigned to death.

But we are Your people, Lord, Your own flock,
we shall praise You for ever,
singing Your praise from generation to generation.

ALLELUIA                Ps. 119(118), 18

Alleluia.
Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may behold,
the glory of your law.
Alleluia.

GOSPEL                 Mt. 13:36–43

Just as the weeds are gathered and burnt in the fire,
so too will it be at the end of the world.

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

At that time, Jesus dismissed the crowd and returned home.
His disciples then came to him and said:
‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.’
He replied:
“The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;
the field is the world.
“The good seed are the children of the Kingdom;
the weeds are the children of the evil one,
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil.
“The harvest is the end of the world,
and the reapers are the angels.
Just as the weeds are now gathered in
and burnt in the fire,
so it will be at the end of the world.
“The Son of Man will send out his angels,
and they will gather out of his Kingdom
all who lead others into sin and practise unrighteousness,
to cast them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“Then the righteous
will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom.
“Let anyone with ears listen.”

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Laudato Si

Encyclical of

POPE FRANCIS

On Care for Our Common Home

.

190. In this context, we must always bear in mind that “protection of the environment cannot be guaranteed solely on the basis of a financial calculation of costs and benefits. The environment is one of those goods which market mechanisms cannot adequately protect or promote”.
Once again, we must avoid a magical conception of the market which
tends to assume that problems are resolved solely through the growth of corporate or individual profits. Is it
realistic to expect that someone obsessed with maximising their
profits will pay attention to the environmental impacts they will leave behind for the
coming generations? Within the framework of profit
there is no room to consider the rhythms of nature, its cycles of decay and recovery, and the complexity of ecosystems which can be seriously affected by human intervention. Moreover,
when discussing biodiversity, it is regarded at best as a reserve of economic
resources that could be exploited,
but the true value of things, their significance for
people and cultures, and the interests and needs of the poor are not taken seriously into account.

To be continued
Every morning at 1 am