Welcome to my
blog.
You will find
here, daily readings from the Scriptures with a prayerful reflection. Reading
slowly and prayerfully the Word of God is the way to get into contact with Him.
The reflection may help you turn to God, who has revealed himself in the man
Jesus, himself God.
I follow the
sequential readings given us by the Catholic Church for each day.
The Word of God is
like the rain. As the rain bring fruitfulness to the earth, may his Word bear
abundant fruit in your life.
Tuesday 21
July 2020
God delights
in showing mercy
Ps 53: 6, 8
See, I have
God for my help.
The Lord
sustains my soul.
I will
sacrifice to you with willing heart,
and praise
your name, O Lord, for it is good.
____________________
Prayer
Father in heaven, give us your Holy Spirit
so that on fire with faith, hope and love
we may always keep your commandments.
We make our prayer through your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
____________________
First reading
Micah 7:14-15,18-20 ·
Have pity on us one more time
With shepherd’s
crook, O Lord, lead your people to pasture,
the flock
that is your heritage,
living
confined in a forest
with meadow
land all around.
Let them
pasture in Bashan and Gilead
as in the
days of old.
As in the
days when you came out of Egypt
grant us to
see wonders.
What god can
compare with you: taking fault away,
pardoning
crime,
not
cherishing anger for ever
but
delighting in showing mercy?
Once more
have pity on us,
tread down
our faults,
to the bottom
of the sea
throw all our
sins.
Grant Jacob
your faithfulness,
and Abraham
your mercy,
as you swore
to our fatherS
from the days
of long ago.
TH WORD OF THE
LORD
This is a beautiful
prayer offered by the prophet. Taking the images figuratively we can pray
this prayer for the Church today. As the people after the return from exile in
Babylon we few and poor, surrounded by hostile people, so in many countries are
we today. People have never been perfect even when the Christian faith
flourished, but they had faith. The ages of faith have passed. Believers are a
mere remnant, like those who made the hazardous journey from Babylon back to
Jerusalem.
We can trust in the
faithful love of God, our Father, and in Jesus, his human image. We pray for a
renewal of faith throughout the world and particularly in those countries
which were at one time lands of faith, hope, and love.
What an insight into God’s
nature: ‘taking fault away, pardoning crime, not cherishing anger for ever but delighting
in showing mercy?’
What a prayer of trust! ‘Once
more have pity on us, tread down our faults, to the bottom of the sea throw all
our sins.’
Who would not approach such a
God? We can. He has come among us with the name of Jesus.
He is with us in the Holy
Eucharist, in the suffering, the refugee, the abandoned, the sick, and the
dying. For those who have eyes, he can be seen everywhere. Have you and I eyes to see with?
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 84(85):2-8
Let us
see, O Lord, your mercy.
O Lord, you
once favoured your land
and revived
the fortunes of Jacob,
you forgave
the guilt of your people
and covered
all their sins.
You averted
all your rage,
you calmed
the heat of your anger.
Let us
see, O Lord, your mercy.
.
Revive us
now, God, our helper!
Put an end to
your grievance against us.
Will you be
angry with us for ever,
will your
anger never cease?
Let us
see, O Lord, your mercy.
Will you not
restore again our life
that your
people may rejoice in you?
Let us see, O
Lord, your mercy
and give us
your saving help.
Let us
see, O Lord, your mercy.
____________________
1Jn2:5
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Whenever
anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s love
comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
Or:
Jn14:23
Alleluia,
alleluia!
If anyone
loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father
will love him,
and we shall
come to him.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Matthew 12:46-50
My mother and my brothers are anyone who does the will of my Father in
heaven
Jesus was
speaking to the crowds when his mother and his brothers appeared; they were
standing outside and were anxious to have a word with him. But to the man who
told him this Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’ And
stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and
my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother
and sister and mother.’ THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD
Reality always remains the same, but our understanding changes. The working
of things has always been as it is, but it is only now through the development
of science that we know something. As time goes on, scientists will discover
more wonderful things about the world that were there from the beginning, but no one knew.
It is the same with our understanding of Jesus. Jesus was always God,
but no one knew this when he walked this earth. Gradually they came to know it.
It is the same with Mary’s understanding of her Son. It is the same with our
understanding of Mary and her relationship with Jesus. There is a clear
development of understanding in the New Testament. Starting with Mark, through
Matthew, then Luke and John, and finally the book of Revelation. In understanding
the teaching of the Scriptures, we need to see the whole teaching of the Bible.
We must not take one text as if that were the whole bible teaching.
Likewise, Mary, like every mother, needed to learn that her child was
not her personal possession. He had his own life to live and to follow his own
vocation. There has to be the cutting of the umbilical cord in the figurative
sense too. This can be very painful. Mary’s greatness does not lie primarily
in being the biological Mother of God, but in being the perfect believer and
disciple of Jesus. She is truly ‘my mother’. She is the model for the whole human race. Consequently,
she is the great advocate with her Son for the needs of all her children.
____________________
Ps 110: 4-5
The Lord, the
gracious, the merciful,
has made a
memorial of his wonders;
he gives food
to those who fear him.
____________________
Prayer
Father in your
love for us, open our eyes
that we may
realise that you are present
with us always. As
a loving Father you
fill us with your
gifts each moment.
May we leave the
realm of dark sin
and come into the
light of your love.
We make our prayer
through your Son,
Christ Jesus our
Lord.
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