Churches of the Day

Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1

The Old Law brought death, the New Covenant brings freedom from death

FIRST READING

A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians      3:15-4:1. 3-6
God has shone in our minds to radiate the light of the knowledge of God's glory.

Even today, whenever Moses is read, the veil is over their minds. It will not be removed until they turn to the Lord. Now this Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, with our unveiled faces reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Lord, all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the image that we reflect; this is the work of the Lord who is Spirit.

Since we have by an act of mercy been entrusted with this work of administration, there is no weakening on our part. If our gospel does not penetrate the veil, then the veil is on those who are not on the way to salvation; the unbelievers whose minds the god of this world has blinded, to stop them seeing the light shed by the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For it is not ourselves that we are preaching, but Christ Jesus as the Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. It is the same God that said, 'Let there be light shining out of darkness', who has shone in our minds to radiate the light of the knowledge of God's glory, the glory on the face of Christ.

The Word of the Lord           Thanks be to God.


Responsorial Psalm         Ps 84
Response                            The glory of the, Lord will dwell in our land.

1. I will hear what the Lord God has to say, a voice that speaks of peace.
    His help is near for those who fear him and his glory will dwell in our land.               Response

2. Mercy and faithfulness have met, justice and peace have embraced.
    Faithfulness shall spring from the earth and justice look down from heaven.              Response

3. The Lord will make us prosper and our earth shall yield its fruit.
    Justice shall march before him and peace shall follow his steps.                                    Response

Gospel  Acclamation                      1 Thess 2: 13
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Accept God's message it for what it really is, God's message and not some human thinking.
Alleluia!

or                                                           Jn 13: 34
Alleluia, Alleluia!
I give a new commandment: love one another just as I have loved you, says the Lord.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you              And with your spirit.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew       5:20-26 Glory to you, O Lord.
Anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court.

Jesus said to his disciples:
"If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

'You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court.
But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother "Fool" he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him "Renegade" he will answer for it in hell fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.'

The Gospel of the Lord    Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.



Gospel Reflection     Thursday,     Tenth Week in Ordinary Time    Matthew 5:20-26

There is a striking image of our calling as Christians in today’s first reading. Paul declares that we are to reflect, like mirrors, the brightness of the Lord. As we reflect the Lord’s brightness, Paul says, we ourselves grow brighter and brighter until, eventually, we are turned into the one whom we reflect. Paul then states that all of this ‘is the work of the Lord, who is the Spirit’. It is a very powerful vision of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is through the power of the Spirit that we reflect the Lord’s brightness, that we grow brighter and brighter, until we become the one whom we reflect. This work of the Spirit will never be complete in this life. It is only beyond this earthly life that we will be fully conformed to the image of God’s Son. Yet, the Holy Spirit is constantly trying to move us here and now towards this glorious destiny.

The words of Jesus in the gospel reading suggests what it means for us to reflect the brightness of the Lord, to be continually turning into his image. It involves acquiring what Jesus refers to there as a deeper virtue, a virtue that goes deeper than actions, touching our inner core. It is the Spirit who forms this deeper virtue within us, a virtue that impacts on our emotions as much as on our words and actions. Jesus not only forbids killing as the Jewish Law does but warns against the deep feelings of anger that can lead to killing. The creating of this deeper virtue is the good work that the Lord has begun in us and wants to bring to completion through the activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives. To the extent that we allow the Spirit to form this deeper virtue in us, we will reflect every more fully the brightness of the Lord’s loving nature.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from Reflections on the Weekday Readings 2022-2023: Your word is a lamp for my feet and light for my path by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications 2022, c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
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The Most Holy Trinity-year C, Solemnity

At the last Supper Jesus explained to the Apostles that he still had much to teach them
and his Holy Spirit will take care of this  for all the days of the future.

A Day of prayer for Life

FIRST READING

A reading from the Book of Proverbs         8:22-31
Before earth came into being, Wisdom was born.

The Wisdom of God cries aloud:

The Lord created me when his purpose first unfolded, before the oldest of his works.

From everlasting I was firmly set, from the beginning, before earth came into being.
The deep was not, when I was born, there were no springs to gush with water.
Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I came to birth;
before he made the earth, the countryside, or the first grains of the world's dust.

When he fixed the heavens firm, I was there,
when he drew a ring on the surface of the deep,
when he thickened the clouds above, when he fixed fast the springs of the deep,
when he assigned the sea its boundaries- and the waters will not invade the shore-
when he laid down the foundations of the earth, I was by his side, a master craftsman,
delighting him day after day, ever at play in his presence, at play everywhere in his world, delighting to be with the sons of men.

The Word of the Lord             Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm                    Ps 8
Response                                        How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!
1. When I see the heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and the stars which you arranged,
what is man that you should keep him in mind, mortal man that you care for him?                        Response

2. Yet you have made him little less than a god; with glory and honour you crowned him,
gave him power over the works of your hand, put all things under his feet.                         Response

3. All of them, sheep and cattle, yes, even the savage beasts,
birds of the air, and fish that make their way through the waters.                          Response
SECOND READING

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans         5:1-5
The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, by faith we are judged righteous and at peace with God, since it is by faith and through Jesus that we have entered this state of grace in which we can boast about looking forward to God's glory. But that is not all we can boast about; we can boast about our sufferings. These sufferings bring patience, as we know, and patience brings perseverance, and perseverance brings hope, and this hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us.

The Word of the Lord               Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation                
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, the God who is, who was, and who is to come.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you.          And with your spirit
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St  John              16:12-15         Glory to you, O Lord
Everything the Father has is mine;  All the Spirit tells you will be taken from what is mine.

Jesus said to his disciples:
'I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now.
But when the Spirit of truth come he will lead you to the complete truth,
since he will not be speaking as from himself
but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come.
He will glorify me, since all he tells you will be taken from what is mine.
Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: All he tells you will be taken from what is mine.'

The Gospel of the Lord    Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.



Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966, by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.