FIRST READING

A reading from the Book of the Apocalypse              21:9-14
Each of the twelve foundation stones bore the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The angel came to speak tome and said :'Come here and I will show you the bride that the Lamb has married.' In the spirit, he took me to the top of an enormous high mountain and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven. It had all the radiant glory of God and glittered like some precious jewel of crystal-clear diamond.

The walls of it were of a great height, and had twelve gates; at each of the twelve gates there was an angel, and over the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; on the east there were three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. The city walls stood on twelve foundation stones, each one of which bore the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The Word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm            Ps 144:10-13, 17-18
Response                                  Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.

1. All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign
and declare your might, O God.                Response

2. They make known to me your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of your reign.
Yours is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to age.                  Response

3. The Lord is just in all his ways
and loving in all his deeds.
He is close to all who call him,
who call on him from their hearts.            Response

Gospel  Acclamation           Jn 1: 49
Alleluia, alleluia!
Rabbi, you are the Son of God,
you are the King of Israel.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John      1:45-51
There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, the one about whom the prophets wrote: he is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.' 'From Nazareth?' said Nathanael 'Can anything good come from that place?' 'Come and see' replied Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, 'There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit'. 'How do you know me?' said Nathanael 'Before Philip came to call you,' said Jesus 'I saw you under the fig tree.' Nathanael answered, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel'. Jesus replied, 'You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. so You will see greater things than that.'

And then he added 'I tell you most solemnly, you will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.'

The Gospel of the Lord.



Gospel Reflection    24th August,     Saint Bartholomew      John 1:45-51

Bartholomew is listed as one of the twelve apostles. He is traditionally identified with the figure of Nathanael, who features in today’s gospel reading. When Philip shared with Nathanael his emerging faith in Jesus of Nazareth, Nathanael dismissed it with the remark, ‘Can anything good come from Nazareth?’ Yet this dismissive, sceptical attitude would not go on to define Nathanael. There was some little openness in him, because when Philip went on to say to him, ‘Come and see’, Nathanael did come and he saw for himself. When Jesus saw Nathanael, he drew attention not to his initial dismissive attitude but to his openness: ‘an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit’. Jesus admired his honesty; there was no pretence in him. As a result of his meeting with Jesus, Nathanael goes on to make his confession of faith in Jesus of Nazareth: ‘You are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel’. Nathanael had moved from scepticism to faith, yet Jesus assures him that he is still only at the beginning of his journey; he has only begun to see. Jesus promises him, ‘You will see greater things … you will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending’. Nathanael will come to recognise Jesus as the meeting point of heaven and earth, as God in human form. Like Nathanael, we are all on a journey. The Lord invites us to ‘come and see’, no matter where we are on that journey, and, if we do manage to see something of the Lord, he promises us that one day we will see greater things than what we now see.

__________________________________

The scripture readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/

The Gospel reflection comes from: Weekday Reflections for the Liturgical Year 2018/2019; I Want to Know Christ  by Martin Hogan, published by The Messenger  c/f   www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

___________________________________________

 

 

FIRST READING      

A reading from the Book of Isaiah          66:18-21
They will bring all your brothers from all the nations.

The Lord says this: I am coming to gather the nations of every language. They shall come to witness my glory. I will give them a sign and send some of their survivors to the nations: to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Moshech, Rosh, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant islands that have never heard of me or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory to the nations. As an offering to the Lord they will bring all your brothers, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, on dromedaries, from all the nations to my holy mountain in Jerusalem, says the Lord, like Israelites bringing oblations in clean vessels to the Temple of the Lord. And of some of them I will make priests and Levites, says the Lord.

The Word of the Lord

Responsorial Psalm       Ps 116
Response                            Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News.
or                                           Alleluia!

1. O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him all you peoples!          Response

2. Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful for ever.                        Response

SECOND READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Hebrews       12:5-7
The Lord trains the one that he loves.

Have you forgotten that encouraging text in which you are addressed as sons? My son, when the Lord corrects you, do not treat it lightly; but do not get discouraged when he reprimands you. For the Lord trains the ones that he loves and he punishes all those that he acknowledges as his sons. Suffering is part of your training; God is treating you as his sons. Has there ever been any son whose father did not train him? Of course, any punishment is most painful at the time, and far from pleasant; but later, in those on whom it has been used, it bears fruit in peace and goodness. So hold up your limp arms and steady your trembling knees and smooth out the path you tread; then the injured limb will not be wrenched, it will grow strong again.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel  Acclamation     Jn 14: 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!

Or                                         Jn 14: 6
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
no one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 13:22-30
People from east and west will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.

Through towns and villages he went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. Someone said to him, 'Sir, will there be only a few saved?' He said to them, 'Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.

'Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, "Lord, open to us" but he will answer, "I do not know where you come from". Then you will find yourself saying, "We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets" but he will reply, "I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men !"

'Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside. And men from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 'Yes, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.'

Gospel of the Lord



Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.