FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Exodus        3:13-20
I Am who I Am. I Am has sent me to you.


Moses, hearing the voice of God coming from the middle of the bush, said to him, 'I am to go, then, to the sons of Israel and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you". But if they ask me what his name is, what am I to tell them?' And God said to Moses, 'I Am who I Am. 'This' he added 'is what you must say to the sons of Israel: "I Am has sent me to you".' And God also said to Moses, 'You are to say to the sons of Israel: "The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you". This is my name for all time; by this name I shall be invoked for all generations to come.

'Go and gather the elders of Israel together and tell them, "The Lord, the God of your fathers, has appeared to me, - the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; and he has said to me: I have visited you and seen all that the Egyptians are doing to you. And so I have resolved to bring you up out of Egypt where you are oppressed, into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land where milk and honey flow." They will listen to your words, and with the elders of Israel you are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, "the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has come to meet us. Give us leave, then, to make a three days' journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifice to the Lord our God." For myself, knowing that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless he is forced by a mighty hand, I shall show my power and strike Egypt with all the wonders I am going to work there. After this he will let you go.

The Word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm      Ps 104
Response                           The Lord remembers his covenant for ever
Or                                          Alleluia!

1. Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, the judgements he spoke.      Response

2. He remembers his covenant for ever,
his promise for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.                            Response

3. He gave his people increase;
he made them stronger than their foes,
whose hearts he turned to hate his people
and to deal deceitfully with his servants.    Response

4. Then he sent Moses his servant
and Aaron the man he had chosen.
Through them he showed his marvels
and his wonders in the country of Ham.     Response

Gospel Acclamation     Ps 129: 5
Alleluia, alleluia!
My soul is waiting for the Lord, I count on his word.
Alleluia!

 or                                          Mt 11.28-30
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew11:28-30
I am gentle and humble in heart.


Jesus exclaimed:

'Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,  and you will find rest for your souls.
Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.'

The Gospel of the Lord.

.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________Gospel Reflection    Thursday,    Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time     Matthew 11:28-30

When Jesus declares in today’s gospel reading, ‘my yoke is easy and my burden light’, he is saying that his teaching, his understanding of God’s will, is not something burdensome. Rather, his teaching is liberating and life-enhancing. If his teaching is received and lived, it lightens the burden of oppression; it brings joy. That is not to say that Jesus’ teaching is not demanding. We only have to listen to the Sermon on the Mount to realise that Jesus’ teaching is in many ways more demanding than the teaching of the Jewish Law. If the Law prohibits murder, Jesus prohibits the kind of anger that can lead to murder. If the Law says, ‘an eye for an eye’, Jesus says, ‘love your enemy’. His teaching is demanding but not burdensome. That is because Jesus does not ask us to live his teaching out of our own strength alone. He empowers us to live out his teaching. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus does not say, ‘Come to my teaching’, but ‘Come to me’. He does not say, ‘learn my teaching’, but ‘learn from me’. He calls us into a personal relationship with himself. It is in coming to him that we receive his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and so are empowered to live his teaching and, thereby, to become fully alive as human beings. Jesus promises that here and now we will experience something of that rest that awaits us in eternity if we come to him and allow him to empower us to live his teaching in our daily lives.

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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/
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FIRST READING   

A reading from the Book of   Genesis              18: 1-10
Lord, do not pass your servant by.

The Lord appeared to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre while he was sitting by the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up, and there he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed to the ground. 'My lord,' he said 'I beg you, if I find favour with you kindly do not pass your servant by. A little water shall be brought; you shall wash your feet and lie down under the tree Let me fetch a little bread and you shall refresh yourselves before going further. That is why you have come in your servant's direction.' They replied 'Do as you say.'

Abraham hastened to the tent to find Sarah. 'Hurry' he said 'knead three bushels of flour and make loaves.' Then running to the cattle Abraham took a fine and tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. Then taking cream, milk and the calf he had prepared, he laid all before them, and they ate while he remained standing near them under the tree.

'Where is your wife Sarah?' they asked him. 'She is in the tent' he replied. Then his guest said, 'I shall visit you again next year without fail, and your wife will then have a son. '

The Word of the Lord

Responsorial                  Ps 14
Response                        The just will live in the presence of the Lord.

I. Lord, who shall dwell on your holy mountain?
He who walks without fault;
he who acts with justice
and speaks the truth from his heart;
he who does not slander with his tongue.    Response

2. He who does no wrong to his brother,
who casts no slur on his neighbour,
who holds the godless in disdain,
but honours those who fear the Lord.         Response

3. He who keeps his pledge, come what may;
who takes no interest on a loan
and accepts no bribes against the innocent.
Such a man will stand firm for ever.            Response

SECOND READING  

A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Colossians        1: 24-28
A mystery hidden for generations has now been revealed to his saints.

It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church. I became the servant of the Church when God made me responsible for delivering God's message to you, the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his saints. It was God's purpose to reveal it to them and to show all the rich glory of this mystery to pagans. The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory: this is the Christ we proclaim, this is the wisdom in which we thoroughly train everyone and instruct everyone, to make them all perfect in Christ.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel  Acclamation              Acts 16: 14
Alleluia, alleluia! 
Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!

or                                       Lk 8: 15. 16
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who with a noble and generous heart
have heard the word and take it to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL                               

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke       10: 38-42
Martha welcomed him into her house. Mary has chosen the better part.

Jesus came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord's feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha who was distracted with all the serving said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.' But the Lord answered: 'Martha, Martha,' he said 'you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.'

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.