The Twelve Apostles

JULY 06, 2022, WEDNESDAY

Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)

Optional Memorial of Saint Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr (Red)

CYCLE C - YEAR II

Lectionary: 385

Reading 1 

HOS 10:1-3, 7-8, 12

Israel is a luxuriant vine

whose fruit matches its growth.

The more abundant his fruit,

the more altars he built;

The more productive his land,

the more sacred pillars he set up.

Their heart is false,

now they pay for their guilt;

God shall break down their altars

and destroy their sacred pillars.

If they would say,

“We have no king”—

Since they do not fear the LORD,

what can the king do for them?

The king of Samaria shall disappear,

like foam upon the waters.

The high places of Aven shall be destroyed,

the sin of Israel;

thorns and thistles shall overgrow their altars.

Then they shall cry out to the mountains, “Cover us!”

and to the hills, “Fall upon us!”

“Sow for yourselves justice,

reap the fruit of piety;

break up for yourselves a new field,

for it is time to seek the LORD,

till he come and rain down justice upon you.”

Responsorial Psalm

PS 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R. (4b) Seek always the face of the Lord.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Sing to him, sing his praise,

proclaim all his wondrous deeds.

Glory in his holy name;

rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!

R. Seek always the face of the Lord.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Look to the LORD in his strength;

seek to serve him constantly.

Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,

his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.

R. Seek always the face of the Lord.

or:

R. Alleluia.

You descendants of Abraham, his servants,

sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!

He, the LORD, is our God;

throughout the earth his judgments prevail.

R. Seek always the face of the Lord.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Alleluia 

MK 1:15

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The Kingdom of God is at hand:

repent and believe in the Gospel.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel 

MT 10:1-7

Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples

and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out

and to cure every disease and every illness.

The names of the Twelve Apostles are these:

first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;

James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

Philip and Bartholomew,

Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;

James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;

Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot

who betrayed Jesus.

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,

“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.

Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Listen, as Jesus calls you to be with Him and then sends you out to share the Good News in a way that only you can. He also wants you to realise that He calls you to work alongside Him in a way that no one else can.

PRAYER:

Help me Lord, to understand how my faith too can have a missionary dimension. Show me how I can be an instrument of your love in my encounters with others, so that your kingdom of justice, truth and love may reign.

Jesus Sends Out The Twelve

September 22, 2021, Wednesday
Wednesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
Lectionary: 451

Reading I
Ezr 9:5-9

At the time of the evening sacrifice, I, Ezra, rose in my wretchedness,
and with cloak and mantle torn I fell on my knees,
stretching out my hands to the LORD, my God.
I said: “My God, I am too ashamed and confounded to raise my face to you,
O my God, for our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads
and our guilt reaches up to heaven.
From the time of our fathers even to this day
great has been our guilt,
and for our wicked deeds we have been delivered up,
we and our kings and our priests,
to the will of the kings of foreign lands,
to the sword, to captivity, to pillage, and to disgrace,
as is the case today.
“And now, but a short time ago, mercy came to us from the LORD, our God,
who left us a remnant and gave us a stake in his holy place;
thus our God has brightened our eyes
and given us relief in our servitude.
For slaves we are, but in our servitude our God has not abandoned us;
rather, he has turned the good will
of the kings of Persia toward us.
Thus he has given us new life
to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins,
and has granted us a fence in Judah and Jerusalem.”

Responsorial Psalm
Tobit 13:2, 3-4a, 4befghn, 7-8

R.    (1b) Blessed be God, who lives for ever.

He scourges and then has mercy;
    he casts down to the depths of the nether world,
    and he brings up from the great abyss.
No one can escape his hand.

R.    Blessed be God, who lives for ever.

Praise him, you children of Israel, before the Gentiles,
    for though he has scattered you among them,
    he has shown you his greatness even there.

R.    Blessed be God, who lives for ever.

So now consider what he has done for you,
    and praise him with full voice.
Bless the Lord of righteousness,
    and exalt the King of ages.

R.    Blessed be God, who lives for ever.

In the land of my exile I praise him
    and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation.

R.    Blessed be God, who lives for ever.

Bless the Lord, all you his chosen ones,
    and may all of you praise his majesty.
Celebrate days of gladness, and give him praise.

R.    Blessed be God, who lives for ever.

Alleluia
Mk 1:15

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GOSPEL
Lk 9:1-6

Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority
over all demons and to cure diseases,
and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God
and to heal the sick.
He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey,
neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money,
and let no one take a second tunic.
Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there.
And as for those who do not welcome you,
when you leave that town,
shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.”
Then they set out and went from village to village
proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

REFLECTION:

His promise is that he will be always with us if we allow him to use us in our weakness. He entrusts us with his gifts and healing power. The final word ‘everywhere’ suggests that the grace we carry extends beyond all human boundaries. ‘Every act of love, every mute uplifting of the heart, draws the whole world nearer to God.’

Jesus weds power and authority with compassionate love and humble service. I pray for the Church that its ministers may do likewise.

PRAYER:

Lord, today our world is blessed with technologies of which you knew nothing. Help me to rediscover the heart of discipleship - an absolute reliance on your providence and the freedom that follows from trusting in you.