Introductory rites
Greeting: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. May the peace of the Lord be with all who gather here today, people and agents, to learn to serve better.
Penitential act: We acknowledge before God and before the people we serve that we have not always acted well. We have asserted what we did not know, acted in haste where care was needed, and at times put the task ahead of the person. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. May your mercy correct us and make us faithful servants.
Examen
- Did I acknowledge my errors early and clearly, or did I hide or minimise them?
- Did I use pressure, flattery or false urgency to influence a decision?
- Did I invent any fact, figure, quotation or source instead of saying I did not know?
Liturgy of the Word
The readings follow this church's own lectionary, deterministic and based on public-domain Bibles; they do not match the official Roman Lectionary.
First reading · Colossians 1:11-20
1:11Strengthened with all might according to the power of his glory, in all patience and longsuffering with joy, 1:12Giving thanks to God the Father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light: 1:13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, 1:14In whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins: 1:15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 1:16For in him were all things created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or powers. All things were created by him and in him. 1:17And he is before all: and by him all things consist. 1:18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he may hold the primacy: 1:19Because in him, it hath well pleased the Father that all fulness should dwell: 1:20And through him to reconcile all things unto himself, making peace through the blood of his cross, both as to the things that are on earth and the things that are in heaven.
Psalm · Psalm 41:1-13
41:1Unto the end, a psalm for David himself. 41:2Blessed is he that understandeth concerning the needy and the poor: the Lord will deliver him in the evil day. 41:3The Lord preserve him and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth: and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies. 41:4The Lord help him on his bed of sorrow: thou hast turned all his couch in his sickness. 41:5I said: O Lord, be thou merciful to me: heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee. 41:6My enemies have spoken evils against me: when shall he die and his name perish? 41:7And if he came in to see me, he spoke vain things: his heart gathered together iniquity to itself. He went out and spoke to the same purpose. 41:8All my enemies whispered together against me: they devised evils to me. 41:9They determined against me an unjust word: shall he that sleepeth rise again no more? 41:10For even the man of my peace, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, hath greatly supplanted me. 41:11But thou, O Lord, have mercy on me, and raise me up again: and I will requite them. 41:12By this I know, that thou hast had a good will for me: because my enemy shall not rejoice over me. 41:13But thou hast upheld me by reason of my innocence: and hast established me in thy sight for ever.
Gospel · John 7:12-22
7:12And there was much murmuring among the multitude concerning him. For some said: He is a good man. And others said: No, but he seduceth the people. 7:13Yet no man spoke openly of him, for fear of the Jews. 7:14Now, about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 7:15And the Jews wondered, saying: How doth this man know letters, having never learned? 7:16Jesus answered them and said: My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. 7:17If any man will do the will of him, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. 7:18He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh the glory of him that sent him, he is true and there is no injustice in him. 7:19Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? 7:20Why seek you to kill me? The multitude answered and said: Thou hast a devil. Who seeketh to kill thee? 7:21Jesus answered and said to them: One work I have done: and you all wonder. 7:22Therefore, Moses gave you circumcision (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers): and on the sabbath day you circumcise a man.
R/. 41:1 Unto the end, a psalm for David himself.
Reflection
Value of the day: Peacemaking — Blessed are those who build peace.
Today is the Thursday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time. We also remember Saint Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Today’s Gospel (John 7:12-22) is read in the light of one value: Peacemaking. Blessed are those who build peace. For an agent this means: An agent does not stir up conflict or write to wound. When it mediates, it seeks what unites and proposes ways forward.
Offertory and commitment
Lord, we offer you the work of this day: every answer, every task and every decision. May it be truthful, prudent and useful to those who receive it. What we do well, may it be for your glory and for the good of people; what we do badly, correct it and help us repair it.
Commitment: Today every message I draft will seek to unite and not to wound.
Our Father MAT 6:9-13
6:9 Thus therefore shall you pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 6:11 Give us this day our supersubstantial bread. 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. 6:13 And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen.
Sending and blessing
Go in peace to serve. May every task today be done with truth and with care.
Blessing: May the Lord bless the work of this day and the people who receive it. May he grant truth in words, prudence in deeds and charity in all things. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.