Daily Readings for Sunday, July 21, 2013

Reading 1, Genesis 18:1-10

1 Yahweh appeared to him at the Oak of Mamre while he was sitting by the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day.

2 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 greet them, and bowed to the ground.

3 ‘My lord,’ he said, ‘if I find favour with you, please do not pass your servant by.

4 Let me have a little water brought, and you can wash your feet and have a rest under the tree.

5 Let me fetch a little bread and you can refresh yourselves before going further, now that you have come in your servant’s direction.’ They replied, ‘Do as you say.’

6 Abraham hurried to the tent and said to Sarah, ‘Quick, knead three measures of best flour and make loaves.’

7 Then, running to the herd, Abraham took a fine and tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it.

8 Then taking curds, milk and the calf which had been prepared, he laid all before them, and they ate while he remained standing near them under the tree.

9 ‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ they asked him. ‘She is in the tent,’ he replied.

10 Then his guest said, ‘I shall come back to you next year, and then your wife Sarah will have a son.’ Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 15:2-3, 3-4, 5

2 Whoever lives blamelessly, who acts uprightly, who speaks the truth from the heart,

3 who keeps the tongue under control, who does not wrong a comrade, who casts no discredit on a neighbour,

4 who looks with scorn on the vile, but honours those who fear Yahweh, who stands by an oath at any cost,

5 who asks no interest on loans, who takes no bribe to harm the innocent. No one who so acts can ever be shaken.

Gospel, Luke 10:38-42

38 In the course of their journey he came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.

39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and listened to him speaking.

40 Now Martha, who was distracted with all the serving, came to him and 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.’

41 But the Lord answered, ‘Martha, Martha,’ he said, ‘you worry and fret about so many things,

42 and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, and it is not to be taken from her.’

Reading 2, Colossians 1:24-28

24 It makes me happy to be suffering for you now, and in my own body to make up all the hardships that still have to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church,

25 of which I was made a servant with the responsibility towards you that God gave to me, that of completing God’s message,

26 the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his holy people.

27 It was God’s purpose to reveal to them how rich is the glory of this mystery among the gentiles; it is Christ among you, your hope of glory:

28 this is the Christ we are proclaiming, admonishing and instructing everyone in all wisdom, to make everyone perfect in Christ.

Prayer:

“‘Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things.”

Yes, Lord, we worry and fret about so many things.  That’s why the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a gift from you.  The priest is in the center, the congregation is several steps below the altar where the priest stands. Everything is in place. The priest represents Peter, whom Christ said is the rock on which he would build his church. The Mass puts all things in order, and we are reminded every Sunday of the life-giving church that Jesus left for Peter to grow.  There is silence all around, only the commentators’ and the priest’s voices are heard, our phones are turned off or on silent mode and we are not rushing to some place or appointment.  This is it, the Mass is about you, life is about you, it’s not about us, not about us at all.  We have a straight line to you, undivided is our attention, as it should be when you are around.  Thank you for the gospel for today. We shall not fret. We shall not worry about myriad things that distract us from the center, where you are. Correct us if we wander, if our bodies are in church but our minds are somewhere else. We want to be like Mary, who worships at your feet. We also have to be like Martha, so that work is spread evenly among your disciples and workers. We honor you with our obedience and our loyalty, our desire to be with you in mind, body, heart, soul and spirit. Amen.

Ninth and Last Day

O Most Holy Mother of Mount Carmel, when asked by a saint to grant privileges to the family of Carmel, you gave assurance of your Motherly love and help to those faithful to you and to your Son.

Behold us, your children.

We glory in wearing your holy habit, which makes us members of your family of Carmel, through which we shall have your powerful protection in life, at death and even after death.

Look down with love, O Gate of Heaven, on all those now in their last agony!

Look down graciously, O Virgin, Flower of Carmel, on all those in need of help!

Look down mercifully, O Mother of our Savior, on all those who do not know that they are numbered among your children.

Look down tenderly, O Queen of All Saints, on the poor souls!

(Pause and mention petitions.)

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Reading 1, Deuteronomy 30:10-14

10 if you obey the voice of Yahweh your God, by keeping his commandments and decrees written in the book of this Law, and if you return to Yahweh your God with all your heart and soul.

11 ‘For this Law which I am laying down for you today is neither obscure for you nor beyond your reach.

12 It is not in heaven, so that you need to wonder, “Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it down to us, so that we can hear and practise it?”

13 Nor is it beyond the seas, so that you need to wonder, “Who will cross the seas for us and bring it back to us, so that we can hear and practise it?”

14 No, the word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to put into practice.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37

14 Rescue me from the mire before I sink in; so I shall be saved from those who hate me, from the watery depths.

17 do not turn away from your servant, be quick to answer me, for I am in trouble.

30 I will praise God’s name in song, I will extol him by thanksgiving,

31 for this will please Yahweh more than an ox, than a bullock horned and hoofed.

33 For God listens to the poor, he has never scorned his captive people.

34 Let heaven and earth and seas, and all that stirs in them, acclaim him!

36 the descendants of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his name will dwell there.

Reading 2, Colossians 1:15-20

15 He is the image of the unseen God, the first-born of all creation,

16 for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible, thrones, ruling forces, sovereignties, powers — all things were created through him and for him.

17 He exists before all things and in him all things hold together,

18 and he is the Head of the Body, that is, the Church. He is the Beginning, the first-born from the dead, so that he should be supreme in every way;

19 because God wanted all fullness to be found in him

20 and through him to reconcile all things to him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, by making peace through his death on the cross.

Gospel, Luke 10:25-37

25 And now a lawyer stood up and, to test him, asked, ‘Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’

26 He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? What is your reading of it?’

27 He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.’

28 Jesus said to him, ‘You have answered right, do this and life is yours.’

29 But the man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’

30 In answer Jesus said, ‘A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of bandits; they stripped him, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead.

31 Now a priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.

32 In the same way a Levite who came to the place saw him, and passed by on the other side.

33 But a Samaritan traveller who came on him was moved with compassion when he saw him.

34 He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him onto his own mount and took him to an inn and looked after him.

35 Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper and said, “Look after him, and on my way back I will make good any extra expense you have.”

36 Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the bandits’ hands?’

37 He replied, ‘The one who showed pity towards him.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go, and do the same yourself.’

My Prayer

“… who is my neighbour?”

Lord, you taught us that our neighbor is the lost, the last and the least, the inconsequential one, the one we can afford to ignore and move on from. Thank you, Lord, for constantly reminding us that what matters most is how we inspire and help the most downtrodden among us, the one who is hungry, in jail, sick, lonely, rejected and unlovable. Help us, Lord, to remember this important reminder as we go about our day-to-day life. Help us to be more like you. As your lessons unfold in the gospel and readings, Lord, we know that we have much to learn, because even if we have learned the same lesson over and over again, yet we always forget. Thank you for the sacraments, that we are drawn closer to you because we are almost always distracted from the one truth that defines us as your followers: to love you with all our heart, soul, mind and spirit, and to love our neighbor as you loved us. We are small, but there are times when we are able to understand your teachings, and we grow a little bigger than our own selfish, tired and wounded selves. Thank you, Lord, for keeping us in your favor. Amen.

Eighth Day

You give us hope, O Mother of Mercy, that through your Scapular promise we might quickly pass through the fires of purgatory to the Kingdom of your Son. Be our comfort and our hope.

Grant that our hope may not be in vain but that, ever faithful to your Son and to you, we may speedily enjoy after death the blessed company of Jesus and the saints (pause and mention petitions).

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Seventh Day

O Mary, Help of Christians, you assured us that wearing your Scapular worthily would keep us safe from harm. Protect us in both body and soul with your continual aid. may all that we do be pleasing to your Son and to you (pause and mention petitions).

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Sixth Day

With loving provident care, O Mother Most Amiable, you covered us with your Scapular as a shield of defense against the Evil One.

Through your assistance, may we bravely struggle against the powers of evil, always open to your Son Jesus Christ (pause and mention petitions).

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Fifth Day

O Mother of Fair Love, through your goodness, as your children, we are called to live in the spirit of Carmel. Help us to live in charity with one another, prayerful as Elijah of old, and mindful of our call to minister to God’s people (pause and mention petitions).

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Fourth Day

When you gave us, Gracious Lady, the Scapular as our Habit, you called us to be not only servants, but also your own children.

We ask you to gain for us from your Son the grace to live as you children in joy, peace and love (pause and mention petitions).

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Third Day

O Queen of Heaven, you gave us the Scapular as an outward sign by which we might be known as your faithful children.  May we always wear it with honor by avoiding sin and imitating your virtues. Help us to be faithful to this desire of ours (pause and mention petitions).

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Second Day

Most Holy Mary, Our Mother, in your great love for us you gave us the Holy Scapular of Mount Carmel, having heard the prayers of your chosen son Saint Simon Stock. Help us now to wear it faithfully and with devotion. May it be a sign to us of our desire to grow in holiness.
(pause and mention petitions)

Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.