The Sabbath is supposed to be charitable and to be with the poor; in the Old Testament, people worked for 6 years, but one year to rest, to care for the poor, that is, the seventh year. Human beings are bound by the necessity of work, so rest helps them to hope for a more fulfilling freedom: the hope of the Sabbath in eternity. Catechesis on work, in collaboration with P. Rakotondramanana Soloniaina Jean Emilien.
August 30, 2023 — Wednesday, Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time — Odd Year — Whoever keeps the word of Christ, the love of God is truly perfected in him — Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 23: 27-32)
Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians (Col 1: 21-23)
Brothers and sisters:
You once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds;
God has now reconciled you
in the fleshly Body of Christ through his death,
to present you holy, without blemish,
and irreproachable before him,
provided that you persevere in the faith,
firmly grounded, stable,
and not shifting from the hope of the Gospel that you heard,
which has been preached to every creature under heaven,
of which I, Paul, am a minister.
— The word of the Lord.
Ps 54: 3-4, 6 and 8
O God, by your name save me,
and by your might defend my cause.
O God, hear my prayer;
hearken to the words of my mouth.
Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord sustains my life.
Freely will I offer you sacrifice;
I will praise your name, O LORD, for its goodness.
Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 6: 1-5)
While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath,
his disciples were picking the heads of grain,
rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.
Some Pharisees said,
“Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Have you not read what David did
when he and those who were with him were hungry?
How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,
which only the priests could lawfully eat,
ate of it, and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them,
“The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
— The Gospel of the Lord.
Letter of Saint Paul to the Colosians (Col 1: 15-20)
Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the Body, the Church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the Blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
— The word of the Lord.
Ps 100: 1b-2, 3, 4, 5
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
For he is good,
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke (Lk 5: 33-39)
The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
“The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers,
and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same;
but yours eat and drink.”
Jesus answered them,
“Can you make the wedding guests fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
then they will fast in those days.”
And he also told them a parable.
“No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.
Otherwise, he will tear the new
and the piece from it will not match the old cloak.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins,
and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.
Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.
And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new,
for he says, ‘The old is good.’”
— The Gospel of the Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, You who have come in such large numbers to take part in this national pilgrimage, as well as all of you who are following it from home through the media. We, the bishops of Madagascar, would like to express our deep gratitude to you for having responded to our invitation and for having brought this jubilee initiated by Pope Francis to life spiritually. With you, we take up Mary's song: ‘My soul exalts the Lord’ and we repeat with her: ‘What shall I repay the Lord for all the good he has done me?’....
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