DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION

SEPTEMBER 26, 2024

THURSDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

(OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF SAINTS COSMAS AND DAMIAN, MARTYRS)

FIRST READING

ECCLESIASTES 1:2-11 OR (WISDOM 3:1-9)

2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? 4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains for ever. 5 The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south, and goes round to the north; round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. 7 All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. 8 All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; and there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there a thing of which it is said, "See, this is new"? It has been already, in the ages before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to happen among those who come after.

The Word of the Lord
_

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSALMS 89(90):3-6, 12-14, 17 OR (PSALMS 126:1-6)

Response: In every age, O Lord, thou have been our refuge.

Thou turnest man back to the dust,
and sayest, "Turn back, O children of men!"
For a thousand years in thy sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.

R. In every age, O Lord, thou have been our refuge.

Thou dost sweep men away; they are like a dream,
like grass which is renewed in the morning:
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.

R. In every age, O Lord, thou have been our refuge.

So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on thy servants!

R. In every age, O Lord, thou have been our refuge.

Satisfy us in the morning with thy steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Let the favor of the LORD our God be upon us,
and establish thou the work of our hands upon us,
yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

R. In every age, O Lord, thou have been our refuge.
_

GOSPEL

Suppressing truth to ease a guilty conscience

LUKE 9:7-9 OR (MATTHEW 10:28-33)

7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, 8 by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen. 9 Herod said, "John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?" And he sought to see him.

The Gospel of the Lord
_

REFLECTION

DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS

Integrity is a hardship for the morally corrupt, by Peter Chrysologus (400-450 AD)

"John aroused Herod by his moral admonitions, not by any formal accusation. He wanted to correct, not to suppress. Herod, however, preferred to suppress rather than be reconciled. To those who are held captive, the freedom of the one innocent of wrongdoing becomes hateful. Virtue is undesirable to those who are immoral; holiness is abhorrent to those who are impious; chastity is an enemy to those who are impure; integrity is a hardship for those who are corrupt; frugality runs counter to those who are self-indulgent; mercy is intolerable to those who are cruel, as is loving-kindness to those who are pitiless and justice to those who are unjust. The Evangelist indicates this when he says, "John said to him, It is not lawful for you to have the wife of your brother Philip." This is where John runs into trouble. He who admonishes those who are evil gives offense. He who repudiates wrongdoers runs into trouble. John was saying what was proper of the law, what was proper of justice, what was proper of salvation and what was proper certainly not of hatred but of love. And look at the reward he received from the ungodly for his loving concern!"

(excerpt from SERMONS 127.6-7)
_

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.