DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
OCTOBER 15, 2024
TUESDAY - MEMORIAL OF SAINT TERESA OF JESUS, VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH
FIRST READING
GALATIANS 5:1-6 OR (ROMANS 8:22-27)
1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Now I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is bound to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love.
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 118(119):41, 43-45, 47-48 OR (PSALMS 19:8-11)
Response: Let thy steadfast love come to me, O Lord.
Let thy steadfast love come to me, O LORD,
thy salvation according to thy promise.
R. Let thy steadfast love come to me, O Lord.
And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
for my hope is in thy ordinances.
R. Let thy steadfast love come to me, O Lord.
I will keep thy law continually,
for ever and ever.
R. Let thy steadfast love come to me, O Lord.
And I shall walk at liberty,
for I have sought thy precepts.
R. Let thy steadfast love come to me, O Lord.
For I find my delight in thy commandments,
which I love.
R. Let thy steadfast love come to me, O Lord.
I revere thy commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on thy statutes.
R. Let thy steadfast love come to me, O Lord.
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GOSPEL
What makes the heart clean and holy?
LUKE 11:37-41 OR (JOHN 15:1-8)
37 While he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him; so he went in and sat at table. 38 The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 39 And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of extortion and wickedness. 40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you.
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Acts of mercy are examples of almsgiving, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"What our Lord says, 'Give alms, and behold, all things are clean to you,' applies to all useful acts of mercy. It does not apply just to the one who gives food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothing to the naked, hospitality to the wayfarer or refuge to the fugitive. It also applies to one who visits the sick and the prisoner, redeems the captive, bears the burdens of the weak, leads the blind, comforts the sorrowful, heals the sick, shows the erring the right way, gives advice to the perplexed, and does whatever is needful for the needy. Not only does this person give alms, but the person who forgives the trespasser also gives alms as well. He is also a giver of alms who, by blows or other discipline, corrects and restrains those under his command. At the same time he forgives from the heart the sin by which he has been wronged or offended or prays that it be forgiven the offender. Such a person gives alms not only because he forgives and prays but also because he rebukes and administers corrective punishment, since in this he shows mercy... There are many kinds of alms. When we do them, we are helped in receiving forgiveness of our own sins."
(excerpt from ENCHIRIDION 19.72)
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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.