DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
OCTOBER 2, 2020
FRIDAY - MEMORIAL OF THE HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS
FIRST READING
EXODUS 23:20-23
20 "Behold, I send an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. 21 Give heed to him and hearken to his voice, do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression; for my name is in him. 22 But if you hearken attentively to his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 When my angel goes before you, and brings you in to the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Per'izzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jeb'usites, and I blot them out."
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 90 (91):1-2, 3-6, 10-11
Response: The Lord has put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,
who abides in the shadow of the Almighty,
will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.”
R: The Lord has put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways.
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge.
R: The Lord has put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways.
His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
R: The Lord has put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways.
No evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
For he will give his angels charge of you
to guard you in all your ways.
R: The Lord has put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways.
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GOSPEL
Their angels behold the Father in heaven
MATTHEW 18:1-5, 10
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, 3 and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; 10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven."
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Their angels behold the face of my Father in heaven, by Chromatius (died 406 AD)
"It is not right to despise anyone who believes in Christ. A believer is called not only a servant of God but also a son through the grace of adoption, to whom the kingdom of heaven and the company of the angels is promised. And rightly the Lord adds, 'For I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.' How much grace the Lord has toward each one believing in him he himself declares when he shows their angels always beholding the face of the Father who is in heaven. Great is the grace of the angels toward all who believe in Christ. Finally, the angels carry their prayers to heaven. Hence the word of Raphael to Tobias: 'When you prayed along with your daughter-in-law Sara, I offered the memory of your prayer in the sight of God (Deutero-canonical book of Tobit 12:12). Around them there is also the strong guard of the angels; they help each of us to be free from the traps of the enemy. For a human in his weakness could not be safe amid so many forceful attacks of that enemy if he were not strengthened by the help of the angels."
(excerpt from TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 57.1)
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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.