DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
JULY 29, 2021
THURSDAY - MEMORIAL OF SAINTS MARTHA, MARY, AND LAZARUS
FIRST READING
EXODUS 40:16-21, 34-38 OR (1 JOHN 4:7-16)
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 84:3-6, 8, 11 OR (PSALMS 34:2-11)
Response: How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!
My soul longs, yea, faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
R. How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at thy altars, O LORD of hosts,
my King and my God.
R. How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!
Blessed are those who dwell in thy house,
ever singing thy praise!
Blessed are the men whose strength is in thee,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
R. How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!
For a day in thy courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
R. How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!
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GOSPEL
Martha said to Jesus, "I know he will rise again"
JOHN 11:19-27 OR (LUKE 10:38-42 / MATTHEW 13:47-53)
19 Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world."
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
The voice of life and joy that awakens the dead, by Athanasius of Alexandria (295-373 AD)
"I am the voice of life that wakens the dead. I am the good odor that takes away the foul odor. I am the voice of joy that takes away sorrow and grief. I am the comfort of those who are in grief. Those who belong to me are given joy by me. I am the joy of the whole world. I gladden all my friends and rejoice with them. I am the bread of life" (John 6:35).
(excerpt from HOMILY ON THE RESURRECTION OF LAZARUS)
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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.
