DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

MONDAY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

(MEMORIAL OF SAINT JOSEPH OF CUPERTINO, PRIEST)

FIRST READING

1 TIMOTHY 2:1-8 OR (1 CORINTHIANS 12:31; 13:1-10, 13)

1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. 3 This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony to which was borne at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;

The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSALMS 27(28):2, 7-9 OR (PSALMS 25:1-5, 8-10)

Response: Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.

Hear the voice of my supplication,
as I cry to thee for help,
as I lift up my hands
towards thy most holy sanctuary.

R. Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.

The LORD is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.

The LORD is the strength of his people,
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
O save thy people, and bless thy heritage;
be thou their shepherd, and carry them for ever.

R. Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.
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GOSPEL

Say the word - be healed

LUKE 7:1-10 OR (MATTHEW 11:25-30)

1 After he had ended all his sayings in the hearing of the people he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a slave who was dear to him, who was sick and at the point of death. 3 When he heard of Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his slave. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he built us our synagogue."6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; 7 therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, `Go,' and he goes; and to another, `Come,' and he comes; and to my slave, `Do this,' and he does it." 9 When Jesus heard this he marveled at him, and turned and said to the multitude that followed him, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well.

The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION

DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS

The power of Divinity and the grace of humility, by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.

"How great is the sign of divine humility, that the Lord of heaven by no means disdained to visit the centurions servant! Faith is revealed in deeds, but humanity is more active in compassion. Surely he did not act this way because he could not cure in his absence, but in order to give you a form of humility for imitation he taught the need to defer to the small and the great alike. In another place he says to the ruler, 'Go, your son lives' (John 4:50), that you may know both the power of Divinity and the grace of humility. In that case he refused to go to the ruler's son, lest he seem to have had regard for riches. In this case he went himself lest he seem to have despised the humble rank of the centurion's servant. All of us, slave and free, are one in Christ (Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11)."

(excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 5.84)
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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.