DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
SEPTEMBER 19, 2023
TUESDAY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
(OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF SAINT ROBERT BELLARMINE, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH / SAINT JANUARIUS, BISHOP AND MARTYR)
(MEMORIAL - ST. FRANCIS MARY OF CAMPOROSSO)
FIRST READING
1 TIMOTHY 3:1-13 OR (WISDOM 7:7-10, 15-16 / HEBREWS 10:32-36 / PHILIPPIANS 2:13-18)
1 Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 5 If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. 8 In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.11 In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. 12 A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 100(101): 1-3, 5-6 OR (PSALMS 19:8-11 / PSALMS 126:1-6 / PSALMS 112:1, 4-7, 9)
Response: I will walk with blameless heart.
I will sing of loyalty and of justice;
to thee, O LORD, I will sing.
I will give heed to the way that is blameless.
Oh when wilt thou come to me?
R. I will walk with blameless heart.
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
anything that is base.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cleave to me.
R. I will walk with blameless heart.
Him who slanders his neighbor secretly
I will destroy.
The man of haughty looks and arrogant heart
I will not endure.
R. I will walk with blameless heart.
I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
shall minister to me.
R. I will walk with blameless heart.
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GOSPEL
The Lord had compassion on her
LUKE 7:11-17 OR (MATTHEW 7:21-29 / JOHN 12:24-26 / JOHN 15:12-17)
11 Soon afterward he went to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." 14 And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." 15 And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all; and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and "God has visited his people!" 17 And this report concerning him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
The dead man who meets the Life and the Resurrection, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"The dead man was being buried, and many friends were conducting him to his tomb. Christ, the life and resurrection, meets him there. He is the Destroyer of death and of corruption. He is the One in whom we live and move and are (Acts 17:28). He is who has restored the nature of man to that which it originally was and has set free our death-fraught flesh from the bonds of death. He had mercy upon the woman, and that her tears might be stopped, he commanded saying, 'Weep not.' Immediately the cause of her weeping was done away."
(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 36)
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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.