DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION

OCTOBER 1, 2023

SUNDAY - MEMORIAL OF SAINT THÉRÈSE OF THE CHILD JESUS, VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH

FIRST READING

EZEKIEL 18:25-28 OR (ISAIAH 66:10-14)

25 Yet you say, `The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 26 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die for it; for the iniquity which he has committed he shall die. 27 Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is lawful and right, he shall save his life. 28 Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions which he had committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSALMS 24(25):4-9 OR (PSALMS 131:1-3)

Response: Remember thy mercy, O Lord.

Make me to know thy ways, O LORD;
teach me thy paths.
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me,
for thou art the God of my salvation;
for thee I wait all the day long.

R. Remember thy mercy, O Lord.

Be mindful of thy mercy, O LORD, and of thy steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth, or my trangressions;
according to thy steadfast love remember me,
for thy goodness' sake, O LORD!

R. Remember thy mercy, O Lord.

Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.

R. Remember thy mercy, O Lord.
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SECOND READING

PHILIPPIANS 2:1-11 OR (PHILIPPIANS 2:1-5)

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Word of the Lord
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GOSPEL

Which son did the father's will?

MATTHEW 21:28-32 OR (MATTHEW 18:1-4)

28 "What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' 29 And he answered, I will not'; but afterward he repented and went. 30 And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, `I go, sir,' but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him; and even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him."

The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION

DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS

The Father and his two sons, author unknown, from the 5th century A.D.

"Who is this if not the God who created all people and loves them with a fatherly affection, the God who preferred to be loved as a father rather than feared as a lord, even though he was Lord by nature? On this account, at the beginning of the commandments of the law, he did not say, 'You shall fear the Lord with all your heart' but 'you shall love the Lord with all your heart' (Deuteronomy 6:5). To elicit love is not characteristic of a lord but of a father. Of the two sons in this parable, the older one represents the Gentiles, since they come from their father Noah. The younger son represents the Jews, who come from Abraham. 'And approaching the first, he said, "Son, go and work today in my vineyard." 'Today' refers to this present age. How did he speak to his sons? He didnt address them face to face like man, but he spoke to the heart, like God. Man only utters words to the ear, but God supplies understanding to the mind."

(excerpt from an incomplete Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, HOMILY 40)
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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.