DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
OCTOBER 8, 2023
TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
FIRST READING
ISAIAH 5:1-7
1 Let me sing for my beloved a love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 2 He digged it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. 3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. 4 What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? 5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6 I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry!
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 79(80):9, 12-16, 19-20
Response: The vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel.
Thou didst bring a vine out of Egypt;
thou didst drive out the nations and plant it.
It sent out its branches to the sea,
and its shoots to the River.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel.
Why then hast thou broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel.
Turn again, O God of hosts!
Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
the stock which thy right hand planted.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel.
Then we will never turn back from thee;
give us life, and we will call on thy name!
Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!
let thy face shine, that we may be saved!
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel.
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SECOND READING
PHILIPPIANS 4:6-9
6 Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.
The Word of the Lord
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GOSPEL
The stone which the builders rejected
MATTHEW 21:33-43
33 "Hear another parable. There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; 35 and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them. 37 Afterward he sent his son to them, saying, They will respect my son.' 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.' 39 And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" 41 They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons." 42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: `The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it."
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Life through death, by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Unless the Word of God had first assumed our mortal flesh He could not have died for us. Only in that way was the immortal God able to die and to give life to mortal humans. Therefore, by this double sharing He brought about a wonderful exchange. We made death possible for Him, and He made life possible for us."
(excerpt from Sermon 218C, 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.