DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
NOVEMBER 2, 2023
THURSDAY - THE COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED (ALL SOULS)
FIRST READING
WISDOM 3:1-9
1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. 2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be an affliction, 3 and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace. 4 For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. 5 Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; 6 like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them. 7 In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble. 8 They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them for ever. 9 Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his elect, and he watches over his holy ones.
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 22(23):1-6 OR (PSALMS 27:1, 4, 7-9, 13-14)
Response: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Or
R. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for thou art with me.
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want;
he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Or
R. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for thou art with me.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil;
for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Or
R. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for thou art with me.
Thou preparest a stable before me
in the presence of my enemies;
thou anointest my head with oil,
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Or
R. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for thou art with me.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for ever.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Or
R. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for thou art with me.
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SECOND READING
ROMANS 6:3-9 OR (ROMANS 5:5-11)
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For he who has died is freed from sin. 8 But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. 9 For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
The Word of the Lord
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GOSPEL
Every one who believes in him will be raised up at the last day
JOHN 6:37-40 OR (JOHN 11:17-27 / LUKE 13:31-35)
37 "All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; 39 and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Whoever sees and believes, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"He has said two things: 'This is the work of God that you should believe in the one whom he has sent,' while here he added, 'whoever sees and believes.' The Jews saw but did not believe; they had the one condition, lacked the other. How could they attain to eternal life without the other? The reason those who saw did not attain eternal life was because they did not also believe. If so, what about us who have believed but have not seen? If it is those two things that earn eternal life, seeing and believing - and whoever is lacking one of them cannot attain to the reward of eternal life - what are we to do? The Jews [who saw him] lacked the one; we the other. They had seeing but lacked believing. We have believing but lack seeing. Well, as regards our having believing and lacking seeing, we have prophetically been declared blessed by the Lord himself just as Thomas, one of the Twelve, was blessed when he felt [Jesus'] scars by touching them."
(excerpt from HOLY VIRGINITY 3.1)
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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.