DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

TUESDAY OF THE THIRTY-FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 

FIRST READING

ROMANS 12:5-16

5 So we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; 7 if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; 8 if one exhorts, in exhortation; if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. 11 Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly; do not be wise in your own estimation.

The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSALM 130(131):1, 2, 3

Response: In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.

O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.

R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.

Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me.

R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.

O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.

R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
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GOSPEL

"Invitation to the King's banquet table"

LUKE 14:15-24

15 When one of those who sat at table with him heard this, he said to him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!" 16 But he said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; 17 and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, `Come; for all is now ready.' 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, `I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it; I pray you, have me excused.' 19 And another said, `I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them; I pray you, have me excused.' 20 And another said, `I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' 21 So the servant came and reported this to his master. Then the householder in anger said to his servant, `Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.' 22 And the servant said, `Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' 23 And the master said to the servant, `Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'"

The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION

DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS:

The heavenly food of Jesus' word, by Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD)

"The holy agape is the sublime and saving creation of the Lord... An agape is in reality heavenly food, a banquet of the Word. The agape, or love, 'bears all things, endures all things, hopes all things. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8). 'Blessed is he who eats bread in the kingdom of God' (Luke 14:15). The most unlikely of all downfalls is charity that does not fail to be thrown down from heaven to earth among all these dainty seasonings. Do you still imagine that I refer to a meal that will be destroyed? (1 Corinthians 6:13) 'If I distribute my goods to the poor and do not have love,' Scripture says, 'I am nothing' (1 Corinthians 13:3). The whole law and the word depend on this love (Matthew 22:40). If you love the Lord your God and your neighbor (Mark 12:30-31), there will be a heavenly feast in heaven. The earthly feast, as we have proved from Scripture, is called a supper. It is permeated with love yet is not identified with it but is an expression of mutual and generous good will."

(excerpt from CHRIST THE EDUCATOR 2,1)
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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.