RELIGION AND ART

YOU ARE A PRIEST FOR EVER: FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI JUNE 16TH  First Reading Genesis 14:18-20  Melchizedek brought bread and wine Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High. He pronounced this blessing: ‘          Blessed be Abram by God Most High, creator of heaven and earth,    and blessed be God Most High for handing over your enemies to you.’ And Abram gave him a tithe of everything. Readings  Responsorial Psalm:  You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old Second Reading  1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the...

WEDNESDAY 11TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME  LET ME INHERIT A DOUBLE SHARE OF YOUR SPIRIT First Reading  2 Kings 2:1,6-14  Elijah is taken up to heaven This is what happened when the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in the whirlwind: Elijah and Elisha set out from Gilgal, Elijah said, ‘Elisha, please stay here, the Lord is only sending me to the Jordan.’ But he replied, ‘As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you!’ And they went on together.  Readings Lectures Reflections Fifty of the brotherhood of prophets followed them, halting some distance away as the two of them stood beside the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water; and the water divided to left and right, and the two of them crossed over dry-shod. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Make your request. What can I do for you before I am taken from you?’ Elisha answered, ‘Let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ ‘Your request is a difficult one’ Elijah sa...

TUESDAY 11TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME LOVE YOUR ENEMIES AND PRAY FOR THEM First Reading 1King 21:17-29  The punishment of Ahab and Jezebel foretold After the death of Naboth, the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, ‘Up! Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, in Samaria. You will find him in Naboth’s vineyard; he has gone down to take possession of it. You are to say this to him, “The Lord says this: You have committed murder; now you usurp as well. For this – and the Lord says this – in the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs will lick your blood too.”’  Readings Lecture s Reflections Ahab said to Elijah, ‘So you have found me out, O my enemy!’ Elijah answered, ‘I have found you out. For your double dealing, and since you have done what is displeasing to the Lord, I will now bring disaster down on you; I will sweep away your descendants, and wipe out every male belonging to the family of Ahab, fettered or free in Israel. I will treat your ...

MONDAY WEEK 11 IN ORDINARY TIME Reading 1 King 21:1-16  Ahab covets Naboth's vineyard and Jezebel has him killed Naboth of Jezreel had a vineyard close by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria, and Ahab said to Naboth, ‘Give me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden, since it adjoins my house; I will give you a better vineyard for it or, if you prefer, I will give you its worth in money.’ But Naboth answered Ahab, ‘The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors!’  Readings Lectures Reflections Ahab went home gloomy and out of temper at the words of Naboth of Jezreel, ‘I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.’ He lay down on his bed and turned his face away and refused to eat. His wife Jezebel came to him. ‘Why are you so dispirited’ she said ‘that you will not eat?’ He said, ‘I have been speaking to Naboth of Jezreel; I said: “Give me your vineyard either for money or, if you prefer, for another vineyard in exchange.” But he said, “I will not...

THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY YEAR C First Reading Proverbs 8:22-31 Before the earth came into being, Wisdom was born The Wisdom of God cries aloud: The Lord created me when his purpose first unfolded, before the oldest of his works. From everlasting I was firmly set,   from the beginning, before earth came into being. The deep was not, when I was born, there were no springs to gush with water.   Before the mountains were settled,   before the hills, I came to birth; before he made the earth, the countryside,   or the first grains of the world’s dust. When he fixed the heavens firm, I was there,  when he drew a ring on the surface of the deep, when he thickened the clouds above,   when he fixed fast the springs of the deep, when he assigned the sea its boundaries  – and the waters will not invade the shore – when he laid down the foundations of the earth, I was by his side, a master craftsman, delighting h...

SATURDAY WEEK TEN IN ORDINARY TIME: YES IF YES NO IF NO First Reading  Acts 11:21-26,13:1-3  He was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith A great number believed and were converted to the Lord. T he church in Jerusalem heard about this and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. There he could see for himself that God had given grace, and this pleased him, and he urged them all to remain faithful to the Lord with heartfelt devotion; for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith. And a large number of people were won over to the Lord. Readings Lectures Reflections Barnabas then left for Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. As things turned out they were to live together in that church a whole year, instructing a large number of people. It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians.’  In the church at Antioch the following were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, and Lu...

FRIDAY WEEK TEN IN ORDINARY TIME: I SEEK YOUR FACE MY LORD First Reading 1King 19:9,11-16  The Lord was not in the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire When Elijah reached Horeb, the mountain of God, he went into the cave and spent the night in it. Then he was told, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ Then the Lord himself went by. There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. Readings Lectures Reflections And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze. And when Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then a voice came to him, which said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He replied, ‘I am filled with jealous zeal for the Lord of Hosts, because the sons of Isra...