Liturgical Readings for : Thursday, 13th June, 2024
Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
Memorial of St Anthony of Padua, priest and doctor of the Church
FIRST READING
A reading from the first Book of the Kings 18:41-46
Elijah prayed and the sky gave rain.
Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go back, eat and drink; for I hear the sound of rain‘.
While Ahab went back to eat and drink, Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel and bowed down to the earth, putting his face between his knees.
‘Now go up,’ he told his servant ‘and look out to the sea.’
He went up and looked. ‘There is nothing at all‘ he said.
‘Go back seven times’ Elijah said.
The seventh time, the servant said, ‘Now there is a cloud, small as a man’s hand, rising from the sea’.
Elijah said, ‘Go and say to Ahab, “Harness the chariot and go down before the rain stops you”‘.
And with that the sky grew dark with cloud and storm, and rain fell in torrents.
Ahab mounted his chariot and made for Jezreel. The hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and tucking up his cloak he ran in front of Ahab as far as the outskirts of Jezreel.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 64
Response To you our praise is due in Zion, O God.
1. You care for the earth, give it water, you fill it with riches.
Your river in heaven brims over to provide its grain. Response
2. And thus you provide for the earth; you drench its furrows,
you level it, soften it with showers, you bless its growth. Response
3. You crown the year with your goodness. Abundance flows in your steps,
in the pastures of the wilderness it flows. The hills are girded with joy. Response
Gospel Acclamation 1 Thess 2: 13
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message it for what it really is,
God’s message and not some human thinking.
Alleluia!
or Jn 13: 34
Alleluia, alleluia!
I give you a new commandment: love one another
just as I have loved you, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew 5:20-26 Glory to you, O Lord
Anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court.
Jesus said to his disciples:
If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. ‘You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court.
But I say this to you: Anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother “Fool” he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him “Renegade” he will answer for it in hell fire.
So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Thursday Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Matthew 5:20-26
Behaviour was very important to Jesus and to his Jewish tradition. Yet, in today’s gospel, he focuses on what resides in the human heart, the source of our behaviour. A small proportion of the human race commits murder. However, we are all familiar with the emotion of anger. Sometimes our anger is a sign that some injustice is being done. Our anger can be a signal that all is not well with our world. The gospels show that Jesus himself was angry at times. On one occasion, he was angry with his disciples, because they tried to prevent parents from bringing their children to Jesus for him to bless them. Jesus immediately gave an important teaching about children’s entitlement to the riches of God’s kingdom. Jesus channelled his anger in a way that was beneficial for the disciples. Many people’s commitment to working for justice is motivated by anger at the injustices being done to others. Although anger can be a force for good, Jesus was well aware that it can also be a force for harm. We all need to be reflective about our anger.
In the gospel reading, Jesus is inviting us to look below the surface of what we do to what is within. How do we speak about others? What emotions do we have towards them? He calls for a deeper virtue than that of the scribes and Pharisees. He wants to renew the human heart, knowing that it is only such deep-seated renewal that can give rise to a way of living that conforms to God’s will for our lives. The ultimate source of the deeper virtue that Jesus calls for is the Holy Spirit because it is only the Spirit who can truly change our hearts, our depths. As Saint Paul declares in our second reading, ‘the Spirit reaches the depths of everything’, including our own depths.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
