Liturgical Readings for : Friday, 21st June, 2024
Friday of the Eleventh week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
Memorial of St Aloysius Gonzaga, religious
FIRST READING
A reading from the second book of the Kings 11:1-4. 9-18. 20
They anointed Jehoash and shouted ‘Long live the king!’
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah learned that her son was dead, she promptly did away with all those of royal stock. But Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, secretly took away Jehoash, her brother’s son, from among the sons of the king who were being murdered, and put him with his nurse in the sleeping quarters; in this way she hid him from Athaliah, and he was not put to death. He stayed with her for six years, hidden in the Temple of the Lord while Athaliah governed the country.
In the seventh year, Jehoiada sent for the commanders of hundreds of the Carians and of the guards, and had them brought to him in the Temple of the Lord. He made a pact with them and, putting them under oath, showed them the king’s son.
The commanders of hundreds did everything as Jehoiada the priest had ordered. They brought their men, those coming off duty on the sabbath together with those mounting guard on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. The priest equipped the commanders of hundreds with King David’s spears and shields which were in the Temple of the Lord. The guards formed up, each man with his weapon in his hand, from the south corner to the north corner of the Temple, surrounding the altar and the Temple. Then Jehoiada brought out the king’s son, put the crown and armlets on him, and he anointed him king. They clapped their hands and shouted, ‘Long live the king!’
Athaliah, on hearing the shouts of the people, made for the Temple of the Lord where the people were. When she saw the king standing there beside the pillar, as the custom was, with the captains and trumpeters at the king’s side, and all the country people rejoicing and sounding trumpets, Athaliah tore her garments and shouted, ‘Treason, treason!’
Then Jehoiada the priest gave the order to the army officers:
‘Take her outside the precincts and put to death anyone who follows her’. ‘For’ the priest had reasoned ‘she must not be put to death in the Temple of the Lord.’
They seized her, and when she had reached the palace through the Entry of the Horses, she was put to death there.
Jehoiada made a covenant between The Lord and king and people, by which the latter undertook to be the people of the Lord; and also between king and people. All the country people then went to the temple of Baal and demolished it; they smashed his altars and his images and killed Mattan, priest of Baal, in front of the altars.
The priest posted sentries to guard the Temple of the Lord. All the country people were delighted, and the city made no move. And they put Athaliah to death in the royal palace.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 131
Response Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling.
1. The Lord swore an oath to David; he will not go back on his word:
‘A son, the fruit of your body, will I set upon your throne. Response
2. If they keep my covenant in truth and my laws that I have taught them,
their sons also shall rule on your throne from age to age.’ Response
3. For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling:
‘This is my resting-place for ever, here have I chosen to live.’ Response
4. There the stock of David will flower: ‘I will prepare a lamp for my anointed.
I will cover his enemies with shame but on him my crown shall shine.’ Response
Gospel Acclamation 1 Sam 3; 9
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord,
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
or Rom 8: 15
Alleluia, alleluia!
How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 6:19-23 Glory to you, O Lord
Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and woodworms destroy them and thieves can break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor woodworms destroy them and thieves cannot break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
‘The lamp of the body is the eye. It follows that if your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light. But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be all darkness. If then, the light inside you is darkness, what darkness that will be!
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Friday Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Matthew 6:19-23
The words of Jesus in today’s gospel reading from the Sermon on the Mount invite us to ask the question, ‘Where does our treasure lie?’ ‘What is it that we truly treasure?’ Jesus makes a contrast between treasures on earth and treasures in heaven, and he calls on us to store up treasures in heaven rather than treasures on earth. What does it mean to store up treasures in heaven? Elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus speaks about being rich in the sight of God, as distinct from being rich in worldly terms. We are rich in the sight of God when we use our possessions in the service of others, to promote their well-being.
The Samaritan in the parable of the Good Samaritan is a good example of such a person. He had earthly resources; mention is made of oil, wine, a horse, money. That would suggest he was reasonably well-off in the culture of the time. Yet, he used his earthly treasures to store up treasure in heaven, to become rich in the sight of God, by placing them at the disposal of someone from whom everything had been taken and who was literally at death’s door. This is what Jesus had referred to a little earlier in this Sermon on the Mount as letting our light shine in the sight of all, so that, seeing our good works, they may give praise to God in heaven. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says, ‘where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’. The Samaritan treasured the broken man lying by the road side more than he treasured his possessions, and, so, his heart was moved by this stranger’s plight. He is very much the Jesus figure we are all called to grow up into.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
