Liturgical Readings for : Friday, 12th July, 2024
Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle 2
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of the Prophet Hosea 14:2-10
We will not say, “Our God!” to what our own hands have made.
The Lord says this:
Israel, come back to the Lord your God; your iniquity was the cause of your downfall.
Provide yourself with words and come back to the Lord.
Say to him, ‘Take all iniquity away so that we may have happiness again and offer you our words of praise.’
Assyria cannot save us, we will not ride horses any more or say, “Our God!” to what our own hands have made, for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion. – I will heal their disloyalty, I will love them with all my heart, for my anger has turned from them.
I will fall like dew on Israel. He shall bloom like the lily,
and thrust out roots like the poplar, his shoots will spread far;
he will have the beauty of the olive and the fragrance of Lebanon.
They will come back to live in my shade; they will grow corn that flourishes,
they will cultivate vines as renowned as the wine of Hebron.
What has Ephraim to do with idols any more when it is I who hear his prayer and care for him? I am like a cypress ever green, all your fruitfulness comes from me.
Let the wise man understand these words. Let the intelligent man grasp their meaning.
For the ways of the Lord are straight, and virtuous men walk in them, but sinners stumble.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 50
Response My mouth shall declare your praise.
1. Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out my offence.
a wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. Response
2. Indeed you love truth in the heart; then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
O purify me, then I shall be clean; O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow. Response
3. A pure heart create for me, a God” put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, nor deprive me of your holy spirit. Response
4. Give me again the joy of your help; with a spirit of fervour sustain me.
O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise. Response
Gospel Acclamation 1 Pt 1: 25
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord remains for ever: What is this word?
It is the Good News that has been brought to you.
Alleluia!
Or Jn 16: 13
Alleluia, alleluia!
When the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth
and he will remind you of all that I have said to you.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 10:16-23 Glory to you, O Lord
It is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.
Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows:
Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves.
‘Beware of men: they will hand you over to Sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.
‘Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved. If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another.
I tell you solemnly, you will not have gone the round of the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.’
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Friday Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time Matthew 10:16-23
In today’s first reading, the Lord not only calls on the people of Israel to turn back to him, but he provides them with words that will help them to turn back, ‘Say to him, “Take all iniquity away so that we may have happiness again…”’.
In the gospel reading, Jesus promises his disciples that when they are handed over to governors and kings for his sake, they should not worry about how to speak or what to say because ‘what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes, because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you’. There are times in the living out of our faith when we simply cannot find the right words for ourselves; we need them to come to us from the Lord.
The readings assure us that the Lord stands ready to give us the words we need when the time comes, whether it is words that allow us to communicate with the Lord, as in the first reading, or words that allow us to communicate the Lord to others, as in the gospel reading. As Saint Paul declares in his letter to the Romans, ‘the Spirit (of the risen Lord) helps us in our weakness’. Our awareness of our ‘weakness’ creates an opening for the Lord to help us, to give us the words we need, whether for prayer or for witnessing to his gospel. In our hour of need, we can pray with confidence the prayer of today’s responsorial psalm, ‘Give me again the joy of your help; with a spirit of fervour sustain me’.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
