Liturgical Readings for : Monday, 5th August, 2024
Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle 2
Optional memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major, Rome,
(The first Church in the West named in honour of the Mother of God)
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of the Prophet Jeremiah 28:1-17
Hananiah: the Lord has not sent you; and thanks to you this people are now relying on what is false.
At the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, a Gibeonite, spoke as follows to Jeremiah in the Temple of the Lord in the presence of the priests and of all the people.
‘The Lord, the God of Israel, says this,
“I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. In two years’ time I will bring back all the vessels of the Temple of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon carried off from this place and took to Babylon. And I will also bring back Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who have gone to Babylon.
– It is the Lord who speaks.
Yes, I am going to break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”‘
The prophet Jeremiah then replied to the prophet Hananiah in front of the priests and all the people there in the Temple of the Lord.
‘I hope so‘ the prophet Jeremiah said. ‘May the Lord do so.
May he fulfil the words that you have prophesied and bring the vessels of the Temple of the Lord and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon.
Listen carefully, however, to this word that I am now going to say for you and all the people to hear:
From remote times, the prophets who preceded you and me prophesied war, famine and plague for many countries and for great kingdoms; but the prophet who prophesies peace can only be recognised as one truly sent by the Lord when his word comes true.’
The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it.
In front of all the people Hananiah then said,
The Lord says this,
“This is how, two years hence, I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and take it off the necks of all the nations.“‘ At this, the prophet Jeremiah went away.
After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke which he had taken off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord was addressed to Jeremiah,
‘Go to Hananiah and tell him this,” the Lord says this:
You can break wooden yokes? Right, I will make them iron yokes instead! For the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says this: An iron yoke is what I now lay on the necks of all these nations to subject them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. (They will be subject to him; I have even given him the wild animals.)”‘
The prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah,
‘Listen carefully, Hananiah: the Lord has not sent you; and thanks to you this people are now relying on what is false. Hence – the Lord says this,
“I am going to throw you off the face of the earth: you are going to die this year (since you have preached apostasy from the Lord).”‘
The prophet Hananiah died the same year, in the seventh month.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 118
Response Lord, teach me your statutes.
1. Keep me from the way of error and teach me your law.
Do not take the word of truth from my mouth for I trust in your decrees. Response
2. Let your faithful turn to me, those who know your will.
Let my heart be blameless in your statutes lest I be ashamed. Response
3. Though the wicked lie in wait to destroy me yet I ponder on your will.
I have not turned away from your decrees; you yourself have taught me. Response
Gospel Acclamation Jn 14: 6
Alleluia, Alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
no one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
Or Mt 4: 4
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God .
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew 14:13-21 Glory to you, O Lord
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing.
And breaking the loaves handed them to his disciples who gave them to the crowds.
When Jesus received this news of John the Baptist’s death he withdrew by boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But the people heard of this and, leaving the towns, went after him on foot. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them and healed their sick.
When evening came, the disciples went to him and said, ‘This is a lonely place, and the time has slipped by; so send the people away, and they can go to the villages to buy themselves some food.’
Jesus replied,
‘There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat yourselves.‘
But they answered ‘All we have with us is five loaves and two fish.’
‘Bring them here to me’ he said.
He gave orders that the people were to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And breaking the loaves handed them to his disciples who gave them to the crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected the scraps remaining; twelve baskets full.
Those who ate numbered about five thousand men, to say nothing of women and children.
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Monday, 18th Week in Ordinary Time Matthew 14:22-36 unexpectedly that we have to deal with. We feel ourselves getting annoyed. In the gospel reading, Jesus planned to go away with his disciples to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. However, a crowd of people got there ahead of them, wanting to be in the presence of Jesus. Far from getting upset or annoyed, the gospel reading says that he had compassion on the crowd and began to heal their sick. The needs of others always come first for Jesus; his own plans will always come second to their needs. The Lord is always there for each one of us. When we come before him, we are never disturbing him. He lives to serve us just as much today as during his public ministry.
As the day wore on, Jesus disciples recognized that people were getting hungry. The obvious solution to this problem for the disciples was to send the crowds away to buy food in the neighbouring villages. However, Jesus saw a different solution to their need for food; he would feed them himself, with the help of the disciples. The disciples brought the little food the crowd had to Jesus and in some mysterious way we don’t understand, Jesus fed the crowd so that everyone was satisfied. Having served the crowd by healing their sick, he now served them by feeding them, satisfying their hunger. The actions of Jesus over the bread, taking, blessing, breaking, giving, remind us of what Jesus would go on to do at the last supper and of what happens at every Mass. At every Mass, Jesus in his compassion continues to feed us, not with bread and fish, but with himself, the Bread of Life. If the Lord is always there for us, he is there for us in a very special way at every Eucharist. He then sends us out from Mass to feed others with his presence, as the disciples fed the crowd with the food Jesus provided.
The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
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Alternative Gospel for Year 1)
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according Matthew 14:22-22-34
Tell me to come to you across the water.
When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away. After sending the crowds away, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, while the boat, by now far out on the lake, was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind. In the fourth watch of the night he went towards them, walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him on the lake they were terrified.
‘It is a ghost’ they said, and cried out in fear. But at once Jesus called out to them, saying,
‘Courage! It is I! do not be afraid.’
It was Peter who answered.
‘Lord,’ he said ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’
‘Come’ said Jesus.
Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink.
‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried.
Jesus put out his hand at once and held him.
‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’
And as they got into the boat the wind dropped. The men in the boat bowed down before him and said,
‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’
Having made the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the local people recognised him they spread the news through the whole neighbourhood and took all that were sick to him, begging him just to let them touch the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched it were completely cured.
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
