Liturgical Readings for : Monday, 12th August, 2024
Monday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
Optional memorials of Ss Jane Frances de Chantal, religious,
Lelia, Attracta, virgins
and Muredach, bishop
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of the Prophet Ezekiel 1:2-5. 24-28
It was something that looked like the glory of the Lord.
On the fifth of the month – it was the fifth year of exile for King Jehoiachin – the word of the Lord was addressed to the priest Ezekiel son of uzi, in the land of the Chaldaeans, on the bank of the river Chebar.
There the hand of the Lord came on me. I looked;
a stormy wind blew from the north, a great cloud with light around it, a fire from which flashes of lightning darted, and in the centre a sheen like bronze at the heart of the fire. In the centre I saw what seemed four animals. I heard the noise of their wings as they moved; it sounded like rushing water, like the voice of Shaddai, a noise like a storm, like the noise of a camp; when they halted, they folded their wings, and there was a noise.
Above the vault over their heads was something that looked like a sapphire; it was shaped like a throne and high up on this throne was a being that looked like a man. I saw him shine like bronze, and close to and all around him from what seemed his loins upwards was what looked like fire; and from what seemed his loins downwards I saw what looked like fire, and a light all round like a bow in the clouds on rainy days; that is how the surrounding light appeared. It was something that looked like the glory of the Lord. I looked, and prostrated myself.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 148
Response Your glory fills all heaven and earth.
Or Alleluia!
1. Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him, in the heights.
Praise him, all his angers, praise him, all his host. Response
2. All earth’s kings and peoples, praise him, earth’s princes and rulers;
young men and maidens, old men together with children. Response
3. Let them praise the name of the Lord for he alone is exalted.
The splendour of his name reaches beyond heaven and earth. Response
4. He exalts the strength of his people. He is the praise of all his saints,
of the sons of Israel, of the people to whom he comes close. Response
Gospel Acclamation Ps 147: 12. 15
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem! He sends out his word to the earth.
Alleluia!
Or 2 Thess 2: 14
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Through the Good News God called us to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia !
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 17:22-27 Glory to you, O Lord
They will put Son of Man to death, and on the third day he will be raised to life again.
One day when they were together in Galilee, Jesus said to them,
‘The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men;
they will put him to death, and on the third day he will be raised to life again’.
And a great sadness came over them.
When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the half shekel came to Peter and said,
‘Does your master not pay the half-shekel?’
‘Oh yes‘ he replied, and went into the house. But before he could speak, Jesus said,
‘Simon, what is your opinion? From whom do the kings of the earth take toll or tribute?
From their sons or from foreigners?’
And when he replied, ‘From foreigners,’
Jesus said,
‘Well then, the sons are exempt. However, so as not to offend these people, go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that bites, open its mouth and there you will find a shekel; take it and give it to them for me and for you.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Monday Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time Matthew 17:22-27
In today’s first reading, the prophet Ezekiel has a vision of God. He found it very difficult to describe this experience. He uses the phrase, ‘something that looked like’ and ‘what looked like’. It looked like a sapphire, a throne, fire. It looked like all of these elements but it wasn’t any of them. It is very tentative language. Ezekiel is aware that his description doesn’t do justice to what he saw. God is always beyond our words. Human words fail us when it comes to speaking of God. Yet, God has spoken a powerful word to us to help us to see who God is, and that word is ‘Jesus’.
To see Jesus is to see God. How Jesus relates to us shows us how God relates to us. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus shows great sensitivity in the way he relates to those who put a hostile question to Peter, ‘Does your master not pay the half shekel? This was a tax paid to the Temple in Jerusalem for its upkeep. It is clear from the gospel reading that Jesus felt no obligation to pay this tax and, yet, he told Peter to pay it, ‘so as not to offend these people’.
Even though Jesus felt totally free in regard to this Temple tax, he paid it because he didn’t want to offend those for whom the tax was very important. There was a great sensitivity there to the feelings of others. Sensitivity to others, to what is important to them, to what they hold dear, is one of the expressions of love. There are different ways of expressing our relationship with God. Some people’s way of relating to God, their way of praying, for example, may not appeal to us, but we are respectful of it and sensitive to their feelings around it. Jesus revealed God’s love, a love that was full of sensitivity for others. Through the Holy Spirit he empowers us to give expression to this sensitive love in our own lives.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
