Liturgical Readings for : Saturday, 17th August, 2024
Saturday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
Memorial of Our Lady of Knock
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of the Prophet Ezekiel 18:1-10. 13. 30-32
I mean to judge each of you by what he does.
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows,
‘Why do you keep repeating this proverb in the land of Israel:
The fathers have eaten unripe grapes; and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
‘As I live – it is the Lord God who speaks – there will no longer be any reason to repeat this proverb in Israel. See now: all life belongs to me; the father’s life and the son’s life, both alike belong to me. The man who has sinned, he is the one who shall die.
‘The upright man is law-abiding and honest; he does not eat on the mountains or raise his eyes to the idols of the House of Israel, does not seduce his neighbour’s wife or sleep with a woman during her periods. He oppresses no one, returns pledges, never steals, gives his own bread to the hungry, his clothes to the naked. He never charges usury on loans, takes no interest, abstains from evil, gives honest judgement between man and man, keeps my laws and sincerely respects my observances – such a man is truly upright. It is the Lord who speaks.
‘But if anyone has a son prone to violence and bloodshed, who commits one of these misdeeds – charges usury on loans and takes interest, then this son shall certainly not live; having committed all these appalling crimes he will have to die, and his blood be on his own head.
House of Israel, in future I mean to judge each of you by what he does – it is the Lord God who speaks.
Repent, renounce all your sins, avoid all occasions of sin! Shake off all the sins you have committed against me, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why are you so anxious to die, House of Israel? I take no pleasure in the death of anyone – it is the Lord God who speaks. Repent and live!
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 50
Response A pure heart create for me, O God.
1. A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, nor deprive me of your holy spirit. Response
2. Give me again the joy of your help; with a spirit of fervour sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways and sinners may return to you. Response
3. For in sacrifice-you take no delight, burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit. A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn. Response
Gospel Acclamation Col 3: 16
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you;
through him give thanks to God the Father.
Alleluia!
or Mt 11: 25
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom to mere children .
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew 19:13-15 Glory to you, O Lord
Do not stop the little children coming to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs’.
People brought little children to him, for him to lay his hands on them and say a prayer. The disciples turned them away, but Jesus said,
‘Let the little children alone, and do not stop them coming to me;
for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs’.
Then he laid his hands on them and went on his way.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
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Gospel Reflection Saturday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time Matthew 19:13-15
I always read this gospel reading on the occasion of a baptism because it seems so appropriate for baptism. When children are baptized, the Lord is welcoming them into his family, the community of believers we call the church. They are being greatly blessed and graced by the Lord. In today’s gospel reading Jesus wanted to welcome the children whom the parents brought to him for a blessing, but the disciples were turning the children away. Perhaps they thought that Jesus only had time for adults. However, they completely misread Jesus who replied to them,
‘Let the little children alone, and do not stop them coming to me’. Jesus wanted children to be central to the life of the community he was gathering about himself.
He would want them to be central to the life and worship of the church. Jesus goes on to declare in the gospel reading that the kingdom of God belongs to them as much as to anyone else. They have the same right to receive the gift of the kingdom of God as adults. Jesus wants them to be blessed by God who is working powerfully through him. The risen Lord wants us all to open up the riches of the gospel to children. Unlike the disciples in the gospel reading, he wants us, his disciples today, to bring children to himself for prayer and worship. He wants us to help children to come to know him as a friend, so that they can draw strength from his loving presence to them all through their lives.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
