Liturgical Readings for : Thursday, 12th September, 2024
Thursday of the Twenty-Third Week of Ordinary Time, Year 2
Optional Memorial of the Holy Name of Mary
and St Ailbe, bishop
FIRST READING
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 8:1-7. 11-13
By sinning in this way against your weak consciences, it would be Christ against whom you sinned.
‘We all have knowledge’; yes, that is so, but knowledge gives self-importance – it is love that makes the building grow. A man may imagine he understands something, but still not understand anything in the way that he ought to. But any man who loves God is known by him.
Well then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: we know that idols do not really exist in the world and that there is no god but the One. And even if there were things called gods, either in the sky or on earth – where there certainly seem to be ‘gods‘ and ‘lords‘ in plenty – still for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we exist; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we exist.
Some people, however, do not have this knowledge. There are some who have been so long used to idols that they eat this food as though it really had been sacrificed to the idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled by it. In this way your knowledge could become the ruin of someone weak, of a brother for whom Christ died. By sinning in this way against your brothers, and injuring their weak consciences, it would be Christ against whom you sinned. That is why, since food can be the occasion of my brother’s downfall, I shall never eat meat again in case I am the cause of a brother’s downfall.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 138
Response Lead me, O Lord, in the path of life eternal.
1. O Lord, you search me and you know me, you know my resting and my rising,
you discern my purpose from afar. You mark when I walk or lie down,
all my ways lie open to you. Response
2. For it was you who created my being, knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I thank you for the wonder of my being, for the wonders of all your creation. Response
3. O search me, God, and know my heart. a test me and know my thoughts.
See that I follow not the wrong path and lead me in the path .of life eternal. Response
Gospel Acclamation 1 Jm 1: 21
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept and submit to the word, which has been planted in you
and can save your souls.
Alleluia !
Or I Jn 4: 12
Alleluia, alleluia!
As long as we love one another God will live in us,
and his love will be complete in us.
Alleluia !
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 6:27-38 Glory to you, O Lord
Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I say this to you who are listening:
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you.
If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much.
And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned.
Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Thursday Twenty Third Week in Ordinary Time Luke 6:27-38
We live in an information age. We have access to information today to a degree that wasn’t conceivable even a generation ago. We are more knowledgeable about so many things, compared to our parents or grandparents. We place a high value on knowledge and on those who have it, people who are experts in their field. It is clear from the beginning of today’s first reading that some members of the church in Corinth also placed a high value on knowledge, declaring proudly, ‘We all have knowledge’. However, in Paul’s view, this claim to know has made some of them very arrogant and somewhat indifferent to the impact of their knowledge on others in the community. They may have knowledge but they lack love, the fruit of the Spirit, which according to Paul in that reading ‘makes the building grow’, builds up the church. Paul was convinced that knowledge without love can be destructive of others or, as he puts it, ‘could become the ruin of someone weak’.
In the gospel reading, Jesus elaborates on this love which the Spirit inspires. It embraces those who have done nothing to deserve it, our enemy. It is given to those from whom no return of love can be expected. It is a love that is compassionate, that is ready to suffer with others, no matter who they are, and that refuses to condemn others, leaving judgement to God. This quality of love, which is a reflection of God’s love for us, has a much higher value in God’s eyes than any form of knowledge. If knowledge is to serve others well, it needs to be infused by such love. Jesus concludes by declaring that those who love in his way and who allow this love to shape all their other qualities will be opening themselves up to receiving the ‘full measure’ of God’s generous love.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
