Liturgical Readings for : Wednesday, 2nd October, 2024
02-10 The Guardian Angels
FIRST READING :
A reading from the book of Exodus 23:20-23
My angel will go before you.
The Lord says this:
“I myself will send an angel before you to guard you as you go and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Give him reverence and listen to all that he says. Offer him no defiance; he would not pardon such a fault, for my name is in him. If you listen carefully to his voice and do all that I say, I shall be enemy to your enemies, foe to your foes.
My angel will go before you.’
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 90
Response The Lord has commanded his angel to keep you in all your ways.
1. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High and abides in the shade of the Almighty
says to the Lord: ‘My refuge, my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!’ Response
2. It is he who will free you from the snare of the fowler who seeks to destroy you;
he will conceal you with his pinions and under his wings you will find refuge. Response
3. You will not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the plague that prowls in the darkness nor the scourge that lays waste at noon. Response
4. Upon you no evil shall fall, no plague approach where you dwell.
For you has he commanded his angels, to keep you in all your ways. Response
Gospel Acclamation Ps 102: 21
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Give thanks to the Lord, all his hosts, his servants who do his will.
Alleluia
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 18:1-5. 10 Glory to you, O Lord.
Their angels are continuously in the presence of my Father in heaven.
The disciples came to Jesus and said,
‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’
So he called a little child to him and set the child in front of them. Then he said,
‘I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ‘
‘Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.
‘See that you never despise any of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven are continually in the presence of my Father in heaven.
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel Reflection Oct. 2 The Guardian Angels Matthew , 18: 1-5, 10
There is a verse in the letter to the Hebrews which states, ‘do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for by so doing some have entertained angels without knowing it’. The author seems to be saying that there can be more to those who cross our path in life than we realize. Jesus makes the same point in today’s gospel reading when he says, ‘anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me’.
In the historic world of Jesus, the child had no social status or position. Yet, Jesus declares to his disciples that in welcoming the least, like little children, they are welcoming him. He comes to them in and through the least. This is a sobering lesson for the disciples who have just been arguing over which of them was the greatest. Not only do we welcome Jesus when we welcome a child, Jesus declares that unless we become like children we will never enter the kingdom of God. Instead of the grasping attitude the disciples had just shown in arguing over which of them was the greatest, if we are to enter the kingdom of heaven we need something of the open, receptive attitude of children who depend totally on others. Jesus is saying that only those who admit their littleness and put their trust in God will enter the kingdom of heaven.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
