Mass Readings for : Tuesday, 15th October, 2024

Liturgical Readings for : Tuesday, 15th October, 2024

Tuesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2

Memorial of St Teresa of Avila, religious and doctor of the Church

Jesus reminds us that what matters in God’s eyes is a clean heart and a pure spirit.

FIRST READING

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Galatians 5:1-6
Whether you are circumcised or not makes no difference – what matters is faith that makes its power felt through love.

When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. It is I, Paul, who tell you this: if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all. With all solemnity I repeat my warning: Everyone who accepts circumcision is obliged to keep the whole Law. But if you do look to the Law to make you justified, then you have separated yourselves from Christ, and have fallen from grace.

Christians are told by the Spirit to look to faith for those rewards that righteousness hopes for, since in Christ Jesus whether you are circumcised or not makes no difference – what matters is faith that makes its power felt through love.

The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 118
Response Lord, let your love come upon me.

1. Lord, let your love come upon me, the saving help of your promise.
Do not take the word of truth from my mouth for I trust in your decrees. Response

2. I shall always keep your law for ever and ever.
I shall walk in the path of freedom for I see your precepts. Response

3. Your commands have been my delight; these I have loved.
I will worship your commands and love them and ponder your statutes. Response

Gospel Acclamation Ps 118: 135
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Let your face shine on your servant, and teach me your decrees.
Alleluia!

or Heb 4: 12
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 11:37-41 Glory to you, O Lord
Give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.

Jesus had just finished speaking when a Pharisee invited him to dine at his house. He went in and sat down at the table. The Pharisee saw this and was surprised that he had not first washed before the meal.
But the Lord said to him,
‘Oh, you Pharisees! You clean the outside of cup and plate,
while inside yourselves you are filled with extortion and wickedness.
Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside too?

Instead, give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Gospel Reflection Tuesday, Twenty Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Luke 11:37-41

We all find ourselves asking the question at some time in our lives, ‘What is it that matters in life?’ ‘What is more important than anything else?’ For people of faith, that question becomes, ‘What is it that matters to the Lord?’ ‘What is most important in his eyes?’ Both of today’s readings give us a sense of what matters most to the Lord. In the gospel reading, Jesus is the guest of a Pharisee, someone who tried to live by God’s law. The Pharisee was concerned that Jesus had not followed the Jewish laws about hand washing before he sat down to eat. For Jesus, however, such regulations were not all that important. He goes on to say that what is really important, what really matters, is what is to be found in a person’s heart.

Is there something of God’s own love in our hearts? Jesus had a heart that was full of God’s love, and he looks for a loving heart in us, a heart that expresses itself in almsgiving, the service of those in greatest need. As Jesus says to his host, ‘Give alms from what you have’. In the first reading too Paul is upset that some members of the church are giving so much importance to the demands of the Jewish Law. What is it that matters, according to Paul? He states it very clearly at the end of the reading, ‘what matters is faith that makes its power felt through love’. What matters to the Lord, according to Paul, is faith, a loving relationship with the Lord, that then flows over into the loving service of others. It is worth holding on to that statement of Paul as we try to find our way in life, ‘What matters is faith that makes its power felt through love’.