Liturgical Readings for : Thursday, 17th October, 2024
Thursday of 28th week of Ordinary Time, Year 2
Memorial of St Ignatius of Antioch , bishop and martyr
FIRST READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Ephesians 1:1-10
Before the world was made, he chose us in Christ.
From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, to the saints who are faithful to Christ Jesus.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.
Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless,
and to live through love in his presence,
determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ
for his own kind purposes, to make us praise the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved,
in whom, through his blood, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.
Such is the richness of the grace which he has showered on us in all wisdom and insight.
He has let us know the mystery of his, purpose, the hidden plan he so kindly made in Christ from the beginning
to act upon when the times had run their course to the end:
that he would bring everything together under Christ, as head, everything in the heavens and everything on earth.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 97
Response The Lord has shown his salvation.
1. Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation. Response
2. The Lord has made known his salvation; has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love for the house of Israel. Response
3. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord all the earth, ring out your joy. Response
4. Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp with the sound of music.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn acclaim the King, the Lord. Response
Gospel Acclamation Ps 110: 7
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Your precepts, O Lord, are all of them sure; they stand firm for ever and ever.
Alleluia!
Or Jn 14: 6
Alleluia, Alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
no one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 11:47-54 Glory to you, O Lord
This generation will have to answer for every prophet’s blood, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah.
Jesus said ‘
Alas for you who build the tombs of the prophets, the men your ancestors killed! In this way you both witness what your ancestors did and approve it; they did the killing, you do the building.
‘And that is why the Wisdom of God said,
“I will send them prophets and apostles; some they will slaughter and persecute, so that this generation will have to answer for every prophet’s blood that has been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the altar and the sanctuary”.
Yes, I tell you, this generation will have to answer for it all.
‘Alas for you lawyers who have taken away the key of knowledge! You have not gone in yourselves,
and have prevented others going in who wanted to.’
When he left the house, the scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on him and tried to force answers from him on innumerable questions, setting traps to catch him out in something he might say.
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Thursday, Twenty Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Luke 11:47-54
There is a very striking statement at the end of today’s first reading. According to Saint Paul, God’s purpose is to bring everything together under Christ, as head, everything in the heavens and everything in the earth. There is a wonderful sweep to this vision of God’s purpose. It can excite our imagination and move our heart and intrigue our mind. Yet, we know that everything has not yet been brought together under Christ, as head. Many have yet to hear of Christ and many who have heard of him seem indifferent to him.
Indeed, in today’s gospel reading, those who heard Jesus ‘began a furious attack on him’. Such a hostile response to Christ and his message, and the community he formed about himself, has been there all through history up to and including our own time. We might wonder if God’s purpose will ever come to pass. Will everything ever be brought together under Christ as head? The risen Lord wants to work through each one of us to bring this wonderful purpose of God to pass. We can only help to bring everything under Christ as head if we ourselves in our own personal lives are allowing God to bring us under Christ as head. Only if Christ is head or Lord of our own lives can we have a role in God’s work of bringing everything under Christ as head. If, however, we can proclaim ‘Jesus is Lord’ not just with our lips but with our lives, we can never underestimate the ways that God can work through us to bring his purpose for our world to pass.
The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
