Liturgical Readings for : Tuesday, 12th November, 2024
Tuesday of the Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
Memorial of St Josaphat, bishop and martyr, he worked hard on reuniting Ukranian Catholics
FIRST READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to Titus 2:1-8. 11-14
We must live religious lives while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the appearing of our God and saviour Christ Jesus.
It is for you, then, to preach the behaviour which goes with healthy doctrine. The older men should be reserved, dignified, moderate, sound in faith and love and constancy.
Similarly, the older women should behave as though they were religious, with no scandal-mongering and no habitual wine-drinking – they are to be the teachers of the right behaviour and show the younger women how they should love their husbands and love their children, how they are to be sensible and chaste, and how to work in their homes, and be gentle, and do as their husbands tell them, so that the message of God is never disgraced.
In the same way, you have got to persuade the younger men to be moderate and in everything you do make yourself an example to them of working for good: when you are teaching, be an example to them in your sincerity and earnestness and in keeping all that you say so wholesome that nobody can make objections to it; and then any opponent will be at a loss, with no accusation to make against us
You see, God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race and taught us that what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self-restrained and live good and religious lives here in this present world, while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the appearing of the glory of our great God and saviour Christ Jesus. He sacrificed himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do good.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 36:3-4, 18, 23, 27, 29 R/v v39
Response The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
1. If you trust in the Lord and do good, then you will live in the land and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord, he will grant your heart’s desire. Response
2. He protects the lives of the upright, their heritage will last for ever.
The Lord guides the steps of a man and makes safe the path of one he loves. Response
3. Then turn away from evil and do good and you shall have a home for ever.
The just shall inherit the land; there they shall live for ever. Response
Gospel Acclamation Mt 4: 4
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia!
or Jn 14: 23
Alleluia, Alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him .
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 17:7-10 Glory to you, O Lord
“We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty”
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields,
“Come and have your meal immediately”?
Would he not be more likely to say,
“Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”
Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told?
So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say,
“We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty”.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Tuesday Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time Luke 17:7-10
The short parable Jesus speaks in today’s gospel reading reminds us that we never have a claim on God. After we have done all that God asks of us, we cannot then say to God, ‘I am due some recompense for all that I have done.’ That would be usual in the world of human affairs. People expect to be recompensed in proportion to the work they have done. However, that is not how we are to relate to God. God is never in debt to us, no matter how generous we have been towards God. This is because our good work on God’s behalf is itself due to God’s good working within us. All the good we do is of God. Without God’s loving initiative towards us, we could do nothing that is pleasing to God.
Saint Paul speaks in today’s first reading of how God’s grace was revealed towards us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We have been greatly graced by God and all that is good in our lives is the fruit of that gracious initiative of God towards us. In faithfully serving God we are giving back to God what God has already given to us. Yet, elsewhere, the gospel makes clear that our efforts to serve the Lord well will always be met by further loving initiatives of the Lord towards us. The Lord’s love for us is a given; it doesn’t have to be earned. Our lives of loving service in response to the Lord’s love for us open us up more fully to the Lord’s love for us. As Jesus says elsewhere, if we give to God, it will be given to us by God; a full measure, running over will be poured into our lap.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd
