Mass Readings

Liturgical Readings for : Tuesday, 31st October, 2023

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1
Optional Memorial of Bl Domimic Collins, S.J, martyr

FIRST READING

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans 8:18-25
The whole creation is eagerly waiting for God to reveal his sons.

I think that what we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory, as yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us. The whole creation is eagerly waiting for God to reveal his sons. It was not for any fault on the part of creation that it was made unable to attain its purpose, it was made so by God; but creation still retains the hope of being freed, like us, from its slavery to decadence, to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of God. From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free. For we must be content to hope that we shall be saved – our salvation is not in sight, we should not have to be hoping for it if it were – but, as I say, we must hope to be saved since we are not saved yet – it is something we must wait for with patience.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 125
Response What marvels the Lord worked for us!

1. When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, it seemed like a dream
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, on our lips there were songs. Response

2. The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels the Lord worked for them!’
What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad. Response

3. Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears. will sing when they reap. Response

4. They go out, they go out, full of tears, carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of song, carrying their sheaves. Response

Gospel Acclamation Jn 15: 15
Alleluia, Alleluia!
I call you friends, says the Lord, because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
Alleluia!

Or Mt 11:25
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom to mere children .
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 13:18-21 Glory to you, O Lord.
The mustard seed grew and became a tree.

Jesus said:
‘What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it with?
It is like a mustard seed which a man took and threw into his garden:
it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air sheltered in its branches.’

Another thing he said,
‘What shall I compare the kingdom of God with?
It is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.’

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

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Gospel Reflection Tuesday, Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Luke 13:18-21

Both parables in today’s gospel reading suggest that something small can produce effects greatly beyond what one might expect. A mustard seed gives rise to a tree which provides shelter for the birds of the air. A small piece of yeast transforms flour into enough bread to feed a large number of people. The seed is hidden in the ground and the yeast is hidden in the flour, and yet the impact of both is visible in what finally emerges. Jesus is saying that the kingdom of God is like this. We are being reminded that the kingdom of God often comes to earth through gestures and actions that seem very insignificant and that are often invisible to most people. Jesus had just healed a woman in the synagogue who had been bent over for eighteen years. The action of Jesus directly touched only one woman in some Galilean village. Yet, what Jesus did had an impact on many more and we who read Luke’s gospel today continue to be touched by this event. God continues to speak to us and to touch our lives through it. We can never underestimate the many ways that God can work through the smallest of our loving initiatives towards others. We sow a seed of love, justice or truth, and it becomes more than we could ever have imagined. We implant some leaven of goodness into a situation that seems unpromising and more lives are touched than we could possibly have foreseen. The Lord needs us to do the little we can, and sometimes a little is all we can do, for various reasons. Yet, the Lord can work through that little of ours in ways that will very often leave us surprised and humbled.