Liturgical Readings for : Tuesday, 7th November, 2023
Tuesday of the Thirty-First week in Ordinary Time, Year 1
Optional Memorial of St Willibrord, bishop, missionary
FIRST READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans 12:5-16
We belong to each other as parts.
All of us, in union with Christ, form one body, and as parts of it we belong to each other. Our gifts differ according to the grace given us. If your gift is prophecy, then use it as your faith suggests; if administration, then use it for administration; if teaching, then use it for teaching. Let the preachers deliver sermons, the almsgivers give freely, the officials be diligent, and those who do works of mercy do them cheerfully.
Do not let your love be a pretence, but sincerely prefer good to evil. Love each other as much as brothers should, and have a profound respect for each other. Work for the Lord with untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit. If you have hope, this will make you cheerful. Do not give up if trials come; and keep on praying. If any of the saints are in need you must share with them; and you should make hospitality your special care.
Bless those who persecute you: never curse them, bless them. Rejoice with those who rejoice and be sad with those in sorrow. Treat everyone with equal kindness; never be condescending but make real friends with the poor. Do not allow yourself to become self-satisfied.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 130
Response Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
I. O Lord, my heart is not proud nor haughty my eyes.
I have not gone after things too great nor marvels beyond me. Response
2.Truly I have set my soul in silence and peace.
A weaned child on its mother’s breast, even so is my soul. Response
3. O Israel, hope in the Lord both now and for ever. Response
Gospel Acclamation Eph 1: 17
Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ elighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
Or Mt 11: 28
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 14:15-24 Glory to you, O Lord
Go to the open roads and force people to come in to make sure my house is full.
One of those gathered round the table said to Jesus,
‘Happy the man who will be at the feast in the kingdom of God!‘
But he said to him,
‘There was a man who gave a great banquet, and he invited a large number of people. When the time for the banquet came, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, “Come along: everything is ready now.” But all alike started to make excuses.
The first said, “I have bought a piece of land and must go and see it. Please accept my apologies.”
Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen and am on my way to try them out. Please accept my apologies.”
Yet another said,
“I have just got married and so am unable to come”.
‘The servant returned and reported this to his master. Then the householder, in a rage, said to his servant,
“Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” “Sir” said the servant “your orders have been carried out and there is still room.”
Then the master said to his servant,
“Go to the open roads and the hedgerows and force people to come in to make sure my house is full; because, I tell you, not one of those who were invited shall have a taste of my banquet.” ‘
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Tuesday, Thirty First Week in Ordinary Time Luke 14:15-24
November is a month when we remember our dead in a special way. It is a month when we are prone to reflecting on death, not in a morbid way but in the hopeful way that is rooted in our faith. Jesus often uses images to speak of life in the kingdom of heaven, and November can be a good month to reflect on those images. We find one such image in today’s gospel reading, the image of the great feast, which Jesus would have been familiar with from his Jewish tradition. One of Jesus’ fellow guests at table declares, ‘Happy is the one who will be at the feast in the kingdom of heaven’. Jesus responds to the beatitude with a parable about a man who gave a great banquet.
The host of this banquet is very generous and tenacious. When the original guests who had said yes to the host’s invitation changed their minds just as the banquet was ready, the host went about ensuring that his house would be full after all. He sent his servants out to bring into the feast the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame, and then, when they were all in, he sent the servants out again to bring in all they met on the open roads and by the hedgerows. The host is an image of God who keeps inviting even when people refuse his invitation and who will stop at nothing to ensure that as many as possible are present at the great feast in the kingdom of heaven. It is a very reassuring image of God. God is not in the business of making it difficult for us to reach our eternal destiny. God’s generous, hospitable and persistent love will not be found wanting. Yet, God can be almost helpless before our failure to take seriously his invitation to his great feast, our unwillingness to respond to his loving call to fullness of life. Like the people first invited in the parable, we can allow ourselves to become so absorbed by the possessions and affairs of this life that we treat God’s invitation lightly. November is a good month to hear God’s invitation to his banquet of life afresh, and to respond to that invitation with a willing and generous heart.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
