Catholic Daily Reading: 18 September 2020 – Giving, There Were Women Who Provided Generously
Friday September 18, 2020
Weekday (24)
Vestment: Green
Today’s Rosary: The Sorrowful Mystery
St Joseph of Cupertino
CALABAR: Tomorrow is the 48th Anniversary of the Episcopal ordination of Most Revd Joseph Ukpo, (Emeritus) 19th September 1971.
FIRST READING
“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile”
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 15:12-20)
Brethren: If Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 17:1.6-7.8 and 15 (R. 15b)
R/. When I awake, I shall be filled with the vision of your presence, O Lord.
O Lord, hear a cause that is just,
pay heed to my cry.
Turn your ear to my prayer:
no deceit is on my lips. R.
To you I call; for you will surely heed me,
O God. Turn your ear to me; hear my words.
Display your merciful love.
By your right hand you deliver from their foes
those who put their trust in you. R.
R/. When I awake, I shall be filled with the vision of your presence, O Lord.
Guard me as the apple of your eye.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
As for me, in justice I shall behold your face;
when I awake I shall be filled
with the vision of your presence. R.
ALLELUIA Matthew 11:25
Alleluia. Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and. earth, that you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
“There were women with them who provided for them out of their means.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 8:1-3)
At that time: Jesus went on through cities and villages, preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Today’s Reflection
Nobody is so rich that he has nothing to receive and no one is so poor that he has nothing to give. Jesus received support for his ministry from these women. Each of them has received something from the Lord and in gratitude they supported him with their means. In varied ways we too have enjoyed the blessings of the Lord through the Church, we must support the works of Our Lord in his church without grumbling or even a feeling of coercion. Freely we have received from the Lord and freely we must give. We do not need to be threatened with the pain of hell before we could give to the house of God. The Lord needs our spiritual and material support to advance and spread the good news.
St. Joseph of Cupertino – September 18th
Clearly, what God wants above all is our will which we received as a free gift from God in creation and possess as though our own. When a man trains himself to acts of virtue, it is with the help of grace from God from whom all good things come that he does this. The will is what man has as his unique possession.
Personal Devotional
“If they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in heaven, forgive their sins, and make their land prosperous again”.. 2 Chronicles 7:14
– Meditate on the words of God you’ve just read.
Let Us Pray:
Lord Jesus Christ, take all my freedom, my memory, my understanding, and my will. All that I have and cherish you have given me. I surrender it all to be guided by your will. Your love and your grace are wealth enough for me. Give me these, Lord Jesus, and I ask for nothing more. Amen.
