Catholic Daily Reading + Reflection: 21 September 2020 – St. Matthew Feast Day
Monday September 21, 2020
Weekday (25)
Vestment: Red
Today’s Rosary: The Joyful Mystery
IDAH: Tomorrow is the 13th Anniversary of the episcopal ordination of Most Revd Anthony A. Adaji,MSP, 22nd September, 2007.
SAINT MATTHEW, Apostle and Evangelist Feast
Born at Capernaum, this tax collector, also known as Levi, was called to discipleship by the Lord as he was sitting at his customs office. Tradition holds that he wrote a collection of sayings of Jesus in Aramaic, and inspired the Gospel which bears his name. The Gospel of Matthew is addressed to a Jewish community, and presents Jesus as the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophesies concerning the Messiah. Matthew is said to have preached the faith in the East.
Entrance Antiphon Cf. Mt 25:19-20
Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, says the Lord.
Collect
O God, who with untold mercy were pleased to choose as an Apostle Saint Matthew, the tax collector, grant that, sustained by his example and intercession, we may merit to hold firm in following you. Through our Lord…
FIRST READING
His gifts were that some should be apostles, some evangelists,
A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians (Ephesians 4: 1-7.11-13)
Brethren: I, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the equipment of the saints, for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 19:2-3.4-5 (R.5a)
R/. Their sound goes forth through all the earth.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands.
Day unto day conveys the message,
and night unto night imparts the knowledge. R.
No speech, no word, whose voice goes unheeded;
their sound goes forth through all the earth,
their message to the utmost bounds of the world. R.
ALLELUIA
Alleluia. We praise you, O God; we acclaim you as the Lord; the glorious band of apostles sings your praise, O Lord! Alleluia.
GOSPEL
Follow me. And he rose and followed him.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Matthew 9:9-13)
At that time: As Jesus passed on, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Today’s Reflection
When the world looked at Matthew, the tax collector, they saw a public sinner but when Christ looked at Matthew, he saw a restless heart, longing for God. And at the words: “follow me”, Matthew got up, left all and followed Jesus. No one is ever too lost to be save by God’s amazing grace. Like Matthew, we too can begin anew but we must let go of all that enslaves us and follow Jesus with all our heart. In the words of Cardinal Henry Newman, “to live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed often.”
Personal Devotional
There is no other god like you, O Lord ; you forgive the sins of your people who have survived. You do not stay angry for ever, but you take pleasure in showing us your constant love. You will be merciful to us once again. You will show your faithfulness and constant love to your people, as you promised our ancestors long ago. Micah 7:18ff
Let us Pray
Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labour and not ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do your will. Amen.
Blessing for the New Week
Lord God, it is with a heart full of joy and appreciation that we welcome this day and this new week. Thank you for making us see the light of the day. May all glory be to your name.
We will go to work and business, our children will go to school and some of us will travel. We ask you to take care of us and protect us from all evil. Shower your blessings upon us so that this day and the entire week shall be fruitful for us all.
Increase our faith in you at all times like the centurion O God so that we will depend totally on you and you will see us through our challenges. May the miracle that happened to the Centurion be our lot in this new week. Amen.
I wish you the very best of this new week my beloved friend. Go out today and believe that you will succeed. Put in your best, be kind to people and you will by joyful at the end of the day.
God always be near to protect and bless you. Be good to people and goodness will come your way. Amen
Meditation: 1Timothy 2:1-8 / Luke 7:1-10