Biblically, the Church is the one founded on Peter, because of the authority that comes from Jesus Christ, and which has the duty to bind and loose, from earth to heaven. We could say that it is a power in the form of a service in the hands of Peter and his successors. The Church is a ‘hidden thing’ in God... Catechesis on The Church, Mother Teacher of Prayer, in collaboration with P. Wagner Randriamampandry.
December 16, 2024 — Monday, Third Week of Advent — Show us, Lord, your love, and grant us your salvation — Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 21: 23-27
First Letter of Saint John (1 Jn 1: 5 — 2: 2)
Beloved:
This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ
and proclaim to you:
God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.
If we say, “We have fellowship with him,”
while we continue to walk in darkness,
we lie and do not act in truth.
But if we walk in the light as he is in the light,
then we have fellowship with one another,
and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
If we say, “We are without sin,”
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just
and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.
If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us.
My children, I am writing this to you
so that you may not commit sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He is expiation for our sins,
and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.
— The word of the Lord.
Psalm 124: 2-3, 4-5, 7cd-8
Had not the LORD been with us —
When men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed against us.
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept the raging waters.
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
Alleluia. Alleluia.
We praise you, O God, we acclaim you as Lord; the white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Alleluia.
Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 2: 13-18)
When the magi had departed, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
Out of Egypt I called my son.
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:
A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.
— The Gospel of the Lord.
First Letter of Saint John (1 Jn 1: 1-4)
Beloved:
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life —
for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father and was made visible to us —
what we have seen and heard
we proclaim now to you,
so that you too may have fellowship with us;
for our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.
— The word of the Lord.
Psalm 97: 1-2, 5-6, 11-12
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are around him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
Alleluia. Alleluia.
We praise you, O God, we acclaim you as Lord; the glorious company of Apostles praise you.
Alleluia.
Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John (Jn 20: 1a and 2-8)
On the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we do not know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
— The Gospel of the Lord.
At the end of its second General Assembly, held from 15 to 18 October 2024, the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace sent a message to government officials at all levels, as well as to all Malagasy and all people of goodwill.
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