1ST READING
Religious life in Israel was a shambles. It had degenerated into a multitude of differing practices that resembled little system of religion or belief. It started with Solomon’s practice of welcoming the worship of the deities of his many wives to the point that virtually anything and everything was acceptable to one degree or another. A similar argument could be made of Western pluralism today. Where do we stand in the midst of the competing value systems of today?
2 Kings 17:5-8, 13-15, 18
5 Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, occupied the whole land and attacked Samaria, which he besieged for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel the king of Assyria took Samaria, and deported the children of Israel to Assyria, settling them in Halah, at the Habor, a river of Gozan, and the cities of the Medes. 7 This came about because the children of Israel sinned against the Lord, their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the domination of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and because they venerated other Gods. 8 They followed the rites of the nations whom the Lord had cleared out of the way of the children of Israel and the kings of Israel whom they set up. 13 And though the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and seer, “Give up your evil ways and keep my commandments and statutes, in accordance with the entire law which I enjoined on your fathers and which I sent you by my servants the prophets,” 14 they did not listen, but were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who had not believed in the Lord, their God. 15 They rejected his statutes,
the covenant which he had made with their fathers, and the warnings which he had given them, 18 till, in his great anger against Israel, the Lord put them away out of his sight. Only the tribe of Judah was left.
P S A L M
Psalm 60:3, 4-5, 12-13
R: Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.
1 [3] O God, you have rejected us and broken our defenses; you have been angry; rally us! (R) 2 [4] You have rocked the country and split it open; repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering. 3 [5] You have made your people feel hardships; you have given us stupefying wine. (R) 10 [12] Have not you, O God, rejected us, so that you go not forth, O God, with our armies? 11 [13] Give us aid against the foe, for worthless is the help of men. (R)
GOSPEL
Sin has a way of clouding our judgment. We have all probably experienced this. It is easier to do a sin a second time than the first if both were at least somewhat reflected decisions. Let us not allow our minds and hearts to be clouded by our own sins and the sins of the world. This is why we need to submit to the guidance of the Church on faith and morals and allow our consciences to be formed by the teaching of the Church’s Magisterium.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
Matthew 7:1-5
1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. 2 For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. 3 Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? 5 You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”
think: Let us not allow our minds and hearts to be clouded by our own sins and the sins of the world.
T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________
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God’s special verse/thought for me today________________
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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 1 Chronicles 10-12
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