1ST READING
The
Temple was rebuilt with tributes from Babylonia and the labor of the
people. It was a time of great rejoicing among the people, as shown by
the number of animals sacrificed at the Temple’s rededication. The
Temple was the central worship place for the Jews. Now that it was
rebuilt, there was no reason for them not to return.
Ezra 6:7-8, 12, 14-20
7 King
Darius issued an order to the officials of West-of-Euphrates: “Let the
governor and the elders of the Jews continue to work on that house of
God; they are to rebuild it on its former site. 8 I
also issue this decree concerning your dealing with these elders of the
Jews in the rebuilding of that house of God: From the royal revenue,
the taxes of West-of-Euphrates, let these men be repaid for their
expenses, in full and without delay. 12 I, Darius, have issued this decree; let it
be carefully executed.” 14 The
elders of the Jews continued to make progress in the building,
supported by the message of the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, son of
Iddo. They finished the building according to the command of the God of
Israel and the decrees of Cyrus and Darius and of Artaxerxes, king of
Persia. 15 They completed this house on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. 16 The children of Israel — priests, Levites, and the other returned exiles — celebrated the dedication of this house of God
with joy. 17 For
the dedication of this house of God, they offered one hundred bulls,
two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs, together with twelve he-goats
as a sin offering for all Israel, in keeping with the number of the
tribes of Israel. 18 Finally,
they set up the priests in their classes and the Levites in their
divisions for the service of God in Jerusalem, as is prescribed in the
book of Moses. 19 The exiles kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. 20 The
Levites,
every one of whom had purified himself for the occasion, sacrificed the
Passover for the rest of the exiles, for their brethren the priests,
and for themselves.
P S A L M
Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5
R: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
1 I rejoiced because they said to me, “We will go up to the house of the Lord.” 2 And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem. (R) 3 Jerusalem, built as a city with compact unity. 4 To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord. (R) According to the decree for
Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. 5 In it are set up judgment seats, seats for the house of David. (R)
GOSPEL
To
be blessed by God, is to find favor with Him. It also means that we
have committed ourselves to His will — an essential aspect of God
finding favor
with us. He finds favor with us because we have become trustworthy with
His gifts and graces and we place them in the service of the Church and
the Gospel. It is irrelevant to God who our ancestors might be. What
matters to Him are our decisions regarding discipleship, whether or not
we surrender our lives to His will.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.
Luke 8:19-21
19 The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. 20 He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.” 21 He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”
think: To be blessed by God is to find favor with Him.
T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: __________________
____________________________________
God’s special verse/thought for me today_
_____________________________________
READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Psalm 136-140
|
No comments:
Post a Comment