The Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel - Daily Bible Readings September 23,2015

1ST READING   The people repented from the sins that led them into exile and recommitted themselves to God. Unfortunately, the same sins recurred in their life afterwards. It seems that they have not learned from their previous mistakes. Let us repent of our sins and avoid them in the future. Let us seek true holiness.   Ezra 9:5-9 5 At the time of the evening sacrifice, I, Ezra, rose in my wretchedness, and with cloak and mantle torn I fell on my knees, stretching out my hands to the Lord my God. 6 I said: “My God, I am too ashamed and confounded to raise my face to you, O my God, for our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads and our guilt reaches up to heaven. 7 From the time of our fathers even to this day great has been our guilt, and for our wicked deeds we have been delivered up, we and our kings and our priests, to the will of the kings of foreign lands, to the sword, to captivity, to pillage, and to disgrace, as is the case today. 8 “And now, but a short time ago, mercy came to us from the Lord our God, who left us a remnant and gave us a stake in his holy place; thus our God has brightened our eyes and given us relief in our servitude. 9 For slaves we are, but in our servitude our God has not abandoned us; rather, he has turned the good will of the kings of Persia toward us. Thus he has given us new life to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins, and has granted us a fence in Judah and Jerusalem.   P S A L M   Tobit 13:2, 3-4, 7-8 R: Blessed be God, who lives forever. 2 He scourges and then has mercy; he casts down to the depths of the nether world, and he brings up from the great abyss. No one can escape His hand. (R) 3 Praise him, you children of Israel, before the Gentiles, for though he has scattered you among them, 4 he has shown you his greatness even there. (R) 6 So now consider what he has done for you, and praise him with full voice. Bless the Lord of righteousness, and exalt the King of the ages. (R) In the land of my exile I praise him, and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation. (R) 7 Bless the Lord, all you his chosen ones, 8 and may all of you praise his majesty. Celebrate days of gladness, and give him praises. (R)   GOSPEL   For a week, I learned what it was like to go on a journey with “nothing.” There was freedom in trusting God for all that I need. There was freedom in missing a few meals and receiving the generosity of others. It was a faith-building experience. When all 15 of us returned, the sharing of our experiences was hilarious. The way God worked was amazing!   GOSPEL ACCLAMATION The Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.   Luke 9:1-6 1 Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. 5 And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.” 6 Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.   think: Let us seek true holiness.     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 141-145