GOSPEL READING

October 23:

Leader: A reading according to Saint Luke..

Response: Glory to You, O Lord

Jesus said to his disciples: "... whoever denies me before others will be denied before the
angels of God. Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be f orgiven, but the
one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven..."

Leader; The Gospel of our salvation…

Response: Praise to You, O Lord, Jesus Christ

Reflection:
Jesus Christ warns us against the numbing of moral conscience. God's forgiveness reaches
as far as His Love does, but… if we would deny His existence and would renege on His
Love (this is a "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit"), could we ask then for His
forgiveness?; could God forgive without being asked forgiveness? God do es not impose
his forgiveness! Love includes an inexhaustible availability of forgiveness, but forgiveness
presupposes our acknowledging sin as a sin.

October 24:

Leader: A reading according to Saint John…

Response: Glory to You, O Lord

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have
faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prep are a
place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also
may be

Leader; The Gospel of our salvation…

Response: Praise to You, O Lord, Jesus Christ

Reflection:
Today, Jesus bids His disciples good-bye, before returning to the Father. It is the
beginning of His farewell discourses in the Gospel according to St. John. Jesus wants to
inject some words of consolation for His disciples, by telling them that He is leaving to
prepare them a dwelling and, at the same time, He encourages them so they keep
believing in the Father and in Him.

October 25:

Leader: A reading according to Saint John…

Response: Glory to You, O Lord

 Jesus said to his disciples: “(…) Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will
remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love .

Leader; The Gospel of our salvation…

Response: Praise to You, O Lord, Jesus Christ

Reflection:

This is how He loves us. The Father loves the Son, and Jesus tells us so. The Father
loudly proclaimed it in the Jordan, when He said: "You are my Son, whom I love; with
you I am well pleased", and later, on Mount Tabor.

October 26:

Leader: A reading according to Saint John…

Response: Glory to You, O Lord

On the evening of that first day of the week, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said
to them,“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had
said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit .

Leader; The Gospel of our salvation…

Response: Praise to You, O Lord, Jesus Christ

Reflection:

The Son who speaks to the Father exists and they are both one in the Spirit, who
constitutes, so to speak, the atmosphere of giving and loving which makes them one God.
This unity of love which is God, is a unity far more sublime than the unity of a last
indivisible particle could be. The Triune God himself is the one and only God.

October 27:

Leader: A reading according to Saint Matthew.

Response: Glory to You, O Lord

At that time Jesus exclaimed: "... Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of
heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my b urden light."

Leader; The Gospel of our salvation…

Response: Praise to You, O Lord, Jesus Christ

Reflection:
To our surprise, it's not just a sublime love, lofty, distant, of mere friendship and of pure
friendship... God also loves us with desire. I n theory, he does not need us at all nor
should he need anything from his creatures. However, Jesus Christ reveals a God with a
love full of feeling and good wishes: the Creator desires and hopes for man's loving
response. And he waits in silence, quietly, as the finest lover.