Responsorial Psalm
Rejoice in the Lord, you who are just,
praise is fitting for the upright.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord -
the people he has chosen for his inheritance.
But the Lord's eyes are upon those who fear him,
upon those who trust in his loving-kindness
to deliver them from death
and preserve them from famine.
In hope we wait for the Lord,
for he is our help and our shield.
O Lord, let your love rest upon us,
even as our hope rests in you.
2nd. READING (Heb 11,1-2.8-19)
Faith is the way of holding onto what we hope for, being certain of what we cannot
see. Because of their faith our ancestors were approved. It was by faith that Abraham,
called by God, set out for a country that would be given to him as an inheritance; for
he parted without knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as a stranger in that
promised land. There he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, beneficiaries of the
same promise. Indeed, he looked forward to that city of solid foundation of which God
is the architect and builder. By faith Sarah herself received power to become a mother,
in spite of her advanced age; since she believed that he who had made the promise
would be faithful.
Therefore, from an almost impotent man were born descendants as numerous as the
stars of heavens, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. Death found all these
people strong in their faith. They had not received what was promised, but they had
looked ahead and had rejoiced in it from afar, saying that they were foreigners and
travellers on earth. Those who speak in this way prove that they are looking for their
own country. For if they had longed for the land they had left, it would have been easy
for them to return, but no, they aspired to a better city, that is, a supernatural one; so
God, who prepared the city for them is not ashamed of being called their God. By faith
Abraham went to offer Isaac when God tested him. And so he who had received the
promise of God offered his only son although God had told him: Isaac's descendants
will bear your name. Abraham reasoned that God is capable even of raising the dead,
and he received back his son, which has a figurative meaning.
Gospel
Jesus afraid to his disciples. Do not be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your
Father to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms. Get yourselves
purses that do not wear out, and make safe investments with God, where no thief
comes and no moth destroys. For where your investments are, there will your heart be
also. Be ready, dressed for service, and keep your lamps lit, like people waiting for
their master to return from the wedding. As soon as he comes and knocks, they will
open to him. Happy are those servants whom the master finds wide awake when he
comes. Truly, I tell you, he will put on an apron and have them sit at table and he will
wait on them. Happy are those servants if he finds them awake when he comes at
midnight or daybreak! Pay attention to this: If the master of the house had known at
what time the thief would come, he would not have let his house be broken into. You
also must be ready, for the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect."
