Responsorial Psalm
You turn humans back to dust, saying,
"Return, O mortals!"
A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has passed,
or like a watch in the night.
You sow them in their time,
at dawn they peep out.
In the morning they blossom,
but the flower fades and withers in the evening.
So make us know the shortness of our life,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
How long will you be angry, O Lord?
Have mercy on your servant.
Fill us at daybreak with your goodness,
that we may be glad all our days.
May the sweetness of the Lord be upon us;
may he prosper the work of our hands.
2nd. READING (Phlm 9-10.12-17)
The one talking is Paul, the old man, now prisoner for Christ. And my request is on
behalf of Onesimus, whose father I have become while I was in prison. In returning
him to you, I am sending you my own heart. I would have liked to keep him at my
side, to serve me on your behalf while I am in prison for the Gospel, but I did not want
to do anything without your agreement, nor impose a good deed upon you without
your free consent. Perhaps Onesimus has been parted from you for a while so that you
may have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but better than a slave. For he is a
very dear brother to me, and he will be even dearer to you. And so, because of our
friendship, receive him as if he were I myself.
Gospel
One day, when large crowds were walking along with Jesus, he turned and said to
them, "If you come to me, without being ready to give up your love for your father
and mother, your spouse and children, your brothers and sisters, and indeed yourself,
you cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not follow me carrying his own cross
cannot be my disciple. Do you build a house without first sitting down to count the
cost to see whether you have enough to complete it? Otherwise, if you have laid the
foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone will make fun of you: 'This fellow
began to build and was not able to finish.' And when a king wages war against another
king, does he go to fight without first sitting down to consider whether his ten
thousand can stand against the twenty thousand of his opponent? And if not, while the
other is still a long way off he sends messengers for peace talks. In the same way,
none of you may become my disciple if he doesn't give up everything he has.
