Hear the Lord our God sing to your heart. ”Come back to me with all your heart. Don’t let fear keep us apart. Long have I waited for your coming. home to me and living deeply our new life. Our Lord does not want to see you hurt in pain or want you to be destroyed by your sin, but wants you to live life to the full in Him.
And so, let us turn back to him with all our hearts and lead all those who have left His side back to Him as well. That is why he sends those of us who are faithful out, to bring the lost back, to tend to the sick, to heal, to minister to them, to make them whole, so that they too can live a peaceful, joyous life to the full in Him.
And we shall depend only on one thing only: the Holy Spirit, who will guide us, strengthen us, and lead us, bringing everything that we do into fruition for the glory of the Lord. Amen.
Saint Augustine Zhao Rong and his Companions, Martyrs pray for us…
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First reading
Hosea 11:1-4,8-9 ·
I am the Holy One in your midst and have no wish to destroy
Thus says the Lord:
When Israel was a child I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt.
But the more I called to them, the further they went from me; they have offered sacrifice to the Baals and set their offerings smoking before the idols.
I myself taught Ephraim to walk,
I took them in my arms;
yet they have not understood that I was the one looking after them.
I led them with reins of kindness,
with leading-strings of love.
I was like someone who lifts an infant close against his cheek;
stooping down to him I gave him his food.
Ephraim, how could I part with you?
Israel, how could I give you up?
How could I treat you like Admah,
or deal with you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils from it,
my whole being trembles at the thought.
I will not give rein to my fierce anger,
I will not destroy Ephraim again, for I am God, not man:
I am the Holy One in your midst and have no wish to destroy.
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Gospel
Matthew 10:7-15
You received without charge: give without charge
Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge. Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with a few coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the workman deserves his keep.
‘Whatever town or village you go into, ask for someone trustworthy and stay with him until you leave. As you enter his house, salute it, and if the house deserves it, let your peace descend upon it; if it does not, let your peace come back to you. And if anyone does not welcome you or listen to what you have to say, as you walk out of the house or town shake the dust from your feet. I tell you solemnly, on the day of Judgement it will not go as hard with the land of Sodom and Gomorrah as with that town.’
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