Time and again, we are reminded of just how much our loving Father loves each and every one of us, that He always calls us back to Him, even though we have greatly sinned against Him. He looks forward to embracing us once again, and He is ever willing to shelter us from all evil and harm. So let us turn to Him, for through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, we shall be wiped clean. Through His precious blood, He will cleanse us and make us white as snow, so that we can live life to the full in Him.
Our mission is to share His love and the joy of the Gospel with all that we meet. And even though we may face rejection and sometimes even persecution, the living God dwells within us and will guide us to say and do all that we need and must according to His will. Amen.
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First reading
Hosea 14:2-10
A call to conversion and promise of safety
The Lord says this:
Israel, come back to the Lord your God;
your iniquity was the cause of your downfall.
Provide yourself with words and come back to the Lord.
Say to him, ‘Take all iniquity away so that we may have happiness again
and offer you our words of praise.
Assyria cannot save us,
we will not ride horses any more, or say, “Our God!” to what our own hands have made, for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion.’
– I will heal their disloyalty, I will love them with all my heart for my anger has turned from them.
I will fall like dew on Israel.
He shall bloom like the lily,
and thrust out roots like the poplar, his shoots will spread far; he will have the beauty of the olive and the fragrance of Lebanon.
They will come back to live in my shade; they will grow corn that flourishes, they will cultivate vines as renowned as the wine of Helbon.
What has Ephraim to do with idols any more when it is I who hear his prayer and care for him?
I am like a cypress ever green, all your fruitfulness comes from me.
Let the wise man understand these words.
Let the intelligent man grasp their meaning.
For the ways of the Lord are straight, and virtuous men walk in them,
but sinners stumble.
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Gospel
Matthew 10:16-23
The Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you
Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves.
‘Beware of men: they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you. ‘Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved. If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another. I tell you solemnly, you will not have gone the round of the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.’
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