The Lord was not in the wind; … the Lord was not in the earthquake; … the Lord was not in the fire; … and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. From 1 Kings 19: 9, 11-13 (NRSV) This extract is taken from an account of the experience of Elijah in the Sinai…
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Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. From Deuteronomy 6:4-13, NRSV The opening words from today’s Old Testament reading form the words of the Shema…
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So acknowledge today and take to heart that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Keep his statutes and his commandments, which I am commanding you today for your own well-being and that of your descendants after you, so that you may long remain in the land that the Lord…
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The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. From 2 Corinthians 9:6-10, NRSV Paul appealed to the…
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On that day, says the Lord, you will call me, ‘My husband’, and no longer will you call me, ‘My Baal’. For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no more. From Hosea 2:16,17,21-22, NRSV Like many of the prophets, Hosea did not have an…
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And he said, ‘Hear my words:When there are prophets among you, I the Lord make myself known to them in visions; I speak to them in dreams.Not so with my servant Moses; he is entrusted with all my house.With him I speak face to face—clearly, not in riddles; and he beholds the form of the Lord. From Numbers…
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The rabble among them had a strong craving; and the Israelites also wept again, and said, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our strength is dried up, and there…
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As I watched in the night visions,I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven.And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him.To him was given dominion and glory and kingship,that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. From Daniel 7:9-10,13-14, NRSV Today’s First Reading in the Catholic…
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And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family. From Leviticus 25:1,8-17, NRSV In today’s reading we hear the instructions…
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These are the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you shall celebrate as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the Lord offerings by fire—burnt-offerings and grain-offerings, sacrifices and drink-offerings, each on its proper day— From Leviticus 23:1,4-11,15-16,27,34-37, NRSV In today’s reading, God instructs Moses about some of the solemn festivals which the people of Israel are…
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