Tuesday, March 27
Genesis 13 Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks & herds & tents, so that the land could not support them if they stayed together; their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together There were quarrels between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock & those of Lot's (At this time the Canaanites & the Perizzites were occupying the land) So Abram said to Lot “Let there be no strife between you & me or between your herdsmen & mine, for we are kinsmen Is not the whole land at your disposal? Please separate from me If you prefer the left, I will go to the right; if you prefer the right, I will go to to the left” Lot looked about & saw how well watered the whole Jordan Plain was as far as Zoar, like the Lord's own garden or like Egypt (This was before the Lord had destroyed Sodom & Gomorrah) Lot, therefore, chose for himself the whole Jordan Plain & set out eastward Thus they separated from each other; Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the Plain, pitching his tents near Sodom Now the inhabitants of Sodom were very wicked in the sins they committed against the Lord After Lot had left, the Lord said to Abram Look about you & from where you are gaze to the north & south, east & west; all the land that you see I will give to you & your descendants forever I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth; if anyone could count the dust of the earth, your descendants too might be counted Set forth & walk about in the land through its length & breadth, for to you I will give it Abram moved his tents & went on to settle near the terebinth of Mamre, which is at Hebron There he built an altar to the Lord Ps 15 He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord 2 Kings 19 Sennacherib, King of Assyria, sent envoys to Hezekiah with this message “Thus shall you say to Hezekiah, King of Judah 'Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all other countries: they doomed them! Will you, then, be saved?'” Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers & read it; then he went up to the temple of the Lord & spreading it out before him, he prayed in the Lord's presence “O Lord God of Israel, enthroned upon the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth You have made the heavens & the earth Incline your ear, O Lord, & listen! Open your eyes, O Lord & see! Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations & their lands & cast their gods into the fire, they destroyed them because they were not gods but the work of human hands, wood & stone Therefore, O Lord, our God, save us from the power of this man, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God” Then Isaiah, Son of Amoz, sent this message to Hezekiah “Thus says the Lord the God of Israel, in answer to your prayer for help against Sennacherib I have listened! This is the word the Lord has spoken concerning him: She despises you, laughs you to scorn, the virgin daughter Zion! Behind you she wags her head, Daughter Jerusalem For out of Jerusalem shall come a remnant, & from Mount Zion, survivors The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not reach this city, nor shoot an arrow at it, nor come before it with a shield, nor cast up siege-works against it He shall return by the same way he came without entering the city I will shield & save this city for my own sake & for the sake of my servant David That night the angel of the Lord went forth & struck down 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, broke camp & went back home to Nineveh Ps 48 God upholds his city forever Mt 7 Jesus said to his disciples Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot & turn & tear you to pieces Do to others whatever you would have them do to you This is the Law & the Prophets Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide & the road broad that leads to destruction & those who enter through it are many How narrow the gate & constricted the road that leads to life & those who find it are few
Topic: Daily Mass Readings (for the discouraged...) (Read 287 times)