Word for today: I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. Job 31:1 NIV
A Christian’s goal should be to create the Kingdom of God here on earth, as it is in Heaven. Not only, to get to Heaven.
To finish the Bible in one year, Read Psalms 21-25 and 2nd Corinthians 4:16 to 5:10
Old Testament Reading for today – Listen or read it for yourself:
Reflection for Today.
Also read the verses, if you like.
psalm 21
1 [For the choirmaster Psalm Of David] Yahweh, the king rejoices in your power; How your saving help fills him with joy!
2 You have granted him his heart’s desire, not denied him the prayer of his lips.
3 For you come to meet him with blessings of prosperity, put a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He has asked for life, you have given it him, length of days for ever and ever.
5 Great his glory through your saving help; you invest him with splendour and majesty.
6 You confer on him everlasting blessings, you gladden him with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king puts his trust in Yahweh; the faithful love of the Most High will keep him from falling.
8 Your hand will reach all your enemies, your right hand all who hate you.
9 You will hurl them into a blazing furnace on the day when you appear; Yahweh will engulf them in his anger, and fire will devour them.
10 You will purge the earth of their descendants, the human race of their posterity.
11 They have devised evil against you but, plot as they may, they will not succeed,
12 since you will make them turn tail, by shooting your arrows in their faces.
13 Rise, Yahweh, in your power! We will sing and make music in honour of your strength.
psalm 22
1 [For the choirmaster To ‘the Doe of the Dawn’ Psalm Of David] My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The words of my groaning do nothing to save me.
2 My God, I call by day but you do not answer, at night, but I find no respite.
3 Yet you, the Holy One, who make your home in the praises of Israel,
4 in you our ancestors put their trust, they trusted and you set them free.
5 To you they called for help and were delivered; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm, less than human, scorn of mankind, contempt of the people;
7 all who see me jeer at me, they sneer and wag their heads,
8 ‘He trusted himself to Yahweh, let Yahweh set him free! Let him deliver him, as he took such delight in him.’
9 It was you who drew me from the womb and soothed me on my mother’s breast.
10 On you was I cast from my birth, from the womb I have belonged to you.
11 Do not hold aloof, for trouble is upon me, and no one to help me!
12 Many bulls are encircling me, wild bulls of Bashan closing in on me.
13 Lions ravening and roaring open their jaws at me.
14 My strength is trickling away, my bones are all disjointed, my heart has turned to wax, melting inside me.
15 My mouth is dry as earthenware, my tongue sticks to my jaw. You lay me down in the dust of death.
16 A pack of dogs surrounds me, a gang of villains closing in on me as if to hack off my hands and my feet.
17 I can count every one of my bones, while they look on and gloat;
18 they divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
19 Yahweh, do not hold aloof! My strength, come quickly to my help,
20 rescue my soul from the sword, the one life I have from the grasp of the dog!
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth, my poor life from the wild bulls’ horns!
22 I shall proclaim your name to my brothers, praise you in full assembly:
23 ‘You who fear Yahweh, praise him! All the race of Jacob, honour him! Revere him, all the race of Israel!’
24 For he has not despised nor disregarded the poverty of the poor, has not turned away his face, but has listened to the cry for help.
25 Of you is my praise in the thronged assembly, I will perform my vows before all who fear him.
26 The poor will eat and be filled, those who seek Yahweh will praise him, ‘May your heart live for ever.’
27 The whole wide world will remember and return to Yahweh, all the families of nations bow down before him.
28 For to Yahweh, ruler of the nations, belongs kingly power!
29 All who prosper on earth will bow before him, all who go down to the dust will do reverence before him. And those who are dead,
30 their descendants will serve him, will proclaim his name to generations
31 still to come; and these will tell of his saving justice to a people yet unborn: he has fulfilled it.
Psalm 23
1 [Psalm Of David] Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 In grassy meadows he lets me lie. By tranquil streams he leads me
3 to restore my spirit. He guides me in paths of saving justice as befits his name.
4 Even were I to walk in a ravine as dark as death I should fear no danger, for you are at my side. Your staff and your crook are there to soothe me.
5 You prepare a table for me under the eyes of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup brims over.
6 Kindness and faithful love pursue me every day of my life. I make my home in the house of Yahweh for all time to come.
Psalm 24
1 [Psalm Of David] To Yahweh belong the earth and all it contains, the world and all who live there;
2 it is he who laid its foundations on the seas, on the flowing waters fixed it firm.
3 Who shall go up to the mountain of Yahweh? Who shall take a stand in his holy place?
4 The clean of hands and pure of heart, whose heart is not set on vanities, who does not swear an oath in order to deceive.
5 Such a one will receive blessing from Yahweh, saving justice from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the people that seeks him, that seeks your presence, God of Jacob.
7 Gates, lift high your heads, raise high the ancient gateways, and the king of glory shall enter!
8 Who is he, this king of glory? It is Yahweh, strong and valiant, Yahweh valiant in battle.
9 Gates, lift high your heads, raise high the ancient gateways, and the king of glory shall enter!
10 Who is he, this king of glory? Yahweh Sabaoth, he is the king of glory.
psalm 25,
1 [Of David] ADORATION I offer, Yahweh,
2 to you, my God. BUT in my trust in you do not put me to shame, let not my enemies gloat over me.
3 CALLING to you, none shall ever be put to shame, but shame is theirs who groundlessly break faith.
4 DIRECT me in your ways, Yahweh, and teach me your paths.
5 ENCOURAGE me to walk in your truth and teach me since you are the God who saves me. FOR my hope is in you all day long — such is your generosity, Yahweh.
6 GOODNESS and faithful love have been yours for ever, Yahweh, do not forget them.
7 HOLD not my youthful sins against me, but remember me as your faithful love dictates.
8 INTEGRITY and generosity are marks of Yahweh for he brings sinners back to the path.
9 JUDICIOUSLY he guides the humble, instructing the poor in his way.
10 KINDNESS unfailing and constancy mark all Yahweh’s paths, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
11 LET my sin, great though it is, be forgiven, Yahweh, for the sake of your name.
12 MEN who respect Yahweh, what of them? He teaches them the way they must choose.
13 NEIGHBOURS to happiness will they live, and their children inherit the land.
14 ONLY those who fear Yahweh have his secret and his covenant, for their understanding.
15 PERMANENTLY my eyes are on Yahweh, for he will free my feet from the snare.
16 QUICK, turn to me, pity me, alone and wretched as I am!
17 RELIEVE the distress of my heart, bring me out of my constraint.
18 SPARE a glance for my misery and pain, take all my sins away.
19 TAKE note how countless are my enemies, how violent their hatred for me.
20 UNLESS you guard me and rescue me I shall be put to shame, for you are my refuge.
21 VIRTUE and integrity be my protection, for my hope, Yahweh, is in you.
22 Ransom Israel, O God, from all its troubles.
2nd Corinthians 4:16 to 5:10
16 That is why we do not waver; indeed, though this outer human nature of ours may be falling into decay, at the same time our inner human nature is renewed day by day.
17 The temporary, light burden of our hardships is earning us for ever an utterly incomparable, eternal weight of glory,
18 since what we aim for is not visible but invisible. Visible things are transitory, but invisible things eternal.
chapter 5:10
1 For we are well aware that when the tent that houses us on earth is folded up, there is a house for us from God, not made by human hands but everlasting, in the heavens.
2 And in this earthly state we do indeed groan,
3 longing to put on our heavenly home over the present one; if indeed we are to be found clothed rather than stripped bare.
4 Yes, indeed, in this present tent, we groan under the burden, not that we want to be stripped of our covering, but because we want to be covered with a second garment on top, so that what is mortal in us may be swallowed up by life.
5 It is God who designed us for this very purpose, and he has given us the Spirit as a pledge.
6 We are always full of confidence, then, realising that as long as we are at home in the body we are exiled from the Lord,
7 guided by faith and not yet by sight;
8 we are full of confidence, then, and long instead to be exiled from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
9 And so whether at home or exiled, we make it our ambition to please him.
10 For at the judgement seat of Christ we are all to be seen for what we are, so that each of us may receive what he has deserved in the body, matched to whatever he has done, good or bad.
Sermons and explanations for the above chapters.
Reading 1, Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13
4 They have set up kings, but without my consent, and appointed princes, but without my knowledge. With their silver and gold, they have made themselves idols, but only to be destroyed.
5 I spurn your calf, Samaria! My anger blazes against them! How long will it be before they recover their innocence?
6 For it is the product of Israel- a craftsman made the thing, it is no god at all! The calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces!
7 Since they sow the wind, they will reap the whirlwind; stalk without ear, it will never yield flour- or if it does, foreigners will swallow it.
11 Ephraim keeps building altars for his sins, these very altars are themselves a sin.
12 However much of my Law I write for him, Ephraim regards it as alien to him.
13 They offer sacrifices to me and eat the meat, they do not win Yahweh’s favour. On the contrary, he will remember their guilt and punish their sins; they will have to go back to Egypt.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 115:3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10
3 Our God is in heaven, he creates whatever he chooses.
4 They have idols of silver and gold, made by human hands.
5 These have mouths but say nothing, have eyes but see nothing,
6 have ears but hear nothing, have noses but smell nothing.
7 They have hands but cannot feel, have feet but cannot walk, no sound comes from their throats.
8 Their makers will end up like them, and all who rely on them.
9 House of Israel, rely on Yahweh; he is their help and their shield.
10 House of Aaron, rely on Yahweh; he is their help and their shield.
Reading 1, Hosea 2:16, 17-18, 21-22
16 But look, I am going to seduce her and lead her into the desert and speak to her heart.
17 There I shall give her back her vineyards, and make the Vale of Achor a gateway of hope. There she will respond as when she was young, as on the day when she came up from Egypt.
18 When that day comes- declares Yahweh- you will call me, ‘My husband’, no more will you call me, ‘My Baal’.
21 I shall betroth you to myself for ever, I shall betroth you in uprightness and justice, and faithful love and tenderness.
22 Yes, I shall betroth you to myself in loyalty and in the knowledge of Yahweh.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
2 Day after day I shall bless you, I shall praise your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is Yahweh and worthy of all praise, his greatness beyond all reckoning.
4 Each age will praise your deeds to the next, proclaiming your mighty works.
5 Your renown is the splendour of your glory, I will ponder the story of your wonders.
6 They will speak of your awesome power, and I shall recount your greatness.
7 They will bring out the memory of your great generosity, and joyfully acclaim your saving justice.
8 Yahweh is tenderness and pity, slow to anger, full of faithful love.
9 Yahweh is generous to all, his tenderness embraces all his creatures.
Gospel, Matthew 9:18-26
18 While he was speaking to them, suddenly one of the officials came up, who bowed low in front of him and said, ‘My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and her life will be saved.’
19 Jesus rose and, with his disciples, followed him.
20 Then suddenly from behind him came a woman, who had been suffering from a haemorrhage for twelve years, and she touched the fringe of his cloak,
21 for she was thinking, ‘If only I can touch his cloak I shall be saved.’
22 Jesus turned round and saw her; and he said to her, ‘Courage, my daughter, your faith has saved you.’ And from that moment the woman was saved.
23 When Jesus reached the official’s house and saw the flute-players, with the crowd making a commotion, he said,
24 ‘Get out of here; the little girl is not dead; she is asleep.’ And they ridiculed him.
25 But when the people had been turned out he went inside and took her by the hand; and she stood up.
Previous Daily Bible Study Blogs
Book of Psalms, Outline Summary, Outline Book of 2 Corinthians (we are studying these books presently)
Audio Drama: Old Testament New Testament Each book is read in its entirety. You can listen to the bible, one book at a time in contemporary English.
Dr. Myles Munroe
I am including a video by Dr. Myles Munroe, I’ve listened to him back in the nineties, and rediscovered him recently. Now his perspective seems to be a good way to also look at scripture. In Pursuit of Purpose – Book Highlights
Sermons Rosary Prayers Catholic Answers
Did Mary have other children? No, Listen here
Called to Communion
Pray the Rosary
Rosary Mysteries
The following 4 videos are the 4 Mysteries that we pray on certain days of the week. I like these videos, because I can pray it alone, with only the images, or go along with the sound. The images help me to focus on the particular mystery that I am contemplating as I say the Hail Mary on each bead.
Joyful Mysteries
Luminous Mysteries
Sorrowful Mysteries
Glorious Mysteries
Prayers of the Rosary
Links to “How to pray the rosary” Popular Catholic Prayers
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord;
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried,
He descended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
(this prayer is optional and may be said after all Glory Be to the Fathers…..)
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell.
Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in most need of thy mercy.
Console the souls in Purgatory, particularly those most abandoned. Amen
Hail Mary,
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
The Hail, Holy Queen
Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
That we maybe made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Closing Prayer
O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation.
Grant, we beseech Thee, that while meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
that we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(The Fatima Prayer:)
Most Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – I adore thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference’s whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.
Prayer to St. Michael
Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do you, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
Thurzo Gizella Bible Study 
Leave a comment