The Word for today: For my yolk is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30 KJV
To finish the Bible in one year, Read Psalms 103 to 106 and John 4 :1-42.
Old Testament Reading for today – Listen or read it for yourself:
Reflection for Today.
Also read the verses, if you like.
Psalm 103
1 [Of David] Bless Yahweh, my soul, from the depths of my being, his holy name;
2 bless Yahweh, my soul, never forget all his acts of kindness.
3 He forgives all your offences, cures all your diseases,
4 he redeems your life from the abyss, crowns you with faithful love and tenderness;
5 he contents you with good things all your life, renews your youth like an eagle’s.
6 Yahweh acts with uprightness, with justice to all who are oppressed;
7 he revealed to Moses his ways, his great deeds to the children of Israel.
8 Yahweh is tenderness and pity, slow to anger and rich in faithful love;
9 his indignation does not last for ever, nor his resentment remain for all time;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve, nor repay us as befits our offences.
11 As the height of heaven above earth, so strong is his faithful love for those who fear him.
12 As the distance of east from west, so far from us does he put our faults.
13 As tenderly as a father treats his children, so Yahweh treats those who fear him;
14 he knows of what we are made, he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for a human person — his days are like grass, he blooms like the wild flowers;
16 as soon as the wind blows he is gone, never to be seen there again.
17 But Yahweh’s faithful love for those who fear him is from eternity and for ever; and his saving justice to their children’s children;
18 as long as they keep his covenant, and carefully obey his precepts.
19 Yahweh has fixed his throne in heaven, his sovereign power rules over all.
20 Bless Yahweh, all his angels, mighty warriors who fulfil his commands, attentive to the sound of his words.
21 Bless Yahweh, all his armies, servants who fulfil his wishes.
22 Bless Yahweh, all his works, in every place where he rules. Bless Yahweh, my soul.
Psalm 104
1 Bless Yahweh, my soul, Yahweh, my God, how great you are! Clothed in majesty and splendour,
2 wearing the light as a robe! You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
3 build your palace on the waters above, making the clouds your chariot, gliding on the wings of the wind,
4 appointing the winds your messengers, flames of fire your servants.
5 You fixed the earth on its foundations, for ever and ever it shall not be shaken;
6 you covered it with the deep like a garment, the waters overtopping the mountains.
7 At your reproof the waters fled, at the voice of your thunder they sped away,
8 flowing over mountains, down valleys, to the place you had fixed for them;
9 you made a limit they were not to cross, they were not to return and cover the earth.
10 In the ravines you opened up springs, running down between the mountains,
11 supplying water for all the wild beasts; the wild asses quench their thirst,
12 on their banks the birds of the air make their nests, they sing among the leaves.
13 From your high halls you water the mountains, satisfying the earth with the fruit of your works:
14 for cattle you make the grass grow, and for people the plants they need, to bring forth food from the earth,
15 and wine to cheer people’s hearts, oil to make their faces glow, food to make them sturdy of heart.
16 The trees of Yahweh drink their fill, the cedars of Lebanon which he sowed;
17 there the birds build their nests, on the highest branches the stork makes its home;
18 for the wild goats there are the mountains, in the crags the coneys find refuge.
19 He made the moon to mark the seasons, the sun knows when to set.
20 You bring on darkness, and night falls, when all the forest beasts roam around;
21 young lions roar for their prey, asking God for their food.
22 The sun rises and away they steal, back to their lairs to lie down,
23 and man goes out to work, to labour till evening falls.
24 How countless are your works, Yahweh, all of them made so wisely! The earth is full of your creatures.
25 Then there is the sea, with its vast expanses teeming with countless creatures, creatures both great and small;
26 there ships pass to and fro, and Leviathan whom you made to sport with.
27 They all depend upon you, to feed them when they need it.
28 You provide the food they gather, your open hand gives them their fill.
29 Turn away your face and they panic; take back their breath and they die and revert to dust.
30 Send out your breath and life begins; you renew the face of the earth.
31 Glory to Yahweh for ever! May Yahweh find joy in his creatures!
32 At his glance the earth trembles, at his touch the mountains pour forth smoke.
33 I shall sing to Yahweh all my life, make music for my God as long as I live.
34 May my musings be pleasing to him, for Yahweh gives me joy.
35 May sinners vanish from the earth, and the wicked exist no more! Bless Yahweh, my soul.
Psalm 105
1 Alleluia! Give thanks to Yahweh, call on his name, proclaim his deeds to the peoples!
2 Sing to him, make music for him, recount all his wonders!
3 Glory in his holy name, let the hearts that seek Yahweh rejoice!
4 Seek Yahweh and his strength, tirelessly seek his presence!
5 Remember the marvels he has done, his wonders, the judgements he has spoken.
6 Stock of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob whom he chose!
7 He is Yahweh our God, his judgements touch the whole world.
8 He remembers his covenant for ever, the promise he laid down for a thousand generations,
9 which he concluded with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.
10 He established it as a statute for Jacob, an everlasting covenant with Israel,
11 saying, ‘To you I give a land, Canaan, your allotted birthright.’
12 When they were insignificant in numbers, a handful of strangers in the land,
13 wandering from country to country, from one kingdom and nation to another,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake he instructed kings,
15 ‘Do not touch my anointed ones, to my prophets you may do no harm.’
16 He called down famine on the land, he took away their food supply;
17 he sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, sold as a slave.
18 So his feet were weighed down with shackles, his neck was put in irons.
19 In due time his prophecy was fulfilled, the word of Yahweh proved him true.
20 The king sent orders to release him, the ruler of nations set him free;
21 he put him in charge of his household, the ruler of all he possessed,
22 to instruct his princes as he saw fit, to teach his counsellors wisdom.
23 Then Israel migrated to Egypt, Jacob settled in the country of Ham.
24 He made his people increase in numbers, he gave them more strength than their enemies,
25 whose heart he turned to hate his own people, to double-cross his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses, and Aaron, the man of his choice.
27 They worked there the wonders he commanded, marvels in the country of Ham.
28 Darkness he sent, and darkness fell, but that nation defied his orders.
29 He turned their rivers to blood, and killed all the fish in them.
30 Their country was overrun with frogs, even in the royal apartments;
31 at his word came flies, and mosquitoes throughout the country.
32 He gave them hail as their rain, flames of fire in their land;
33 he blasted their vine and their fig tree, and shattered the trees of the country.
34 At his word came locusts, hoppers beyond all counting;
35 they devoured every green thing in the land, devoured all the produce of the soil.
36 He struck all the first-born in their land, the flower of all their manhood;
37 he led Israel out with silver and gold; in their tribes there was none who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad at their leaving, for terror of Israel had seized them.
39 He spread out a cloud to cover them, and fire to light up the night.
40 They asked and he brought them quails, food from heaven to their hearts’ content;
41 he opened a rock, the waters gushed out, and flowed in dry ground as a river.
42 Faithful to his sacred promise, given to his servant Abraham,
43 he led out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy.
44 He gave them the territories of nations, they reaped the fruit of other people’s labours,
45 on condition that they kept his statutes, and remained obedient to his laws.
Psalm 106
1 Alleluia! Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, his faithful love is everlasting!
2 Who can recount all Yahweh’s triumphs, who can fully voice his praise?
3 How blessed are those who keep to what is just, whose conduct is always upright!
4 Remember me, Yahweh, in your love for your people. Come near to me with your saving power,
5 let me share the happiness of your chosen ones, let me share the joy of your people, the pride of your heritage.
6 Like our ancestors, we have sinned, we have acted wickedly, guiltily;
7 our ancestors in Egypt never grasped the meaning of your wonders. They did not bear in mind your countless acts of love, at the Sea of Reeds they defied the Most High;
8 but for the sake of his name he saved them, to make known his mighty power.
9 At his rebuke the Sea of Reeds dried up, he let them pass through the deep as though it were desert,
10 so he saved them from their opponents’ clutches, rescued them from the clutches of their enemies.
11 The waters enveloped their enemies, not one of whom was left.
12 Then they believed what he had said, and sang his praises.
13 But they soon forgot his achievements, they did not even wait for his plans;
14 they were overwhelmed with greed in the wastelands, in the solitary wastes they challenged God.
15 He gave them all they asked for, but struck them with a deep wasting sickness;
16 in the camp they grew jealous of Moses, and of Aaron, Yahweh’s holy one.
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, closed in on Abiram’s faction;
18 fire flamed out against their faction, the renegades were engulfed in flames.
19 At Horeb they made a calf, bowed low before cast metal;
20 they exchanged their glory for the image of a grass-eating bull.
21 They forgot the God who was saving them, who had done great deeds in Egypt,
22 such wonders in the land of Ham, such awesome deeds at the Sea of Reeds.
23 He thought of putting an end to them, had not Moses, his chosen one, taken a stand in the breach and confronted him, to turn his anger away from destroying them.
24 They counted a desirable land for nothing, they put no trust in his promise;
25 they stayed in their tents and grumbled, they would not listen to Yahweh’s voice.
26 So he lifted his hand against them, to strike them down in the desert,
27 to strike down their descendants among the nations, to scatter them all over the world.
28 They committed themselves to serve Baal-Peor, and ate sacrifices made to lifeless gods.
29 They so provoked him by their actions that a plague broke out among them.
30 Then up stood Phinehas to intervene, and the plague was checked;
31 for this he is the example of uprightness, from age to age for ever.
32 At the waters of Meribah they so angered Yahweh, that Moses suffered on their account,
33 for they had embittered his spirit, and he spoke without due thought.
34 They did not destroy the nations, as Yahweh had told them to do,
35 but intermarried with them, and adopted their ways.
36 They worshipped those nations’ false gods, till they found themselves entrapped,
37 and sacrificed their own sons and their daughters to demons.
38 Innocent blood they shed, the blood of their sons and daughters; offering them to the idols of Canaan, they polluted the country with blood.
39 They defiled themselves by such actions, their behaviour was that of a harlot.
40 Yahweh’s anger blazed out at his people, his own heritage filled him with disgust.
41 He handed them over to the nations, and their opponents became their masters;
42 their enemies lorded it over them, crushing them under their rule.
43 Time and again he rescued them, but they still defied him deliberately, and sank ever deeper in their guilt;
44 even so he took pity on their distress, as soon as he heard them cry out.
45 Bearing his covenant with them in mind, he relented in his boundless and faithful love;
46 he ensured that they received compassion, in their treatment by all their captors.
47 Save us, Yahweh our God, gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and may glory in praising you.
48 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from all eternity and for ever! Let all the people say, ‘Amen’.
John 4 : 1-42
1 When Jesus heard that the Pharisees had found out that he was making and baptising more disciples than John-
2 though in fact it was his disciples who baptised, not Jesus himself-
3 he left Judaea and went back to Galilee.
4 He had to pass through Samaria.
5 On the way he came to the Samaritan town called Sychar near the land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6 Jacob’s well was there and Jesus, tired by the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Give me something to drink.’
8 His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew. How is it that you ask me, a Samaritan, for something to drink?’ — Jews, of course, do not associate with Samaritans.
10 Jesus replied to her: If you only knew what God is offering and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me something to drink,’ you would have been the one to ask, and he would have given you living water.
11 ‘You have no bucket, sir,’ she answered, ‘and the well is deep: how do you get this living water?
12 Are you a greater man than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his sons and his cattle?’
13 Jesus replied: Whoever drinks this water will be thirsty again;
14 but no one who drinks the water that I shall give will ever be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will become a spring of water within, welling up for eternal life.
15 ‘Sir,’ said the woman, ‘give me some of that water, so that I may never be thirsty or come here again to draw water.’
16 ‘Go and call your husband,’ said Jesus to her, ‘and come back here.’
17 The woman answered, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right to say, “I have no husband”;
18 for although you have had five, the one you now have is not your husband. You spoke the truth there.’
19 ‘I see you are a prophet, sir,’ said the woman.
20 ‘Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, though you say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’
21 Jesus said: Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know; for salvation comes from the Jews.
23 But the hour is coming — indeed is already here — when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: that is the kind of worshipper the Father seeks.
24 God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth.
25 The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah — that is, Christ — is coming; and when he comes he will explain everything.’
26 Jesus said, ‘That is who I am, I who speak to you.’
27 At this point his disciples returned and were surprised to find him speaking to a woman, though none of them asked, ‘What do you want from her?’ or, ‘What are you talking to her about?’
28 The woman put down her water jar and hurried back to the town to tell the people,
29 ‘Come and see a man who has told me everything I have done; could this be the Christ?’
30 This brought people out of the town and they made their way towards him.
31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, do have something to eat’;
32 but he said, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’
33 So the disciples said to one another, ‘Has someone brought him food?’
34 But Jesus said: My food is to do the will of the one who sent me, and to complete his work.
35 Do you not have a saying: Four months and then the harvest? Well, I tell you, look around you, look at the fields; already they are white, ready for harvest!
36 Already the reaper is being paid his wages, already he is bringing in the grain for eternal life, so that sower and reaper can rejoice together.
37 For here the proverb holds true: one sows, another reaps;
38 I sent you to reap a harvest you have not laboured for. Others have laboured for it; and you have come into the rewards of their labour.
39 Many Samaritans of that town believed in him on the strength of the woman’s words of testimony, ‘He told me everything I have done.’
40 So, when the Samaritans came up to him, they begged him to stay with them. He stayed for two days, and
41 many more came to believe on the strength of the words he spoke to them;
42 and they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe no longer because of what you told us; we have heard him ourselves and we know that he is indeed the Saviour of the world.’
Sermons by various teachers regarding the verses above.
Catholic Daily Readings and Reflections
Reading 1, Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13
1 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
2 ‘Go and shout this in Jerusalem’s ears: ‘Yahweh says this: “I remember your faithful love, the affection of your bridal days, when you followed me through the desert, through a land unsown.
3 Israel was sacred to Yahweh; the first-fruits of his harvest; all who ate this incurred guilt, disaster befell them, Yahweh declares.” ‘
7 I brought you to a country of plenty, to enjoy its produce and good things; but when you entered you defiled my country and made my heritage loathsome.
8 The priests never asked, “Where is Yahweh?” Those skilled in the Law did not know me, the shepherds too rebelled against me and the prophets prophesied by Baal and followed the Useless Ones.
12 You heavens, stand aghast at this, horrified, utterly appalled, Yahweh declares.
13 For my people have committed two crimes: they have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and dug water-tanks for themselves, cracked water-tanks that hold no water.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 36:6-7, 8-9, 10-11
6 your saving justice is like towering mountains, your judgements like the mighty deep. Yahweh, you support both man and beast;
7 how precious, God, is your faithful love. So the children of Adam take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the bounty of your house, you let them drink from your delicious streams;
9 in you is the source of life, by your light we see the light.
10 Maintain your faithful love to those who acknowledge you, and your saving justice to the honest of heart.
11 Do not let the foot of the arrogant overtake me or wicked hands drive me away.
Gospel, Matthew 13:10-17
10 Then the disciples went up to him and asked, ‘Why do you talk to them in parables?’
11 In answer, he said, ‘Because to you is granted to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not granted.
12 Anyone who has will be given more and will have more than enough; but anyone who has not will be deprived even of what he has.
13 The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding.
14 So in their case what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah is being fulfilled: Listen and listen, but never understand! Look and look, but never perceive!
15 This people’s heart has grown coarse, their ears dulled, they have shut their eyes tight to avoid using their eyes to see, their ears to hear, their heart to understand, changing their ways and being healed by me.
16 ‘But blessed are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear!
17 In truth I tell you, many prophets and upright people longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.
Book of Psalms, Outline Summary, Outline Book of John (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 
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