Reading 1 Eph 1:1-10
to the holy ones who are in Ephesus
and faithful in Christ Jesus:
grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.
In Christ we have redemption by his Blood,
the forgiveness of transgressions,
in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.
In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us
the mystery of his will in accord with his favor
that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times,
to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
Alleluia Jn 14:6
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Lk 11:47-54
The Lord said:“Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets
whom your fathers killed.
Consequently, you bear witness and give consent
to the deeds of your ancestors,
for they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore, the wisdom of God said,
‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles;
some of them they will kill and persecute’
in order that this generation might be charged
with the blood of all the prophets
shed since the foundation of the world,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah
who died between the altar and the temple building.
Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!
Woe to you, scholars of the law!
You have taken away the key of knowledge.
You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”
When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees
began to act with hostility toward him
and to interrogate him about many things,
for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.
IN HIM
"God chose us in Him." –Ephesians 1:4
We have been baptized into Christ (Rm 6:3). Therefore, we are baptized into His Body, the Church (1 Cor 12:13), which has been given "every spiritual blessing in the heavens" (Eph 1:3). In Jesus, we have been chosen by God "before the world began, to be holy and blameless in His sight, to be full of love; He likewise predestined us through Christ Jesus to be His adopted sons" and daughters (Eph 1:4-5). "It is in Christ and through His blood that we have been redeemed and our sins forgiven" (Eph 1:7). "God has given us the wisdom to understand fully the mystery, the plan He was pleased to decree in Christ" (Eph 1:9).
In summary, in Christ we are gifted, chosen, holy, loved, adopted, redeemed, forgiven, and enlightened. The meaning of life is to be in Christ (see Jn 6:56; 15:5). "It pleased God to make absolute fullness reside in [Jesus] and, by means of Him, to reconcile everything in His Person" (Col 1:19-20).
We have been baptized into Christ. Live in Christ, and "remain in Him now, little ones" (1 Jn 2:28).
| PRAYER: | Father, may I celebrate with great joy my baptismal anniversary each year and each day. |
| PROMISE: | "Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wondrous deeds." –Ps 98:1 |
| PRAISE: | Pat studied the writings of The Early Church Fathers and, because of what he learned, he made the decision to become a Catholic. |
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