Computer Cud    Vatican II asks us to read the Bible every day,   'to have a burning love'   for the Word of God      Resolution

This plan follows the Sunday liturgy:  reading + psalm + reading + gospel       From  www.simplebible.info         Previous R-R-P 

O Holy Spirit, please guide me as I read these passages for today.                     
May these passages give me hope, strength, wisdom, compassion, courage and peace for my daily life     Chinese text

Reading:  Proverbs 17

Whoever avoids talking about  offences,  promotes love.
Whoever keeps on talking about offences,  divides friends.

A person who controls the tongue  has knowledge.
People of discernment control their temper.

Reflection:
So many recent readings from Proverbs are about ...the tongue!
Of course, the problem is not the tongue, but the brain which tells the tongue what to say!

Prayer: Lord, please give me a kind tongue, a controlled tongue, a tongue that does all it can to avoid arguments....a tongue that is linked to a kind brain!

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.
His love has no end.

Let the sons of Israel say:
"His love has no end."

Let those who honor the Lord say:
"His love has no end."

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.

I was falling, falling, falling,
but the Lord was my helper.

The Lord is my strength and my song.
He is my saviour.

The Lord's right hand has triumphed.
His right hand has raised me up.

I shall not die, I shall live
and recount all his deeds.

The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.

This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.

This day was made by the Lord.
We rejoice and are glad.

Reflection: 
Jesus was a "rejected stone" who became a "corner stone".
Here are 50 other people who became successful after being rejected

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the times when "failure has been the mother of success"

The dragon gave authority and power to a beast with seven heads.
For a time, the beast waged war on the saints

Then I saw a second beast. It was a servant of the first beast, and made people everywhere worship the first beast

Reflection:
Satan and the two beasts are parodies of the Trinity....as is anyone who tries to get people to worship him/her

Prayer: Father, Son and Holy Spirit - may people worship you, and not worship Satan and the two beasts

The next day was the Passover. To prevent the bodies remaining on the crosses during the Passover, the soldiers broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus

But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead. Instead of breaking  his legs, they pierced his side with a spear.  Immediately there came out blood and water

And so the Scriptures were fulfilled "Not one of his bones will be broken" and "They will look on the one they have pierced"

Reflection:
Many scholars have written about the blood and water from Jesus' side being symbols of Baptism and Eucharist....see this sermon of St John Chrysostom in the fifth century

Prayer: Jesus, please help me understand how blood and water are symbols of Baptism and the  Eucharist