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 Bible Blogs 

O Holy Spirit, may these passages give me hope, wisdom, compassion, courage and peace for my daily life     Chinese text

Please feel free to add  insights and prayers in the comment box below 

 Bible Blog   September 3, 2013     Comments welcome here

  Reading:  Genesis 30  

Leah gave birth to four sons
 - Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah.

Rachel had no children and was jealous of her sister Leah.

Rachel gave her servant girl  Bilhah to Jacob
and Bilhah gave birth to two sons - Dan and Naphtali.

Leah then gave her servant girl Zilpah to Jacob
and Zilpah gave birth to two sons - Gad and Asher.

Leah herself had two more sons - Issachar and Zebulun
and a daughter - Dinah.

Finally Rachel had a baby, a son whom she named Joseph.

For many long years Jacob worked for Laban
but Laban would not let Jacob return to his own land.

Reflection: 
This was a time when having babies was esteemed
....very different from our time when so many babies are aborted 
e.g. China ...one million abortions per month 


Prayer: Dear God, please bless everyone in my family

 

Reading: Psalm 8

How great is your name, O Lord our God,
through all the earth.

When I see the heavens, the work of your hands,
the moon and stars which you have arranged,
then I stop and think:
what are we insignificant humans that you should care about us?

Yet you have put us in charge of the world.
Everything is subject to our control.

Reflection:
The famous philosopher Immanuel Kant once said
"Two things awe me most:
the starry sky above me and the moral law within me"

Prayer: How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth

 

Reading:  2 Corinthians 11-12

Remember how much I have suffered for the sake of the Good News:

- 5 times I had the 39 lashes from the Jews
- 3 times I was beaten with sticks
- once I was stoned
- 3 times I was shipwrecked
- I have often been starving

This should prove to you that I am a genuine apostle, not after money or fame or power. It is you I want, not your possessions

Reflection: 
St Paul's score card: 5 + 3 + 1 + 3 + 1 = 13
My score card: 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 0

Prayer: Jesus,  help church workers want souls, not money/fame/power

 

Reading: Mark 15

Jesus died on Friday afternoon.
Early on Sunday morning, Mary of Magdala and two other women went to Jesus' tomb to anoint his body with spices

They had been wondering how they would roll away the large stone,
but when they arrived, the stone had already been rolled away

When they went into the tomb, they saw a young man in a white robe and they were full of awe. But he said to them  "Do not be afraid. You are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He has risen from the dead. Go and tell his disciples he  will see them in Galilee"

Reflection:
There's nothing more hopeless in this life than a dead body.
But for God nothing is hopeless...even a dead body

Prayer Jesus, when life seems hopeless, like a dead body in a tomb, please help us remember how you rose from the dead....and you can help us "rise" from any "hopeless" situation