St Anthony Mary Claret

Brothers,
grace was given to each of us
in proportion to the gift of Christ.
That is why Scripture says:
He ascended on high, he took captives captive,
and gave gifts to men.
What does it mean: He ascended?
– It means that he first descended
into the lower regions of the earth.
The one who descended
is the very one who ascended above all the heavens
to fill the universe.
And the gifts he gave,
are the Apostles,
and also the prophets, the evangelists,
the pastors and the teachers.
In this way, the faithful are organized
so that the work of ministry is accomplished,
and the body of Christ is built up,
until we all attain, together,
unity in faith and full knowledge of the Son of God,
to mature manhood,
to the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Then, we will no longer be like little children,
letting ourselves be tossed and carried away
by every wind of doctrine,
at the mercy of people who use cunning
to lead us into error.
Rather, by living in the truth of love,
we will grow to become in every way
the one who is the Head, Christ.
And through him, in harmony and cohesion,
the whole body grows,
thanks to the ligaments which hold it together,
according to the energy measured out for each member.
Thus the body builds itself up in love.

– The word of the Lord.

What joy when they said to me:
"Let us go to the house of the Lord!"
Now our journey ends
at your gates, Jerusalem!

Jerusalem, here you are within your walls:
a city all united as one!
That is where the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord.

There, Israel must give thanks
to the name of the Lord.
There stands the seat of judgment,
the seat of the house of David.

One day,
some people reported to Jesus the case of the Galileans
whom Pilate had killed,
mixing their blood with that of the sacrifices they were offering.
Jesus answered them:
"Do you think that these Galileans
were greater sinners
than all the other Galileans,
because they suffered such a fate?
I tell you, not at all!
But if you do not repent,
you will all perish just as they did.
And those eighteen people
who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them,
do you think they were more guilty
than all the other inhabitants of Jerusalem?
I tell you, not at all!
But if you do not repent,
you will all perish just as they did."

Jesus also told this parable:
"Someone had a fig tree planted in his vineyard.
He came looking for fruit on it,
and found none.
He said to his gardener:
'For three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree,
and I find none.
Cut it down.
Why let it exhaust the soil?'
But the gardener replied:
'Sir, leave it for one more year,
while I dig around it
and put on manure.
Perhaps it will bear fruit in the future.
If not, then you can cut it down.'"

– Let us acclaim the Word of God.