Mass Readings Catholic IrelandLiturgical Readings for : Tuesday, 26th September, 2023Léachtaí GaeilgeNext Sunday's ReadingsTuesday of the Twenty -Fifth  week in Ordinary Time, Year 1 Optional Memorial of Ss Cosmos and Damian, martyrs FIRST READING A reading from the book of  Ezra         6:7-8. 12. 14-20 The Jews finished the Temple and celebrated the Passover. King Darius wrote to the satrap of Transeuphrates and his colleagues: Leave the high commissioner of Judah and the elders of the Jews to work on this Temple of God; they are to rebuild this Temple of God on its ancient site. This, I decree, is how you must assist the elders of the Jews in the reconstruction of this Temple of God: the expenses of these people are to be paid, promptly and without fail, from the royal revenue-that is, from the tribute of Transeuphrates. May the God who causes his name to live there overthrow any king or people who dares to defy this and destroy the Temple of God in Jerusalem! I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be obeyed to the letter!’ The elders of the Jews, for their part, prospered with their building, inspired by Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished the building in accordance with the order of the God of Israel and the order of Cyrus and of Darius. This Temple was finished on the twenty-third day of the month of Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius The Israelites-the priests, the Levites and the remainder of the exiles-joyfully dedicated this Temple of God; for the dedication of this Temple of God they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs and, as a sacrifice for sin for the whole of Israel, twelve he-goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel. Then they installed the priests according to their orders in the service of the Temple of God in Jerusalem, as is written in the Book of Moses. The exiles celebrated the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Levites, as one man, had purified themselves; all were pure, so they sacrificed the Passover for all the exiles, for their brothers the priests and for themselves. The Word of the Lord.           Thanks be to God. Responsorial Psalm         Ps 121 Response                             I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’ 1. I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house: And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.     Response 2. Jerusalem is built as a city strongly compact. It is there that the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord.                      Response 3. For Israel’s law it is, there to praise the Lord’s name. There were set the thrones of judgement of the house of David.     Response Gospel  Acclamation                 Ps 129: 5 Alleluia, Alleluia! My soul is waiting for the Lord, I count on his word. Alleluia! or                                                      Lk 11: 28 Alleluia, Alleluia! How happy those who hear the word of God and keep it! Alleluia! GOSPEL A reading from the holy Gospel according to  Luke       8:19-21 My mother and my brothers are those who hear the Word of God and put it into practice.The mother and brothers of Jesus came looking for him, but they could not get to him because of the crowd. He was told, ‘Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you.‘ But he said in answer,  ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.’ The Gospel of the Lord.            Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.Gospel Reflection      Tuesday,     Twenty Fifth Week in Ordinary Time      Luke 8:19-21 They say that blood is thicker than water. At the end of the day, we tend to stand by the members of our blood family, even if we haven’t always seen eye to eye with them over certain issues in the past. We have a relationship with the members of our immediate family that is deeper than other relationships. In today’s gospel reading, the members of Jesus’ family, his mother and brothers, go looking for him, probably out of concern for him. They might have expected that when he came to hear that they were outside the house where he was teaching he would come out to them straight away. After all, blood is thicker than water. Yet, instead, he sent out someone to tell them that he was now forming a new family, the family of his disciples. All those who hear the word of God, as he preached it, and put that word into practice were now his mother and brothers and sisters. This must have been difficult for the members of Jesus’ blood family to hear. He no longer belonged to them in any special way. Instead, they were being invited to become members of his new family. We who have gathered here for this Eucharist are members of Jesus’ new family. It is striking to think that when he looks out upon us he recognises us as his brothers and sisters. This is the quality of the relationship that he desires to have with each of us, one that is akin to and even deeper than our relationship with the members of our blood families. The gospel reading assures us that if we try to listen to the Lord’s word and live by it, we can consider ourselves his spiritual siblings. __________________________________ The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/ The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from Reflections on the Weekday Readings 2022-2023: Your word is a lamp for my feet and light for my path by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications 2022, c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/ ________________________________