Week 30 of Ordinary Time
October 24-29, 2016
October 24, 2016
Ecclesiasticus 19: 4-17
4 Being too ready to trust shows shallowness of mind, and sinning harms the sinner.
5 Taking pleasure in evil earns condemnation;
6 by hating gossip one avoids evil.
7 Never repeat what you are told and you will come to no harm;
8 whether to friend or foe, do not talk about it, unless it would be sinful not to, do not reveal it;
9 you would be heard out, then mistrusted, and in due course you would be hated.
10 Have you heard something? Let it die with you. Courage! It will not burst you!
11 A fool will suffer birthpangs over a piece of news, like a woman labouring with child.
12 Like an arrow stuck in the flesh of the thigh, so is a piece of news inside a fool.
13 Question your friend, he may have done nothing at all; and if he has done anything, he will not do it again.
14 Question your neighbour, he may have said nothing at all; and if he has said anything, he will not say it again.
15 Question your friend, for slander is very common, do not believe all you hear.
16 People sometimes make a slip, without meaning what they say; and which of us has never sinned by speech?
17 Question your neighbour before you threaten him, and defer to the Law of the Most High.
October 25, 2016
Ecclesiasticus 24: 1-12
1 Wisdom speaks her own praises, in the midst of her people she glories in herself.
2 She opens her mouth in the assembly of the Most High, she glories in herself in the presence of the Mighty One:
3 'I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and I covered the earth like mist.
4 I had my tent in the heights, and my throne was a pillar of cloud.
5 Alone, I have made the circuit of the heavens and walked through the depths of the abyss.
6 Over the waves of the sea and over the whole earth, and over every people and nation I have held sway.
7 Among all these I searched for rest, and looked to see in whose territory I might pitch camp.
8 Then the Creator of all things instructed me and he who created me fixed a place for my tent. He said, "Pitch your tent in Jacob, make Israel your inheritance."
9 From eternity, in the beginning, he created me, and for eternity I shall remain.
10 In the holy tent I ministered before him and thus became established in Zion.
11 In the beloved city he has given me rest, and in Jerusalem I wield my authority.
12 I have taken root in a privileged people, in the Lord's property, in his inheritance.
October 26, 2016
Ecclesiasticus 28: 14-26
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14 That third tongue has shattered the peace of many and driven them from nation to nation; it has pulled down fortified cities, and overthrown the houses of the great.
15 The third tongue has had upright wives divorced, depriving them of reward for their hard work.
16 No one who listens to it will ever know peace of mind, will ever live in peace again.
17 A stroke of the whip raises a weal, but a stroke of the tongue breaks bones.
18 Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but many more have fallen by the tongue.
19 Blessed is anyone who has been sheltered from it, and has not experienced its fury, who has not dragged its yoke about, or been bound in its chains;
20 for its yoke is an iron yoke, its chains are bronze chains;
21 the death it inflicts is a miserable death, Sheol is preferable to it.
22 It cannot gain a hold over the devout, they are not burnt by its flames.
23 Those who desert the Lord will fall into it, it will flare up inextinguishably among them, it will be let loose against them like a lion, it will tear them like a leopard.
24 Be sure you put a thorn-hedge round your property, lock away your silver and gold;
25 then make scales and weights for your words, and put a door with bolts across your mouth.
26 Take care you take no false step through it, in case you fall a prey to him who lies in wait.
October 27, 2016
Ecclesiasticus 31: 12-32: 2
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12 If you are sitting down to a lavish table, do not display your greed, do not say, 'What a lot to eat!'
13 Remember, it is bad to have a greedy eye. Is any creature more wicked than the eye? - That is why it is always weeping!
14 Do not reach out for anything your host has his eye on, do not jostle him at the dish.
15 Judge your fellow-guest's needs by your own, be thoughtful in every way.
16 Eat what is offered you like a well brought-up person, do not wolf your food or youwill earn dislike.
17 For politeness' sake be the first to stop; do not act the glutton, or you will give offence,
18 and if you are sitting with a large party, do not help yourself before the others do.
19 A little is quite enough for a well-bred person; his breathing is easy when he lies in bed.
20 A moderate diet ensures sound sleep, one gets up early, in the best of spirits. Sleeplessness, biliousness and gripe are what the glutton has to endure.
21 If you are forced to eat too much, get up, go and vomit, and you will feel better.
22 Listen to me, my child, do not disregard me, eventually you will see the force of my words. Be moderate in all your activities and illness will never overtake you.
23 People praise the person who keeps a splendid table, and their opinion of his munificence is sound.
24 But a niggardly host provokes universal resentment and people will retail instances of his meanness.
25 Do not play the valiant at your wine, for wine has been the undoing of many.
26 The furnace proves the temper of steel, and wine proves hearts in the drinking bouts of braggarts.
27 Wine gives life if drunk in moderation. What is life worth without wine? It came into being to make people happy.
28 Drunk at the right time and in the right amount, wine makes for a glad heart and a cheerful mind.
29 Bitterness of soul comes of wine drunk to excess out of temper or bravado.
30 Drunkenness excites the stupid to a fury to his own harm, it reduces his strengthwhile leading to blows.
31 Do not provoke your fellow-guest at a wine feast, do not make fun of him when he is enjoying himself, do not take him to task or annoy him by reclaiming money owed.
32:
1 Have they made you the presider? Do not let it go to your head, behave like everyone else in the party, see that they are happy and then sit down yourself.
2 Having discharged your duties, take your place so that your joy may be through theirs, and you may receive the crown for your competence.
October 28, 2016
Ecclesiasticus 34: 1-8,18-22
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1 Vain and deceptive hopes are for the foolish, and dreams lend wings to fools.
2 As well clutch at shadows and chase the wind as put any faith in dreams.
3 Dreams are no different from mirrors; confronting a face, the reflection of that face.
4 What can be cleansed by uncleanness, what can be verified by falsehood?
5 Divinations, auguries and dreams are nonsense, like the fantasies of a pregnant woman.
6 Unless sent as emissaries from the Most High, do not give them a thought;
7 for dreams have led many astray, and those who relied on them have come to grief.
8 Fulfilling the Law requires no such falsehood, and wisdom is perfected in veracity.
18 The sacrifice of an offering unjustly acquired is a mockery; the gifts of the impious are unacceptable.
19 The Most High takes no pleasure in offerings from the godless, multiplying sacrificeswill not gain pardon for sin.
20 Offering sacrifice from the property of the poor is as bad as slaughtering a son before his father's eyes.
21 A meagre diet is the very life of the poor, to deprive them of it is to commit murder.
22 To take away a fellow-man's livelihood is to kill him, to deprive an employee of his wages is to shed blood.
that they are happy and then sit down yourself.
2 Having discharged your duties, take your place so that your joy may be through theirs, and you may receive the crown for your competence.
October 29, 2016
Ecclesiasticus 35: 1-17
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1 One who keeps the Law multiplies offerings; one who follows the commandments offers communion sacrifices.
2 Proof of gratitude is an offering of fine flour, almsgiving a sacrifice of praise.
3 To abandon wickedness is what pleases the Lord, to give up wrong-doing is an expiatory sacrifice.
4 Do not appear empty-handed in the Lord's presence; for all these things are due under the commandment.
5 The offering of the upright graces the altar, and its savour rises before the Most High.
6 The sacrifice of the upright is acceptable, its memorial will not be forgotten.
7 Honour the Lord with generosity, do not stint the first-fruits you bring.
8 Add a smiling face to all your gifts, and be cheerful as you dedicate your tithes.
9 Give to the Most High as he has given to you, as generously as your means can afford;
10 for the Lord is a good rewarder, he will reward you seven times over.
11 Do not try to bribe him with presents, he will not accept them, do not put your faith in wrongly motivated sacrifices;
12 for the Lord is a judge who is utterly impartial.
13 He never shows partiality to the detriment of the poor, he listens to the plea of the injured party.
14 He does not ignore the orphan's supplication, nor the widow's as she pours out her complaint.
15 Do the widow's tears not run down her cheeks, as she accuses the man who is thecause of them?
16 Whoever wholeheartedly serves God will be accepted, his petitions will carry to the clouds.
17 The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds: and until it does, he is not to be consoled,
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1 Vain and deceptive hopes are for the foolish, and dreams lend wings to fools.
2 As well clutch at shadows and chase the wind as put any faith in dreams.
3 Dreams are no different from mirrors; confronting a face, the reflection of that face.
4 What can be cleansed by uncleanness, what can be verified by falsehood?
5 Divinations, auguries and dreams are nonsense, like the fantasies of a pregnant woman.
6 Unless sent as emissaries from the Most High, do not give them a thought;
7 for dreams have led many astray, and those who relied on them have come to grief.
8 Fulfilling the Law requires no such falsehood, and wisdom is perfected in veracity.
18 The sacrifice of an offering unjustly acquired is a mockery; the gifts of the impious are unacceptable.
19 The Most High takes no pleasure in offerings from the godless, multiplying sacrificeswill not gain pardon for sin.
20 Offering sacrifice from the property of the poor is as bad as slaughtering a son before his father's eyes.
21 A meagre diet is the very life of the poor, to deprive them of it is to commit murder.
22 To take away a fellow-man's livelihood is to kill him, to deprive an employee of his wages is to shed blood.
that they are happy and then sit down yourself.
2 Having discharged your duties, take your place so that your joy may be through theirs, and you may receive the crown for your competence.