Daily Readings for August 4, 2019

1st READING

Following the will of God keeps us away from vanity. If we do this with the right spirit, we will avoid vanities and submit to God in all things. Nothing good comes of vanity. It leads us away from God and deceives us into thinking that we are the masters of our own destiny. Let us never fall into this trap and remain attentive to God’s will for us each day.

Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23

2 Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! 2:21 Here is one who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and yet to another, who has not labored over it, he must leave his property. This also is vanity and a great misfortune. 22 For what profit comes to a man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun? 23 All his days sorrow and grief is his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest. This also is vanity.

PSALM 

Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17

R: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

3 You turn man back to dust, saying, “Return, O children of men.” 4 For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, now that it is past, or as a watch of the night. (R) 5 You make an end of them in their sleep; the next morning they are like the changing grass, 6 which at dawn springs up anew, but by evening wilts and fades. (R) 12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. 13 Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! (R) 14 Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days. 17 And may the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours; prosper the work of our hands for us! Prosper the work of our hands!” (R)

2nd READING

Sin destroys God’s image and makes it impossible for others to see Him in us. Growing in His image and likeness entails making difficult decisions that lead to rejection of sin and temptation, a decision that we will have to make many times each day. Our challenge is to grow in holiness and we need all the help we can get— prayer, Scripture reading, receiving the sacraments, and others. Let us be mindful of the simple things of faith that can help us grow deeper in our love for God.

Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11

1 Brothers and sisters: If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. 9 Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.

GOSPEL

Greed and complacency kill the life of the Spirit. Let us be wary of the seductions of wealth and the ways of the world; otherwise, these will consume us. Unfortunately, the human tendency is to surrender to worldly ways and not to the life of holiness. We constantly battle against our lesser senses. Let us be vigilant and not allow these tendencies to control us.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 12:13-21

13 Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” 14 He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” 15 Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” 16 Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. 17 He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ 18 And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods’ 19 and I shall say to myself, ‘Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!’’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ 21 Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”

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