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

  Reading:  Exodus 5, 6 

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said
'God says: let my people go into the desert to worship me".'

Pharaoh not only refused to let them go;
he also made their life more difficult
by forcing them to gather their own straw for making bricks.

The people complained to Moses and Aaron
for having made their life more difficult.

So Moses prayed to God for help
and God said he would force Pharaoh to let the people go.

Reflection:
This story is a classic example of the saying "Sometimes things need to get worse before they get better"!  c.f. Why things get Worse before they get Better

Prayer: Dear God, please help me through the "get worse" times on the way to the "better" times

Reading: Psalms 42-45

Like a deer that longs for running streams,
so my soul is longing for you, my God.

My soul is thirsting for you, the God of my life.
I think of you all the time, here in my land of exile.

People make fun of us here in exile.
They  taunt us saying "Where is your God?"

Yet no matter what happens we will hope in you,
for you are our saviour and our God.

No matter where we are or what happens to us,
our hearts will long for you, like a bride longing for her groom.

Reflection:
These words from the Psalms go well with the reading above from Exodus:
No matter how bad things get, we will keep on trusting God, in the hope they one day, somehow/somewhere, things will get better

Prayer: Lord, when life becomes difficult, please give me hope that things will get better

Reading:  Ephesians 3 

This is what I pray, kneeling before the Father from whom
every family, whether spiritual or natural, takes it name:

May he give you  power through his Spirit
for your hidden self to grow strong

May Christ live in your hearts through faith

Planted in love and built on love, may you continually focus
on the love of Christ, until your life if filled with that love

Reflection: 
If we keep on reading and thinking about Jesus, if we often speak with him during the day, we will become more like him ....a great blessing for ourselves, our families and our world

Prayer: 
Glory be to him whose power  working in us,
can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine

Glory be to him from generation to generation in the Church
 and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen

Reading:  Luke 5

One day when Jesus was standing near the Lake of Gennesaret, with people pressing round him listening to the word of God, he saw two fishing boats near the bank

He got into one boat, it belonged to Simon Peter, and taught people from the boat, away from the shore a little distance

When he'd finished speaking he said to Simon "Go out further to deep water and use your nets for a catch of fish"

Simon replied "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but if you say so I'll lower the nets"

They soon caught so many fish that the nets began to tear. They called to their friends in the second boat to come and help. Both boats were soon filled with fish

Peter fell at Jesus' knees and said "Leave me, Lord, I am a sinful man", for he was overcome by the catch they had made, as were James and John who were his partners

But Jesus said to Simon "Don't be afraid. From now on, you will be fishers of men".  Simon and his friends then left everything to follow Jesus

Reflection:
Jesus didn't tell Peter and friends to stop fishing.
He upgraded them to "fishers of people"

Prayer: Jesus,  bless and protect all "fishers of men"