Daily Reading for Friday, August 21st, 2020 HD

Reading 1, Ezekiel 37:1-14
1 The hand of Yahweh was on me; he carried me away by the spirit of Yahweh and set me down in the middle of the valley, a valley full of bones.

2 He made me walk up and down and all around among them. There were vast quantities of these bones on the floor of the valley; and they were completely dry.

3 He said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' I said, 'You know, Lord Yahweh.'

4 He said, 'Prophesy over these bones. Say, "Dry bones, hear the word of Yahweh.

5 The Lord Yahweh says this to these bones: I am now going to make breath enter you, and you will live.

6 I shall put sinews on you, I shall make flesh grow on you, I shall cover you with skin and give you breath, and you will live; and you will know that I am Yahweh." '

7 I prophesied as I had been ordered. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a clattering sound; it was the bones coming together.

8 And as I looked, they were covered with sinews; flesh was growing on them and skin was covering them, yet there was no breath in them.

9 He said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man. Say to the breath, "The Lord Yahweh says this: Come from the four winds, breath; breathe on these dead, so that they come to life!" '

10 I prophesied as he had ordered me, and the breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet, a great, an immense army.

11 Then he said, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole House of Israel. They keep saying, "Our bones are dry, our hope has gone; we are done for."

12 So, prophesy. Say to them, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I am now going to open your graves; I shall raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel.

13 And you will know that I am Yahweh, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people,

14 and put my spirit in you, and you revive, and I resettle you on your own soil. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken and done this -- declares the Lord Yahweh." '

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 107:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
2 So let them say whom Yahweh redeemed, whom he redeemed from the power of their enemies,

3 bringing them back from foreign lands, from east and west, north and south.

4 They were wandering in the desert, in the wastelands, could find no way to an inhabited city;

5 they were hungry and thirsty, their life was ebbing away.

6 They cried out to Yahweh in their distress, he rescued them from their plight,

7 he set them on the road, straight to an inhabited city.

8 Let them thank Yahweh for his faithful love, for his wonders for the children of Adam!

9 He has fed the hungry to their hearts' content, filled the starving with good things.

Gospel, Matthew 22:34-40
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees they got together

35 and, to put him to the test, one of them put a further question,

36 'Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?'

37 Jesus said to him, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

38 This is the greatest and the first commandment.

39 The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself.

40 On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets too.'

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