October 22, 2014

Reading

The Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians    3: 2-12

3:2	Now certainly, you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which has been given to me among you:
3:3	that, by means of revelation, the mystery was made known to me, just as I have written above in a few words.
3:4	Yet, by reading this closely, you might be able to understand my prudence in the mystery of Christ.
3:5	In other generations, this was unknown to the sons of men, even as it has now been revealed to his holy Apostles and Prophets in the Spirit,
3:6	so that the Gentiles would be co-heirs, and of the same body, and partners together, by his promise in Christ Jesus, through the Gospel.
3:7	Of this Gospel, I have been made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God, which has been given to me by means of the operation of his virtue.
3:8	Although I am the least of all the saints, I have been given this grace: to evangelize among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
3:9	and to enlighten everyone concerning the dispensation of the mystery, hidden before the ages in God who created all things,
3:10	so that the manifold wisdom of God may become well-known to the principalities and powers in the heavens, through the Church,
3:11	according to that timeless purpose, which he has formed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
3:12	In him we trust, and so we approach with confidence, through his faith.

Gospel

The Holy Gospel According to Luke   12: 39-48

12:39	But know this: that if the father of the family knew at what hour the thief would arrive, he would certainly stand watch, and he would not permit his house to be broken into.
12:40	You also must be prepared. For the Son of man will return at an hour that you will not realize.”
12:41	Then Peter said to him, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or also to everyone?”
12:42	So the Lord said: “Who do you think is the faithful and prudent steward, whom his Lord has appointed over his family, in order to give them their measure of wheat in due time?
12:43	Blessed is that servant if, when his Lord will return, he will find him acting in this manner.
12:44	Truly I say to you, that he will appoint him over all that he possesses.
12:45	But if that servant will have said in his heart, ‘My Lord has made a delay in his return,’ and if he has begun to strike the men and women servants, and to eat and drink, and to be inebriated,
12:46	then the Lord of that servant will return on a day which he hoped not, and at an hour which he knew not. And he will separate him, and he will place his portion with that of the unfaithful.
12:47	And that servant, who knew the will of his Lord, and who did not prepare and did not act according to his will, will be beaten many times over.
12:48	Yet he who did not know, and who acted in a way that deserves a beating, will be beaten fewer times. So then, of all to whom much has been given, much will be required. And of those to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be asked.