First Reading

Beginning of the letter of the Apostle Saint Paul to the Philippians

Philippians 1, 1-11

We, Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, wish grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ to all the brothers in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, and to their bishops and deacons.

Every time I remember you, I give thanks to my God, and whenever I pray for you, I do so with great joy, because you have collaborated with me in the spread of the Gospel, from the first day until now. I am convinced that he who began this work in you will continue to perfect it until the day of the coming of Christ Jesus.

Moreover, it is only right that I have these feelings toward all of you, for I carry you in my heart, and both in my imprisonment and in the defense and strengthening of the Gospel that I carry out, you share with me in the grace of my apostleship. God is my witness how much I love all of you with the deep love with which Christ Jesus loves you.

And this is my prayer for you: that your love may continue to grow more and more and be translated into greater knowledge and spiritual sensitivity. Thus you may always choose what is best and arrive pure and blameless on the day of Christ’s coming, filled with the fruits of righteousness that come to us from Christ Jesus, for the glory and praise of God.

Gospel

Reading from the holy Gospel according to Saint Luke

Luke 14, 1-6

One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat at the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees, and they were watching him closely. There was a man suffering from dropsy in front of him, and Jesus, turning to the scribes and Pharisees, asked them: “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”

They remained silent. Then Jesus touched the sick man with his hand, healed him, and told him to go. Turning to them, he asked: “If one of you has a donkey or an ox that falls into a well, will you not pull it out immediately, even if it is the Sabbath?” And they did not know what to answer him.