Daily Bible Reading

Source: Vaticannews.va

READING OF THE DAY

A reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to Corinthians 
15:12-20

Brothers and sisters:
If Christ is preached as raised from the dead,
how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
If there is no resurrection of the dead,
then neither has Christ been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching;
empty, too, your faith.
Then we are also false witnesses to God,
because we testified against God that he raised Christ,
whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised,
and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain;
you are still in your sins.
Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If for this life only we have hoped in Christ,
we are the most pitiable people of all.

But now Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke
8:1-3

Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another,
preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.
Accompanying him were the Twelve
and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities,
Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza,
Susanna, and many others
who provided for them out of their resources.

THE WORDS OF THE POPES

Jesus (…) certainly chose from among his disciples 12 men as Fathers of the new Israel and appointed them “to be with him, and to be sent out to preach”. This fact is obvious; but, in addition to the Twelve, pillars of the Church and fathers of the new People of God, many women were also chosen to number among the disciples. (…) In the first place, we think spontaneously of the Virgin Mary, who with her faith and maternal labours collaborated in a unique way in our Redemption. (…) Then there are various women with roles of responsibility who gravitated in their different capacities around the figure of Jesus. The women who followed Jesus to assist him with their own means, some of whose names Luke has passed down to us, are an eloquent example: Mary of Magdala, Joanna, Susanna and “many others” (cf. Lk 8: 2-3). (…) Nor was the female presence in the sphere of the primitive Church in any way secondary. (…) Without the generous contribution of many women, the history of Christianity would have developed very differently. This is why (…) the Church gives thanks for each and every woman. (Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 14 February 2007)