Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Sirach 42,15-25

Next, I shall remind you of the works of the Lord, and tell of what I have seen. By the words of the Lord his works come into being and all creation obeys his will. The shining sun looks down on all things, and the work of the Lord is full of his glory. The Lord has not granted the Holy Ones the power to tell of all his marvels which the Almighty Lord has solidly constructed for the universe to stand firm in his glory. He has fathomed both the abyss and the human heart and seen into their devious ways; for the Most High knows all there is to know and sees the signs of the times. He declares what is past and what will be, and reveals the trend of hidden things. Not a thought escapes him, not a single word is hidden from him. He has embellished the magnificent works of his wisdom, he is from everlasting to everlasting, nothing can be added to him, nothing taken away, he needs no one's advice. How lovely, all his works, how dazzling to the eye! They all live and last for ever, and, whatever the circumstances, all obey. All things go in pairs, by opposites, he has not made anything imperfect: one thing complements the excellence of another. Who could ever grow tired of gazing at his glory?

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Believers recognise that the glory of God shines in creation, and that all its works narrate the goodness of the Creator. Creation is first and foremost an expression of God's love. The substance of his love consists in "generating." For the Lord to love is to bring into being. God by His nature is expansive, that is, He projects Himself out of Himself, He initiates new realities, He brings into existence what did not exist, He gives birth to life where there was no fertility. Creation refers back to the Creator, just as the work refers back to the artist. There is no beauty without the will of the one who creates. Creation - as the book of Genesis (1:2) states - began with the Word: light appears when God calls it into existence, darkness appears as such because light shows darkness with its inherent limitation. What happens with light is repeated with the rest of creation. All things exist because God has called them into existence and together they form the place where people dwell. This is why nature becomes for man a school for contemplating the glory of God and his love. In this sense, human being, created in the image of God, becomes the great interpreter of creation, which he is called to care for so that it may always be a place of peace and a garden of love for all. Within the horizon of creation - which is nature - unfolds the story that the sacred author outlines when he states: "The Most High knows all that may be known; he sees from of old the things that are to come. He discloses what has been and what is to be, and he reveals the traces of hidden things. No thought escapes him, and nothing is hidden from him." It is God who guides history. Human beings are called to participate, together with God who is its Lord, in the care and transformation of creation.