Letter to the Romans 4:20-25. 

Brothers and sisters: Abraham did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief; rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God
and was fully convinced that what he had promised he was also able to do.
That is why "it was credited to him as righteousness."
But it was not for him alone that it was written that "it was credited to him";
it was also for us, to whom it will be credited, who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was handed over for our transgressions and was raised for our justification.



Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 1:69-70.71-72.73-75. 

He has come to the help of his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
Born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.





Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12:13-21. 

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me."
He replied to him, "Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?"
Then he said to the crowd, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions."
Then he told them a parable. "There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, 'What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?'
And he said, 'This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!"
But God said to him, 'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?'
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God."

“What shall I do? For I do not have space to store my harvest ”

“What shall I do?” There was a ready response to this: “I will satisfy hungry souls, open up my barns, call in everyone in need... I will speak out words of generosity: all you who are short of bread, come to me; each according to your needs, take your share of God's gifts flowing like a public fountain”. Yet you, you foolish rich man, are very far from doing this! And why? Jealous of seeing others enjoy their wealth you give yourself up to wretched calculations: you are not anxious about how to distribute to each according to their need but how to take everything and deprive everyone else of the profit they might have drawn from it...

So then, my brethren, take care you don't experience the same fate as that man! If Scripture gives us this example it is so that we can avoid behaving in the same way. Imitate the earth: bear fruit and don't prove yourself worse than it, soulless as it is. It yields crops, not for its own pleasure but to serve you. To the contrary, all the fruit of the kindnesses you show will be gathered for yourself since the graces that arise from good works return to those who bestow them. You have given to the hungry and what you gave remains with you and even comes back to you with increase. As the grain of wheat that fell into the earth brings profit to the sower so the bread given to the hungry will bring you superabundant profit later on. May the end of all your labours be for you the commencement of your sowing in heaven.