December 3rd : Second Reading I should be punished if I did not preach the Gospel A Reading from the First Letter of St.Paul to the Corinthians 9: 16-19,22-23

 December 3rd : Second Reading

I should be punished if I did not preach the Gospel

A Reading from the First Letter of St.Paul to the Corinthians 9: 16-19,22-23

I do not boast of preaching the gospel, since it is a duty which has been laid on me; I should be punished if I did not preach it! If I had chosen this work myself, I might have been paid for it, but as I have not, it is a responsibility which has been put into my hands. Do you know what my reward is? It is this: in my preaching, to be able to offer the Good News free, and not insist on the rights which the gospel gives me.

So though I am not a slave of any man I have made myself the slave of everyone so as to win as many as I could. I made myself all things to all men in order to save some at any cost; and I still do this, for the sake of the gospel, to have a share in its blessings.

The Word of the Lord