tuesday 04 August 2020
St John Mary Vianney, Priest
Cure of Ars (1786 – 1859)
He was the son of a peasant farmer, and a slow and unpromising candidate for the priesthood. He was eventually ordained on account of his devoutness rather than any achievement or promise. He was a noted preacher, and a celebrated confessor.
White
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 131: 9
Your priests, O Lord, shall be clothed with justice; your holy ones shall ring out their joy.
Collect
Almighty and merciful God, who made the Priest Saint John Vianney wonderful in his pastoral zeal, grant, we pray, that through his intercession and example we may in charity win brothers and sisters for Christ and attain with them eternal glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Jeremiah 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22
The word addressed to Jeremiah by the Lord: the Lord, the God of Israel says this: Write all the words I have spoken to you in a book. Yes, the Lord says this: Your wound is incurable, your injury past healing. There is no one to care for your sore, no medicine to make you well again. All your lovers have forgotten you, they look for you no more. Yes, I have struck you as an enemy strikes, with harsh punishment so great is your guilt, so many your sins. Why bother to complain about your wound? Your pain is incurable. So great is your guilt, so many your sins, that I have done all this to you. The Lord says this: Now I will restore the tents of Jacob, and take pity on his dwellings: the city shall be rebuilt on its ruins, the citadel restored on its site. From them will come thanksgiving and shouts of joy. I will make them increase, and not diminish them, make them honoured, and not disdained. Their sons shall be as once they were, their community fixed firm in my presence, and I will punish all their oppressors. Their prince will be one of their own, their ruler come from their own people. I will let him come freely into my presence and he can come close to me; who else, indeed, would risk his life by coming close to me? – it is the Lord who speaks. And you shall be my people and I will be your God.
Psalm 101(102):16-21, 29, 22-23
R/ The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory.
- The nations shall fear the name of the Lord and all the earth’s kings your glory, when the Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory. Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless; he will not despise their prayers.
- Let this be written for ages to come that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord; for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high. He looked down from heaven to the earth that he might hear the groans of the prisoners and free those condemned to die.
- The sons of your servants shall dwell untroubled and their race shall endure before you that the name of the Lord may be proclaimed in Zion and his praise in the heart of Jerusalem, when peoples and kingdoms are gathered together to pay their homage to the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation : Jn 8:12
Alleluia, alleluia! I am the light of the world, says the Lord; anyone who follows me will have the light of life. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 15:1-2, 10-14
Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus and said, ‘Why do your disciples break away from the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands when they eat food.’ He called the people to him and said, ‘Listen, and understand. What goes into the mouth does not make a man unclean; it is what comes out of the mouth that makes him unclean.’ Then the disciples came to him and said, ‘Do you know that the Pharisees were shocked when they heard what you said?’ He replied, ‘Any plant my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them alone. They are blind men leading blind men; and if one blind man leads another, both will fall into a pit.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Receive, O Lord, we pray, the offerings placed on your altar in commemoration of Saint John Vianney so that, as you brought him glory, you may, through these sacred mysteries, grant to us your pardon. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Mt 24: 46-47
Blessed is the servant whom the Lord finds watching when he comes. Amen I say to you: He will put that servant in charge of all his property.
Prayer after Communion
May partaking at the heavenly table, almighty God, confirm and increase strength from on high in all who celebrate the feast day of Saint John Vianney that we may preserve in integrity the gift of faith and walk in the path of salvation you trace for us. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
God assures the people that he will restore their nation to their former state, the state of glory, He will take away their tears and they will once more raise their voices and will dance. This is an invitation for us to think of how we react when moments of sorrow, unpalatable moments invade our lives. Do we often turn to God who is always there for us or do we sit and allow these situations to take possession of us? God is always there to make things better for us. He owns us and so only he can change our lives for the better. Let us learn to trust in him.