monday 10 February 2020
St Scholastica (480 – 547)
She was born in Nursia in about 480, the twin sister of St Benedict. She was dedicated to God from an early age and followed her brother to Cassino, where she died in about 547.
White
Entrance Antiphon:
Here is a wise virgin, from among the number of the prudent, who went forth with lighted lamp to meet Christ.
Collect
As we celebrate anew the Memorial of the Virgin St. Scholastica, we pray, O Lord, that, following her example, we may serve you with pure love and happily receive what comes from loving you. 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 : 1 Kings 8:1-7,9-13
Solomon called the elders of Israel together in Jerusalem to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord up from the Citadel of David, which is Zion. All the men of Israel assembled round King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, at the time of the feast (that is, the seventh month), and the priests took up the ark and the Tent of Meeting with all the sacred vessels that were in it. In the presence of the ark, King Solomon and all Israel sacrificed sheep and oxen, countless, innumerable. The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the Debir of the Temple, that is, in the Holy of Holies, under the cherubs’ wings. For there where the ark was placed the cherubs spread out their wings and sheltered the ark and its shafts. There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets Moses had placed in it at Horeb, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord had made with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt; they are still there today. Now when the priests came out of the sanctuary, the cloud filled the Temple of the Lord, and because of the cloud the priests could no longer perform their duties: the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s Temple. Then Solomon said: ‘The Lord has chosen to dwell in the thick cloud. Yes, I have built you a dwelling, a place for you to live in forever.’
Psalm 131(132):6-10
R/ Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest!
- At Ephrata we heard of the ark; we found it in the plains of Yearim. ‘Let us go to the place of his dwelling; let us go to kneel at his footstool.’
- Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your strength. Your priests shall be clothed with holiness; your faithful shall ring out their joy. For the sake of David your servant do not reject your anointed.
Gospel Acclamation : Jn8:12
Alleluia, alleluia! I am the light of the world, says the Lord; anyone who follows me will have the light of life. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 6:53-56
Having made the crossing, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up. No sooner had they stepped out of the boat than people recognised him, and started hurrying all through the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, to village, or town, or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched him were cured.
Prayer over the Offerings
As we proclaim your wonders, O Lord, in the Virgin, St. Scholastica, we humbly implore your majesty, that, as her merits are pleasing to you, so, too, our dutiful service may find favour in your sight. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Mt 25: 6
Behold, the Bridegroom is coming; come out to meet Christ the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Renewed by partaking of this divine gift, we pray, O Lord our God, that by the example of the St. Scholastica, bearing in our body the Death of Jesus, we may strive to hold fast to you alone. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
From the Gospel passage, I can visualise a longing to encounter Jesus. This rush comes from the faith of the people in Jesus, a faith that is expressed by the sick and those who care for them. We are told all those who touched Jesus were cured. Some of us have the fortune of touching Jesus on a daily basis in the Eucharist. What kind of faith do we have in Jesus? We need to believe wholly and only in Jesus. As he cured those touched him in Gennesaret, so will he cure us who touch him daily in the Eucharist.