Entrance Antiphon: Rom 5: 5; cf. 8, 11
The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Spirit of God dwelling within us, alleluia.
Collect
O God, who never cease to bestow the glory of holiness on the faithful servants you raise up for yourself, graciously grant that the Holy Spirit may kindle in us that fire with which he wonderfully filled the heart of Saint Philip Neri. 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: Ecclesiasticus 36:1-2,5-7,13-19
Have mercy on us, Master, Lord of all, and look on us, cast the fear of yourself over every nation. Let them acknowledge you, just as we have acknowledged that there is no God but you, Lord. Send new portents, do fresh wonders, win glory for your hand and your right arm. Gather together all the tribes of Jacob, restore them their inheritance as in the beginning. Have mercy, Lord, on the people who have invoked your name, on Israel whom you have treated as a first-born. Show compassion on your holy city, on Jerusalem the place of your rest. Fill Zion with songs of your praise, and your sanctuary with your glory. Bear witness to those you created in the beginning, and bring about what has been prophesied in your name. Give those who wait for you their reward, and let your prophets be proved worthy of belief. Grant, Lord, the prayer of your servants, in accordance with Aaron’s blessing on your people, so that all the earth’s inhabitants may acknowledge that you are the Lord, the everlasting God.
Psalm 78(79):8-9,11,13
R/ Have mercy on us, Lord, and look on us.
1. Do not hold the guilt of our fathers against us. Let your compassion hasten to meet us; we are left in the depths of distress.
2. O God our saviour, come to our help. Come for the sake of the glory of your name. O Lord our God, forgive us our sins; rescue us for the sake of your name.
3. Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; let your strong arm reprieve those condemned to die. But we, your people, the flock of your pasture, will give you thanks for ever and ever. We will tell your praise from age to age.
Gospel Acclamation: 1Jn 2:5
Alleluia, alleluia! Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said, God’s love comes to perfection in him. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 10:32-45
The disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem; Jesus was walking on ahead of them; they were in a daze, and those who followed were apprehensive. Once more taking the Twelve aside he began to tell them what was going to happen to him: ‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans, who will mock him and spit at him and scourge him and put him to death; and after three days he will rise again.’ James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him. ‘Master,’ they said to him, ‘we want you to do us a favour.’ He said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ They said to him, ‘Allow us to sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking,’ Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I must drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I must be baptised you shall be baptised, but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.’ When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with James and John, so Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
Prayer over the Offerings
As we offer you the sacrifice of praise, O Lord, we ask that by the example of Saint Philip w may always give ourselves cheerfully for the glory of your name and the service of our neighbour. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Jn 15: 9
As the Father loves me, so I also love you; remain in my love.
Prayer after Communion
Having fed upon these heavenly delights, we pray, O Lord, that in imitation of Saint Philip Neri we may always long for that food by which we truly live. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
The quest for power, fame and money is found in almost every man. The brothers, James and John made a request to Jesus to satisfy this desire. Jesus reminds us immediately about what the kingdom of God is first and foremost about: SERVICE. He says, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all” (Mk 10:43-44). Our position in life should humble us the more and bring out the best in us rather than pride and selfishness. We should use our positions to better the lives of others.
