16
December
Bl Mary of the Angels
(1661-1717)
Violet
Born in Turin, Italy, in 1661, she died, after spending her whole life there, in 1717. In 1675 she entered the Discalced Carmelite Convent of St. Christina, and several times filled the offices of Prioress and Novice Mistress. She underwent continual spiritual trials, but was constant in her ardent love of God. She was outstandingly faithful to prayer and particularly devoted to St. Joseph, in whose honour a convent was founded through her good offices at Moncalieri.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 118: 151-152
You, O Lord, are close, and all your ways are truth. From of old I have known of your decrees, for you are eternal.
Collect
Unworthy servants that we are, O Lord, grieved by the guilt of our deeds, we pray that you may gladden us by the saving advent of your Only Begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Isaiah 54:1-10
Shout for joy, you barren women who bore no children! Break into cries of joy and gladness, you who were never in labour! For the sons of the forsaken one are more in number than the sons of the wedded wife, says the Lord. Widen the space of your tent, stretch out your hangings freely, lengthen your ropes, make your pegs firm; for you will burst out to right and to left. Your race will take possession of the nations, and people the abandoned cities. Do not be afraid, you will not be put to shame, do not be dismayed, you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth and no longer remember the curse of your widowhood. For now your creator will be your husband, his name, the Lord of Hosts; your redeemer will be the Holy One of Israel, he is called the God of the whole earth. Yes, like a forsaken wife, distressed in spirit, the Lord calls you back. Does a man cast off the wife of his youth? says your God. I did forsake you for a brief moment, but with great love will I take you back. In excess of anger, for a moment I hid my face from you. But with everlasting love I have taken pity on you, says the Lord, your redeemer. I am now as I was in the days of Noah when I swore that Noah’s waters should never flood the world again. So now I swear concerning my anger with you and the threats I made against you; for the mountains may depart, the hills be shaken, but my love for you will never leave you and my covenant of peace with you will never be shaken, says the Lord who takes pity on you.
Psalm 29(30):2,4-6,11-13
R/ I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.
1. I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me and have not let my enemies rejoice over me. O Lord, you have raised my soul from the dead, restored me to life from those who sink into the grave.
2. Sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him, give thanks to his holy name. His anger lasts a moment; his favour all through life. At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn.
3. The Lord listened and had pity. The Lord came to my help. For me you have changed my mourning into dancing: O Lord my God, I will thank you for ever.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! The day of the Lord is near; Look, he comes to save us. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 7:24-30
When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to talk to the people about John. ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? No? Then what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Oh no, those who go in for fine clothes and live luxuriously are to be found at court! Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet: he is the one of whom scripture says: See, I am going to send my messenger before you; he will prepare the way before you. ‘I tell you, of all the children born of women, there is no one greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he is. All the people who heard him, and the tax collectors too, acknowledged God’s plan by accepting baptism from John; but by refusing baptism from him the Pharisees and the lawyers had thwarted what God had in mind for them.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, we pray, O Lord, these offerings we make, gathered from among your gifts to us, and may what you grant us to celebrate devoutly here below gain for us the prize of eternal redemption. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ti 2: 12-13
Let us live justly and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of the glory of our great God.
Prayer after Communion
May these mysteries, O Lord, in which we have participated, profit us, we pray, for even now, as we walk amid passing things, you teach us by them to love the things of heaven and hold fast to what endures. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Jesus asserts that all who listened to John the Baptist and accepted his baptism acknowledged God’s plan. What was this plan? The plan was to bring back to God all those who had gone astray because of sin. God announced this plan through his prophets. In the first reading, he calls Israel, he had banished because of her sin, back to him and promises that his love will never leave her again. Through John the Baptist, the last and greatest of the prophets, he called the people to confess their sins and be baptised. God wants us to be part of his plan. He is prepared to overlook our sins and give us a new life. All we need to do is repent and be baptised, and let him fill us with his Spirit. The tax collectors accepted his plan, but the Pharisees and lawyers rejected it. Which choice will you make?