Saturday 18 th June 2022
St. Gregory Barbarigo
(1625-1657)
St. Gregory Barbarigo was born in 1625 in Venice. He first embraced a diplomatic career before becoming priest, bishop and cardinal. He worked unceasingly in carrying out the reforms set forth by the Council of Trent. He died in 1697.
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 26: 7, 9
O Lord, hear my voice, for I have called to you; be my help. Do not abandon or forsake me, O God, my Saviour!
Collect
O God, strength of those who hope in you, graciously hear our pleas, and, since without you, mortal frailty can do nothing, grant us always the help of your grace, that in following your commands, we may please you by our resolve and our deeds. 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 : 2 Chronicles 24: 17-25
After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came to pay court to the king, and the king now turned to them for advice. The Judaeans abandoned the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, for the worship of sacred poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem. He sent them prophets to bring them back to the Lord, but when these gave their message, they would not listen. The spirit of God took possession of Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said, ‘God says this, “Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord to no good purpose? You have deserted the Lord, now he deserts you.”’ They then plotted against him and by order of the king stoned him in the court of the Temple of the Lord. King Joash, forgetful of the kindness that Jehoiada, the father of Zechariah, had shown him, killed Jehoiada’s son who cried out as he died, ‘The Lord sees and he will avenge!’ When a year had gone by, the Aramaean army made war on Joash. They reached Judah and Jerusalem, and executed all the officials among the people, sending back to the king at Damascus all that they had plundered from them. Though the Aramaean army had by no means come in force, the Lord delivered into its power an army of great size for having deserted him, the God of their ancestors. The Aramaeans treated Joash as he had deserved, and when they retired they left him a very sick man; and his officers, plotting against him to avenge the death of the son of Jehoiada the priest, murdered him in his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the Citadel of David, though not in the tombs of the kings.
Psalm 88:4-5,29-34
R/ I will keep my love for him always.
- ‘With my chosen one I have made a covenant; I have sworn to David my servant: I will establish your dynasty for ever and set up your throne through all ages.
- ‘I will keep my love for him always; with him my covenant shall last. I will establish his dynasty for ever, make his throne endure as the heavens.
- ‘If his sons forsake my law and refuse to walk as I decree and if ever they violate my statutes, refusing to keep my commands; then I will punish their offences with the rod, then I will scourge them on account of their guilt.
- ‘But I will never take back my love, my truth will never fail.’
Gospel Acclamation : Mt4:4
Alleluia, alleluia! Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Alleluia!
Gospel : Matthew 6:24-34
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money. ‘That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. Surely life means more than food, and the body more than clothing! Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are we not worth much more than they are? Can any of you, for all his worrying, add one single cubit to his span of life? And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these. Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of little faith? So do not worry; do not say, “What are we to eat? What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed?” It is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’
Prayer over the Offerings
O God, who in the offerings presented here provide for the twofold needs of human nature, nourishing us with food and renewing us with your Sacrament, grant, we pray, that the sustenance they provide may not fail us in body or in spirit. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Ps 26: 4
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, only this do I seek: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Prayer after Communion
As this reception of your Holy Communion, O Lord, foreshadows the union of the faithful in you, so may it bring about unity in your Church. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Divine providence is juicy and fruitful for those who put their hope and trust in god. On the contrary, lack of faith in divine providence divert our hearts to the false securities offered by the world. There are men who think that everything must be foreseen and programmed, everything must be calculated, and everything must be obtained by their effort, their work yet what we are, what we are capable of, and what we obtain even after our efforts, or by our work, is a gift of the grace of god. Thus our work, our life, our intelligence, our prosperity constitute a reason to give thanks to god and to remain humble and generous.