Thursday 14 th July 2022
- Camillus of Lellis
(1550 – 1614)
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, God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Isaiah 26:7-9,12,16-19
The path of the upright man is straight, you smooth the way of the upright Following the path of your judgements, we hoped in you, O Lord. Your name, your memory are all my soul desires. At night my soul longs for you and my spirit in me seeks for you; when your judgements appear on earth the inhabitants of the world learn the meaning of integrity. O Lord, you are giving us peace, since you treat us as our deeds deserve. Distressed, we search for you, O Lord; the misery of oppression was your punishment for us. As a woman with child near her time writhes and cries out in her pangs, so are we, O Lord, in your presence: we have conceived, we writhe as if we were giving birth; we have not given the spirit of salvation to the earth, no more inhabitants of the world are born. Your dead will come to life, their corpses will rise; awake, exult, all you who lie in the dust, for your dew is a radiant dew and the land of ghosts will give birth.
Psalm 101:13-21
R/ The Lord looked down from heaven to the earth.
- You, O Lord, will endure for ever and your name from age to age. You will arise and have mercy on Zion: for this is the time to have mercy, for your servants love her very stones, are moved with pity even for her dust.
- 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.
Gospel Acclamation : cf.Ps129:5
Alleluia, alleluia! My soul is waiting for the Lord, I count on his word. Alleluia!
Gospel : Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus exclaimed, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’
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
In today’s gospel, Jesus calls us to meditate on the virtue of humility. He is the model of humility as He says “Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart.” The humility of Jesus reveals to us the humility of God who never seeks to put us down, but always wants to raise us to be His worthy children. The humility of God does not prevent Him from being God. Our humility does not reduce anything from our person, but adds more value to our person. When we learn from God, He gives us the genuine example and with such an example, we shall discover how light our burdens will become. With Jesus, we see the mercy of God in carrying our crosses as He carried His cross for our sake.