by | Aug 1, 2022 | Evangelium

Tuesday 02 nd august 2022

 

St. Eusebius

of Vercelli

(283 – 371)

 

He was born in Sardinia around 340 and was made the first bishop of Vercelli in Piedmont. He was a strong supporter of orthodoxy, and in 355 was sent into exile by the Emperor for refusing to sign the condemnation of St Athanasius that had been passed by the Council of Milan.

 

Entrance Antiphon : Ps 69: 2, 6

O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me! You are my rescuer, my help; O Lord, do not delay.

 

Collect

Draw near to your servants, O Lord, and answer their prayers with unceasing kindness, that, for those who glory in you as their Creator and guide, you may restore what you have created and keep safe what you have restored. 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 : Jeremiah 30:1-2,12-15,18-22

The word addressed to Jeremiah by the Lord: the Lord, the God of Israel says this: Write all the words I have spoken to you in a book. Yes, the Lord says this: Your wound is incurable, your injury past healing. There is no one to care for your sore, no medicine to make you well again. All your lovers have forgotten you, they look for you no more. Yes, I have struck you as an enemy strikes, with harsh punishment so great is your guilt, so many your sins. Why bother to complain about your wound? Your pain is incurable. So great is your guilt, so many your sins, that I have done all this to you. The Lord says this: Now I will restore the tents of Jacob, and take pity on his dwellings: the city shall be rebuilt on its ruins, the citadel restored on its site. From them will come thanksgiving and shouts of joy. I will make them increase, and not diminish them, make them honoured, and not disdained. Their sons shall be as once they were, their community fixed firm in my presence, and I will punish all their oppressors. Their prince will be one of their own, their ruler come from their own people. I will let him come freely into my presence and he can come close to me; who else, indeed, would risk his life by coming close to me? – it is the Lord who speaks. And you shall be my people and I will be your God.

 

Psalm 101(102):16-21,29,22-23

R/   The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory.

 

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. The sons of your servants shall dwell untroubled and their race shall endure before you that the name of the Lord may be proclaimed in Zion and his praise in the heart of Jerusalem, when peoples and kingdoms are gathered together to pay their homage to the Lord.

 

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 : Matthew 14:22-36

Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away. After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, while the boat, by now far out on the lake, was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind. In the fourth watch of the night he went towards them, walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost’ they said, and cried out in fear. But at once Jesus called out to them, saying, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ It was Peter who answered. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried. Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’ And as they got into the boat the wind dropped. The men in the boat bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’ Having made the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the local people recognised him they spread the news through the whole neighbourhood and took all that were sick to him, begging him just to let them touch the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched it were completely cured.

 

Prayer over the Offerings

Graciously sanctify these gifts, O Lord, we pray, and, accepting the oblation of this spiritual sacrifice, make of us an eternal offering to you. Through Christ our Lord.

 

Communion Antiphon : Wis 16: 20

You have given us, O Lord, bread from heaven, endowed with all delights and sweetness in every taste.

 

Prayer after Communion

Accompany with constant protection, O Lord, those you renew with these heavenly gifts and, in your never-failing care for them, make them worthy of eternal redemption. Through Christ our Lord.

 

Meditation

Ordinarily people do not walk on water, they swim. Our Gospel reading gives us the contrary.  Instead of swimming, Jesus walked on water. That Jesus walked on water showed His divinity, His supernatural status. Peter, touched by the incident, asked to come to Jesus over the water. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he was able to walk on the water. However, when he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the waves, he started to sink. Before then, all of them in the boat had thought that they were seeing a ghost, until Jesus assured them: ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’  In looking up to Jesus, we have to let His word guide our lives.