Thursday 22^nd  September 2022

 

St. Maurice

and

the Theban Legion

(d. 287)

 

Maurice was a native of Egypt. He was conscripted into the Roman army. The emperor ordered his soldiers to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods but the Theban Legion, headed by Maurice, refused. Their allegiance to Christ earned them the crown of martyrdom in the year 287.

 

Entrance Antiphon

I am the salvation of the people, says the Lord. Should they cry to me in any distress, I will hear them, and I will be their Lord for ever.

 

Collect

O God, who founded all the commands of your sacred Law upon love of you and of our neighbour, grant that, by keeping your precepts, we may merit to attain eternal life. 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 : Ecclesiastes 1:2-11

Vanity of vanities, the Preacher says. Vanity of vanities. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity! For all his toil, his toil under the sun, what does man gain by it? A generation goes, a generation comes, yet the earth stands firm for ever. The sun rises, the sun sets; then to its place it speeds and there it rises. Southward goes the wind, then turns to the north; it turns and turns again; back then to its circling goes the wind. Into the sea all the rivers go, and yet the sea is never filled, and still to their goal the rivers go. All things are wearisome. No man can say that eyes have not had enough of seeing, ears their fill of hearing. What was will be again; what has been done will be done again; and there is nothing new under the sun. Take anything of which it may be said, ‘Look now, this is new.’ Already, long before our time, it existed. Only no memory remains of earlier times, just as in times to come next year itself will not be remembered.

 

Psalm 89:3-6,12-14,17

R/ O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

 

1. You turn men back to dust and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’ To your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday, come and gone, no more than a watch in the night.
2. You sweep men away like a dream, like the grass which springs up in the morning. In the morning it springs up and flowers: by evening it withers and fades.
3. Make us know the shortness of our life that we may gain wisdom of heart. Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever? Show pity to your servants.
4. In the morning, fill us with your love; we shall exult and rejoice all our days. Let the favour of the Lord be upon us: give success to the work of our hands.

 

Gospel Acclamation : Ps118:18

Alleluia, alleluia! Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may consider the wonders of your law. Alleluia!

 

Gospel : Luke 9:7-9

Herod the Tetrarch had heard about all that was being done by Jesus; and he was puzzled, because some people were saying that John had risen from the dead, others that Elijah had reappeared, still others that one of the ancient prophets had come back to life. But Herod said, ‘John? I beheaded him. So who is this I hear such reports about?’ And he was anxious to see Jesus.

 

Prayer over the Offerings

Receive with favour, O Lord, we pray, the offerings of your people, that what they profess with devotion and faith may be theirs through these heavenly mysteries. Through Christ our Lord.

 

Communion Antiphon : Ps 118: 4-5

You have laid down your precepts to be carefully kept; may my ways be firm in keeping your statutes.

 

Prayer after Communion

Graciously raise up, O Lord, those you renew with this Sacrament, that we may come to possess your redemption both in mystery and in the manner of our life. Through Christ our Lord.

 

Meditation

There are people who seek Jesus in different ways. Some seek Him because everybody talks about Him on radio, TV, various journals and magazines, on social media, in everyday discussions, etc. Others seek Him only when there are big occasions and feasts celebrated by the Church at different times (Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, etc). Others still seek Him only because it may be convenient at the time, because their spouse or children forced them to do so, because they want to obtain some favour, because they are facing some difficulty (financial constraint, illness, imprisonment, etc). Yet others seek Him because they realise who He is. Herod did not have the right reason for meeting Jesus – to tap from His wisdom. Why do you seek Jesus, if at all we do? And I hope we do. As we do so, our prayer must be: Day by day dear Lord, of you three things I ask; to know you more clearly, love you more dearly, follow you more nearly day by day, Amen.