Saturday 22 nd october 2022
- John Paul II
(1920-2005)
He became Archbishop of Kraków in 1964 and took part in the Second Vatican Council. On 16 October 1978 he was elected pope and took the name John Paul II. He is remembered for his exceptional apostolic zeal, particularly for families, young people and the sick. He departed peacefully in the Lord in 2005. He was canonized by Pope Francis on 27 April, the Second Sunday of Easter 2014.
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 16: 6, 8
To you I call; for you will surely heed me, O God; turn your ear to me; hear my words. Guard me as the apple of your eye; in the shadow of your wings protect me.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, grant that we may always conform our will to yours and serve your majesty in sincerity of heart. 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 : Ephesians 4:7-16
Each one of us has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted it. It was said that he would: When he ascended to the height, he captured prisoners, he gave gifts to men. When it says, ‘he ascended’, what can it mean if not that he descended right down to the lower regions of the earth? The one who rose higher than all the heavens to fill all things is none other than the one who descended. And to some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself. Then we shall not be children any longer, or tossed one way and another and carried along by every wind of doctrine, at the mercy of all the tricks men play and their cleverness in practising deceit. If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to its function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love.
Psalm 121:1-5
R/ I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house. ’
- I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’ And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.
- Jerusalem is built as a city strongly compact. It is there that the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord.
- For Israel’s law it is, there to praise the Lord’s name. There were set the thrones of judgementof the house of David.
Gospel Acclamation : Ps144:13
Alleluia, alleluia! The Lord is faithful in all his words and loving in all his deeds. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 13:1-9
Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’ He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”’
Prayer over the Offerings
Grant us, Lord, we pray, a sincere respect for your gifts, that, through the purifying action of your grace, we may be cleansed by the very mysteries we serve. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Cf. Ps 32: 18-19
Behold, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, who hope in his merciful love, to rescue their souls from death, to keep them alive in famine.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, O Lord, we pray, that, benefiting from participation in heavenly things, we may be helped by what you give in this present age and prepared for the gifts that are eternal. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Jesus links a political-religious calamity in today’s gospel with a natural disaster to serve as signs to help us avoid the worst by preparing spiritually for the end time. Just as natural signs point to what is happening today, God gives us signs which indicate His actions and interventions in our lives, the Church and the world.
The unfruitful fig tree indicates Israel’s and, by extension, our refusal to respond to God’s Word. In this parable, Jesus also depicts God’s patience, but there is a strong warning that this patience has limits. God gives us time to establish a cordial and right relationship with Him and that time is now.