Thursday 17 th november 2022
St. Elizabeth of Hungary
(1207 – 1231)
She was a daughter of the King of Hungary. She was given in marriage and she had three children. She frequently meditated on heavenly things and when her husband died she embraced poverty and built a hospice in which she cared for the sick herself.
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 51:10
I am like a growing olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the mercy of God, for ever and ever.
Collect
O God, by whose gift Saint Elizabeth of Hungary recognized and revered Christ in the poor, grant, through her intercession, that we may serve with unfailing charity the needy and those afflicted. 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 : Apocalypse 5:1-10
I, John, saw that in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne there was a scroll that had writing on back and front and was sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a powerful angel who called with a loud voice, ‘Is there anyone worthy to open the scroll and break the seals of it?’ But there was no one, in heaven or on the earth or under the earth, who was able to open the scroll and read it. I wept bitterly because there was nobody fit to open the scroll and read it, but one of the elders said to me, ‘There is no need to cry: the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed, and he will open the scroll and the seven seals of it.’ Then I saw, standing between the throne with its four animals and the circle of the elders, a Lamb that seemed to have been sacrificed; it had seven horns, and it had seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits God has sent out all over the world. The Lamb came forward to take the scroll from the right hand of the One sitting on the throne, and when he took it, the four animals prostrated themselves before him and with them the twenty-four elders; each one of them was holding a harp and had a golden bowl full of incense made of the prayers of the saints. They sang a new hymn: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and break the seals of it, because you were sacrificed, and with your blood you bought men for God of every race, language, people and nation and made them a line of kings and priests, to serve our God and to rule the world.’
Psalm 149:1-6,9
R/ You made us a line of kings and priests to serve our God.
- Sing a new song to the Lord, his praise in the assembly of the faithful. Let Israel rejoice in its Maker, let Zion’s sons exult in their king.
- Let them praise his name with dancing and make music with timbrel and harp. For the Lord takes delight in his people. He crowns the poor with salvation.
- Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,nshout for joy and take their rest. Let the praise of God be on their lips: this honour is for all his faithful.
Gospel Acclamation : Ps118:135
Alleluia, alleluia! Let your face shine on your servant, and teach me your decrees. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 19:41-44
As Jesus drew near Jerusalem and came in sight of the city he shed tears over it and said, ‘If you in your turn had only understood on this day the message of peace! But, alas, it is hidden from your eyes! Yes, a time is coming when your enemies will raise fortifications all round you, when they will encircle you and hem you in on every side; they will dash you and the children inside your walls to the ground; they will leave not one stone standing on another within you – and all because you did not recognise your opportunity when God offered it!’
Prayer over the Offerings
We bring the offerings of our devotion to be consecrated by you, O Lord, in commemoration of St. Elizabeth, for by the consolation you give us in this life you show that we should not lose hope of what is promised for eternity. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Ps 44:2
My heart overflows with noble words. To the king I address the song I have made.
Prayer after Communion
Renewed, O Lord, at the wellsprings of salvation, we humbly entreat you that through the intercession of St. Elizabeth, holding more closely day by day to Christ, we may merit to be co-heirs in his Kingdom of grace. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Meditation
Two times in the gospels Jesus is said to have wept. The first time is at the death of Lazarus (Jn. 11:35) and the second time is as he was approaching Jerusalem to accomplish the paschal mystery, as we see in today’s gospel reading. In the story of Lazarus, Jesus wept with a sense of restorable loss, but in today’s gospel text, Jesus shed tears over Jerusalem for an impending and irreversible catastrophe that was a result of her obstinacy. Jerusalem wanted a Messiah on her own terms; one that would end Roman domination and establish a powerful Jewish state. But Jesus came with a message of universal redemption which Jerusalem rejected to her own damnation. Openness to God means accepting his will for us and not insisting on ours.