MONDAY 23 January

SAINT ILDEPHONSUS

St. Ildephonsus is highly regarded in Spain and closely associated with devotion to the Blessed Virgin which he fostered by his famous work concerning her perpetual virginity.

Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 95: 1, 6       

O sing a new song to the Lord; sing to the Lord, all the earth. In his presence are majesty and splendour, strength and honour in his holy place.

Collect         

Almighty ever-living God, direct our actions according to your good pleasure, that in the name of your beloved Son we may abound in good works. 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: Hebrews 9: 15, 24-28

Christ brings a new covenant, as the mediator, only so that the people who were called to an eternal inheritance may actually receive what was promised: his death took place to cancel the sins that infringed the earlier covenant. It is not as though Christ had entered a man-made sanctuary which was only modelled on the real one; but it was heaven itself, so that he could appear in the actual presence of God on our behalf. And he does not have to offer himself again and again, like the high priest going into the sanctuary year after year with the blood that is not his own, or else he would have had to suffer over and over again since the world began. Instead of that, he has made his appearance once and for all, now at the end of the last age, to do away with sin by sacrificing himself. Since men only die once, and after that comes judgement, so Christ, too, offers himself only once to take the faults of many on himself, and when he appears a second time, it will not be to deal with sin but to reward with salvation those who are waiting for him.

Psalm 97(98): 1-6

R/ Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders.

Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation.

The Lord has made known his salvation; has shown his justice to the nations. He has remembered his truth and love for the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout to the Lord, all the earth, ring out your joy.

Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp with the sound of music. With trumpets and the sound of the horn acclaim the King, the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation: Ps 24: 4, 5         

Alleluia, alleluia! Teach me your paths, my God, make me walk in your truth. Alleluia!

Gospel: Mark 3: 22-30   

The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “Beelzebul is in him” and, “It is through the prince of devils that he casts devils out.” So he called them to him and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. And if a household is divided against itself, that household can never stand. Now if Satan has rebelled against himself and is divided, he cannot stand either – it is the end of him. But no one can make his way into a strong man’s house and burgle his property unless he has tied up the strong man first. Only then can he burgle his house.  I tell you solemnly, all men’s sins will be forgiven, and all their blasphemies; but let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sin.” This was because they were saying, “An unclean spirit is in him.”

Prayer over the Offerings          

Accept our offerings, O Lord, we pray, and in sanctifying them grant that they may profit us for salvation. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 33: 6   

Look toward the Lord and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed.

Prayer after Communion           

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, receiving the grace by which you bring us to new life, we may always glory in your gift. Through Christ our Lord.

Meditation

One characteristic of the evil one, which he tries to bequeath on us, is always to devalue the good deeds of others. The Scribes allowed themselves to be overcome by this hardness of heart and spiritual short-sightedness, preventing them from seeing the work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus who expels demons, forgives sins and heals the sick. Through the works of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is revealed to us as Saviour. To attribute the works of the Holy Spirit to the powers of darkness is to be an accomplice of evil and to refuse to be saved by Jesus. This blasphemy separates us from eternal grace and establishes us in eternal sin. Today offers us an opportunity to review the sins in our lives that we fear, implore for God’s mercy.