MONDAY 28  febRuary

SAINT OSWALD

In 972 he became Archbishop of York. He had a special love of the poor; in Lent he would wash the feet of twelve poor men every day. He died at Worcester on 28 February 992.

Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 89: 1-2

O Lord, you have been our refuge, from generation to generation; from age to age, you are.

Collect

Look upon your family, Lord, that, through the chastening effects of bodily discipline, our minds may be radiant in your presence with the strength of our yearning for you. 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: Isaiah 55: 10-11

Thus says the Lord: “As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.”

Psalm 33: 4-7, 16-19

R/The Lord rescues the just in all their distress.

Glorify the Lord with me. Together let us praise his name. I sought the Lord and he answered me; from all my terrors he set me free.

Look towards him and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed. This poor man called, the Lord heard him and rescued him from all his distress.

The Lord turns his face against the wicked to destroy their remembrance from the earth. The Lord turns his eyes to the just and his ears to their appeal.

They call and the Lord hears and rescues them in all their distress. The Lord is close to the broken-hearted; those whose spirit is crushed he will save.

Gospel Acclamation: Mt 4:4

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus! Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Gospel: Matthew 6: 7-15

Jesus said to his disciples, “In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him. So you should pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us. And do not put us to the test, but save us from the evil one.’ Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.”

Prayer over the Offerings

Receive, O Creator, almighty God, what we bring from your bountiful goodness, and be pleased to transform this temporal sustenance you have given us, that it may bring us eternal life. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 4: 2

When I called, the God of justice gave me answer; from anguish you released me; have mercy, Lord, and hear my prayer!

Prayer after Communion

Grant us through these mysteries, Lord, that by moderating earthly desires we may learn to love the things of heaven. Through Christ our Lord.

Prayer over the People

May your faithful be strengthened, O God, by your blessing: in grief, may you be their consolation, in tribulation, their power to endure, and in peril, their protection. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Meditation

We can trust God’s word to be a fruitful seed that will achieve God’s will. God trusts you to sow that seed and to eat of its fruits. But for this to work, you must maintain a genuine relationship with God. Lent is the privileged time for God’s word to bear much fruit in you because of the mortification of your bodies, making them spiritually fit and fertile for the Word. Isaiah symbolically presents the cycle of life in the rain and snow that fall from the sky and moisten the earth, giving life to all plants and trees. Divine inspiration is like the rain and the snow, and the new life arising in the plants and trees represents our newly-inspired lives at the end of Lent. This message is laden with hopes and ideals, calling us to trust in God who has written our names on the palm of his hand (Is 49:16), because we are precious in his eyes and because he loves us (Is 43:4). God’s love offers unconditional forgiveness. It is the type of love that we long for as we pray in the Our Father, “Forgive us our trespasses…” But for our prayer to be fruitful, Jesus teaches us something essential today; to put God’s will above our personal preferences.