by | Mar 3, 2023 | Evangelium

SATURday 04 MARCH

SAINT Casimir

He was the second son of King Casimir IV of Poland. He assiduously cultivated the Christian virtues, especially chastity and generosity to the poor. He died of tuberculosis on 4 March 1484. .

Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 18: 8

The law of the Lord is perfect; it revives the soul. The decrees of the Lord are steadfast; they give wisdom to the simple.

Collect

Turn our hearts to you, eternal Father, and grant that, seeking always the one thing necessary and carrying out works of charity, we may be dedicated to your worship. 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: Deuteronomy 26: 16-19

Moses said to the people: “The Lord your God today commands you to observe these laws and customs; you must keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have today made this declaration about the Lord: that he will be your God, but only if you follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and listen to his voice. And the Lord has today made this declaration about you: that you will be his very own people as he promised you, but only if you keep all his commandments; then for praise and renown and honour he will set you high above all the nations he has made, and you will be a people consecrated to the Lord, as he promised.”

Psalm 118: 1-2, 4-5, 7-8

R/They are happy who follow God’s law!

They are happy whose life is blameless, who follow God’s law! They are happy who do his will, seeking him with all their hearts.

You have laid down your precepts to be obeyed with care. May my footsteps be firm to obey your statutes.

I will thank you with an upright heart as I learn your decrees. I will obey your statutes; do not forsake me.

Gospel Acclamation: cf. Lk 8:15

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus! Blessed are those who, with a noble and generous heart, take the word of God to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance. Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Gospel: Matthew 5: 43-48

Jesus said to his disciples, “You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Prayer over the Offerings

May these blessed mysteries by which we are restored, O Lord, we pray, make us worthy of the gift they bestow. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon: Mt 5: 48

Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect, says the Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Show unceasing favour, O Lord, to those you refresh with this divine mystery, and accompany with salutary consolations those you have imbued with heavenly teaching. Through Christ our Lord.

Prayer over the People

May the blessing for which they have longed strengthen your faithful, O God, so that, never straying from your will, they may always rejoice in your benefits. Through Christ our Lord.

Meditation

Friends of God, today our Lord Jesus Christ invites us to perfection in the way we love. He calls us to practise love without colour or smell. This means having no difference and no preference in our relationships with the others. Our love for the other must not be conditioned, limited and held back by the weight of human judgement. We must practice love without borders. As God loves everyone and showers his graces on all, we must learn to turn our backs on every spirit that tarnishes the image and likeness of God in us. We must turn away from all that leads us to favouritism, selfishness and bigotry. May the Lord increase in us the grace of unreserved and boundless love that will truly enable us to strive for God’s perfection.