SAINT John of Capistrano
He was born in Capistrano in the Abruzzi in 1386. He joined the Friars Minor and was ordained. John preached a crusade against the invading Turks in 1456 and took part in the battles that kept Christian Europe safe from Turkish invasion. He died of the Plague in 1456. He is the patron saint of military chaplains.
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: Romans 4:20-25
Since God had made him a promise, Abraham refused either to deny it or even to doubt it, but drew strength from faith and gave glory to God, convinced that God had power to do what he had promised. This is the faith that was “considered as justifying him.” Scripture however does not refer only to him but to us as well when it says that his faith was thus “considered”; our faith too will be “considered” if we believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, Jesus who was put to death for our sins and raised to life to justify us.
Psalm Luke 1:69-75
R/ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel! He has visited his people.
He has raised up for us a mighty saviour in the house of David his servant, as he promised by the lips of holy men, those who were his prophets from of old.
A saviour who would free us from our foes, from the hands of all who hate us. So his love for our fathers is fulfilled and his holy covenant remembered.
He swore to Abraham our father to grant us that free from fear, and saved from the hands of our foes, we might serve him in holiness and justice all the days of our life in his presence.
Gospel Acclamation: Ps24:4,5
Alleluia, alleluia! Teach me your paths, my God, make me walk in your truth. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 12:13-21
A man in the crowd said to Jesus, “Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.” “My friend,” he replied, “who appointed me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?” Then he said to them, “Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs.” Then he told them a parable: “There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, ‘What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?’ So, it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in place of making himself rich in the sight of God.”
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: 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
Happiness seems to be the current quest of a whole part of our world. But where and how do they look for it? The key word could be: possession. To have, to own more and more. Always more efficient. We call this the consumer society. Have we found happiness yet? Faced with such a quest, today’s parable uses only one word: “foolish”. Foolishness is what Scripture most seriously fears: that man will lose his sense, that he will take the wrong direction, that he will cease to depend on his Father to be on his own, his point of view, his horizon, his God. But do we really know towards what or towards whom our life is directed? God, you may say. Looking at our life and our choices, is it so obvious? Jesus directs us when he says: “Seek the Kingdom, and the rest will be given to you in addition”. This should be our true quest.