Saint Antony Mary Claret
He was born in 1807 and ordained priest in 1835. His uncompromising preaching raised hostility against him. In 1849 he founded a missionary institute of priests: Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Claretian Missionaries). He antagonized the slave owners, and attempts were made on his life. In 1868, revolution caused him to go into exile in France, where he died in 1870.
Entrance Antiphon: 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 5:12,15,17-21
Sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned; but the gift itself considerably outweighed the fall. If it is certain that through one man’s fall so many died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an abundant free gift. If it is certain that death reigned over everyone as the consequence of one man’s fall, it is even more certain that one man, Jesus Christ, will cause everyone to reign in life who receives the free gift that he does not deserve, of being made righteous. Again, as one man’s fall brought condemnation on everyone, so the good act of one man brings everyone life and makes them justified. As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous. When law came, it was to multiply the opportunities of failing, but however great the number of sins committed, grace was even greater; and so, just as sin reigned wherever there was death, so grace will reign to bring eternal life thanks to the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 39 (40): 7-10, 17
R/ Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear. You do not ask for holocaust and victim. Instead, here am I.
In the scroll of the book it stands written that I should do your will. My God, I delight in your law in the depth of my heart.
Your justice I have proclaimed in the great assembly. My lips I have not sealed; you know it, O Lord.
O let there be rejoicing and gladness for all who seek you. Let them ever say: ‘The Lord is great’, who love your saving help.
Gospel Acclamation: Lk8:15
Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are those who, with a noble and generous heart, take the word of God to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 12:36-38
Jesus said to his disciples: “See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy those servants if he finds them ready.”
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: Cf. 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
What is our lamp? If not our faith in the risen Jesus Christ! We know that he lives for ever and, as he promised, that he is with us every day; this lamp, even though it may sometimes seem small and fragile, is a great strength for our daily lives. Of course, we all have difficult moments, days when everything seems to fail; in the family or at work… More than ever, it is in these days that it is important for us to remember the Lord’s words: “Keep your lamps burning”. In the end, perhaps we may only need just a little night-light that tells us, reminds us, in the depths of our lives, that the Lord is there and that he will never abandon us, for he is faithful. And Saint Anthony Mary Claret understood this well! Let us pray today through his intercession for the kind of spiritual consciousness that he had in the rather active and difficult world.