SAINT Martin de Porres
He was born in Lima in Peru, the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a black ex-slave. He entered the Dominican Order and spent his life working for the sick and the poor. He had a great devotion to the Holy Eucharist. He has been named as a patron saint of those of mixed race..
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 104
Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, increase our faith, hope and charity, and make us love what you command, so that we may merit what you promise. 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 9:1-5
What I want to say now is no pretence; I say it in union with Christ – it is the truth – my conscience in union with the Holy Spirit assures me of it too. What I want to say is this: my sorrow is so great, my mental anguish so endless, I would willingly be condemned and be cut off from Christ if it could help my brothers of Israel, my own flesh and blood. They were adopted as sons, they were given the glory and the covenants; the Law and the ritual were drawn up for them, and the promises were made to them. They are descended from the patriarchs and from their flesh and blood came Christ who is above all, God for ever blessed! Amen.
Psalm 147:12-15,19-20
R/ O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem! Zion, praise your God! He has strengthened the bars of your gates. He has blessed the children within you.
He established peace on your borders, he feeds you with finest wheat. He sends out his word to the earth and swiftly runs his command.
He makes his word known to Jacob, to Israel his laws and decrees. He has not dealt thus with other nations; he has not taught them his decrees.
Gospel Acclamation: cf. 1Th2: 13
Alleluia, alleluia! Accept God’s message for what it really is: God’s message, and not some human thinking. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 14:1-6
Now on a Sabbath day Jesus had gone for a meal to the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. There in front of him was a man with dropsy, and Jesus addressed the lawyers and Pharisees. “Is it against the law,” he asked, “to cure a man on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent, so he took the man and cured him and sent him away. Then he said to them, “Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on a Sabbath day without hesitation?” And to this they could find no answer.
Prayer over the Offerings
Look, we pray, O Lord, on the offerings we make to your majesty, that whatever is done by us in your service may be directed above all to your glory. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 19
We will ring out our joy at your saving help and exult in the name of our God.
Prayer after Communion
May your Sacraments, O Lord, we pray, perfect in us what lies within them, that what we now celebrate in signs we may one day possess in truth. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
From the Hebrew “shabat” (to cease, to be idle), the Sabbath day (7th day of the week) was an exceptional day dedicated to rest according to Ex 20:8-11. In Jewish culture, man was supposed to free himself from the slavery of work on this day. But it was precisely on the Sabbath that Jesus healed a sick man. By this act, Jesus shows the infinite mercy of GOD and his overflowing love for us. The silence of the Pharisees and Doctors of the Law in reaction to Jesus’ thorny question in the Gospel is proof that the Law of LOVE must always prevail over our human laws. YES! Let us accept and defend the Law of Love over the Love of the Law that enslaves us.