Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious
She was a daughter of the King of Hungary. She was given in marriage and she had three children. She frequently meditated on heavenly things and when her husband died she embraced poverty and built a hospice in which she cared for the sick herself.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 51:10
I am like a growing olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the mercy of God, for ever and ever.
Collect
O God, by whose gift Saint Elizabeth of Hungary recognized and revered Christ in the poor, grant, through her intercession, that we may serve with unfailing charity the needy and those afflicted. 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: Wisdom 13: 1-9
Naturally stupid are all men who have not known God and who, from the good things that are seen, have not been able to discover Him-who-is, or, by studying the works, have failed to recognise the Artificer. Fire however, or wind, or the swift air, the sphere of the stars, impetuous water, heaven’s lamps, are what they have held to be the gods who govern the world. If, charmed by their beauty, they have taken things for gods, let them know how much the Lord of these excels them, since the very Author of beauty has created them. And if they have been impressed by their power and energy, let them deduce from these how much mightier is he that has formed them, since through the grandeur and beauty of the creatures we may, by analogy, contemplate their Author. Small blame, however, attaches to these men, for perhaps they only go astray in their search for God and their eagerness to find him; living among his works, they strive to comprehend them and fall victim to appearances, seeing so much beauty. Even so, they are not to be excused: if they are capable of acquiring enough knowledge to be able to investigate the world, how have they been so slow to find its Master?
Psalm 18(19):2-5
R/ The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands. Day unto day takes up the story and night unto night makes known the message.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard yet their span extends through all the earth, their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
Gospel Acclamation: Heb 4:12
Alleluia, alleluia! The word of God is something alive and active: it can judge secret emotions and thoughts. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 17:26-37
Jesus said to the disciples: “As it was in Noah’s day, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating and drinking, marrying wives and husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It will be the same as it was in Lot’s day: people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but the day Lot left Sodom, God rained fire and brimstone from heaven and it destroyed them all. It will be the same when the day comes for the Son of Man to be revealed. When that day comes, anyone on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must not come down to collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back either. Remember Lot’s wife. Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it; and anyone who loses it will keep it safe. I tell you, on that night two will be in one bed: one will be taken, the other left; two women will be grinding corn together: one will be taken, the other left.” The disciples interrupted. “Where, Lord?” they asked. He said, “Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather.”
Prayer over the Offerings
We bring the offerings of our devotion to be consecrated by you, O Lord, in commemoration of blessed N., for by the consolation you give us in this life you show that we should not lose hope of what is promised for eternity. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 44:2
My heart overflows with noble words. To the king I address the song I have made.
Prayer after Communion
Renewed, O Lord, at the wellsprings of salvation, we humbly entreat you that through the intercession of blessed N., holding more closely day by day to Christ, we may merit to be co-heirs in his Kingdom of grace. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Meditation
If it is true that the same causes produce the same effects then, it is important to “remember”. For, to ignore history is to be foolish! Thus, in this speech, Jesus recalls biblical-historical vicissitudes: the days of Noah and Lot. In their time, hedonism was fashionable: we ate, we drank, we bought, we sold… Yes! The recreation also has an end, no matter how long it lasts. We must not make our earthly lives into RECREATIONS. But we must live in the awareness that sooner or later, the days of the Son of Man will come, that is, the days of judgment. On which side shall we be: the good or the bad?