Saint Edmund
He was king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia. Edmund was captured and killed by the Danish Great Heathen Army, which invaded England in 869, and the tradition is that he died the death of a Christian martyr.
Entrance Antiphon: Jer 29: 11, 12
The Lord said: I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction. You will call upon me, and I will answer you, and I will lead back your captives from every place.
Collect
Grant us, we pray, O Lord our God, the constant gladness of being devoted to you, for it is full and lasting happiness to serve with constancy the author of all that is good. 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: 1 Maccabees 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-64
There grew a sinful offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus; once a hostage in Rome, he became king in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks. It was then that there emerged from Israel a set of renegades who led many people astray. “Come,” they said, “let us reach an understanding with the pagans surrounding us, for since we separated ourselves from them many misfortunes have overtaken us.” This proposal proved acceptable, and a number of the people eagerly approached the king, who authorised them to practise the pagan observances. So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, such as the pagans have, disguised their circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant, submitting to the heathen rule as willing slaves of impiety. Then the king issued a proclamation to his whole kingdom that all were to become a single people, each renouncing his particular customs. All the pagans conformed to the king’s decree, and many Israelites chose to accept his religion, sacrificing to idols and profaning the Sabbath. The king erected the abomination of desolation above the altar; and altars were built in the surrounding towns of Judah and incense offered at the doors of houses and in the streets. Any books of the Law that came to light were torn up and burned. Whenever anyone was discovered possessing a copy of the covenant or practising the Law, the king’s decree sentenced him to death. Yet there were many in Israel who stood firm and found the courage to refuse unclean food. They chose death rather than contamination by such fare or profanation of the holy covenant, and they were executed. It was a dreadful wrath that visited Israel.
Psalm 118(119): 53, 61, 134, 150, 155, 158
R/ Give me life, O Lord, and I will do your will.
I am seized with indignation at the wicked who forsake your law. Though the nets of the wicked ensnared me I remembered your law.
Redeem me from man’s oppression and I will keep your precepts. Those who harm me unjustly draw near; they are far from your law.
Salvation is far from the wicked who are heedless of your statutes. I look at the faithless with disgust; they ignore your promise.
Gospel Acclamation: Jn8:12
Alleluia, alleluia! I am the light of the world, says the Lord; anyone who follows me will have the light of life. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 18: 35-43
As Jesus drew near to Jericho there was a blind man sitting at the side of the road begging. When he heard the crowd going past he asked what it was all about, and they told him that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by. So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.” The people in front scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he shouted all the louder, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and ordered them to bring the man to him, and when he came up, asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Sir,” he replied “let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you.” And instantly his sight returned and he followed him praising God, and all the people who saw it gave praise to God for what had happened.
Prayer over the Offerings
Grant, O Lord, we pray, that what we offer in the sight of your majesty may obtain for us the grace of being devoted to you and gain us the prize of everlasting happiness. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 72: 28
To be near God is my happiness, to place my hope in God the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
We have partaken of the gifts of this sacred mystery, humbly imploring, O Lord, that what your Son commanded us to do in memory of him may bring us growth in charity. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
According to the description of the evangelist Luke, this blind man, seated by the side of the road to Jericho was suffering at different phases: physically, psychologically, morally, socially and economically. But he seized the ultimate opportunity: the passage of Jesus on his way. He believed in it! Notwithstanding the very invasive and dominant crowd in addition to his handicaps (blindness/poverty), he inquires, advances, shouts, fights and manages to impose himself. He is therefore an example to follow in our life of Faith. Very often we give up at the slightest difficulty, threat or barrier. NO! Our limitations and handicaps can and should become effective weapons (a living force) in our daily struggles.