SAINT Ferga
Envahi par le désir de mener une vie contemplative, il s’enferma dans une petite cellule sur les bords de la Seine. Il eut de nombreux disciples dont Saint Cloud. Il fut enterré au lieu même de son ermitage qui est devenu une paroisse parisienne.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 84: 9
The Lord speaks of peace to his people and his holy ones and to those who turn to him.
Collect
Stir up the will of your faithful, we pray, O Lord, that, striving more eagerly to bring your divine work to fruitful completion, they may receive in greater measure the healing remedies your kindness bestows. 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: Daniel 1:1-6,8-20
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched on Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hands, with some of the furnishings of the Temple of God. He took them away to the land of Shinar, and stored the sacred vessels in the treasury of his own gods. The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to select from the Israelites a certain number of boys of either royal or noble descent; they had to be without any physical defect, of good appearance, trained in every kind of wisdom, well-informed, quick at learning, suitable for service in the palace of the king. Ashpenaz himself was to teach them the language and literature of the Chaldaeans. The king assigned them a daily allowance of food and wine from his own royal table. They were to receive an education lasting for three years, after which they were expected to be fit for the king’s society. Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, who were Judaeans. Daniel, who was most anxious not to defile himself with the food and wine from the royal table, begged the chief eunuch to spare him this defilement; and by the grace of God Daniel met goodwill and sympathy on the part of the chief eunuch. But he warned Daniel, ‘I am afraid of my lord the king: he has assigned you food and drink, and if he sees you looking thinner in the face than the other boys of your age, my head will be in danger with the king because of you.’ At this Daniel turned to the guard whom the chief eunuch had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He said, “Please allow your servants a ten days’ trial, during which we are given only vegetables to eat and water to drink. You can then compare our looks with those of the boys who eat the king’s food; go by what you see, and treat your servants accordingly.” The man agreed to do what they asked and put them on ten days’ trial. When the ten days were over they looked and were in better health than any of the boys who had eaten their allowance from the royal table; so the guard withdrew their allowance of food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. And God favoured these four boys with knowledge and intelligence in everything connected with literature, and in wisdom; while Daniel had the gift of interpreting every kind of vision and dream. When the period stipulated by the king for the boys’ training was over, the chief eunuch presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king conversed with them, and among all the boys found none to equal Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. So they became members of the king’s court, and on whatever point of wisdom or information he might question them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.
Psalm Daniel 3:52-56
R/ To you glory and praise for evermore.
You are blest, Lord God of our fathers.
Blest your glorious holy name.
You are blest in the temple of your glory.
You are blest on the throne of your kingdom.
You are blest who gaze into the depths.
You are blest in the firmament of heaven.
Gospel Acclamation: Rv2:10
Alleluia, alleluia! Even if you have to die, says the Lord, keep faithful, and I will give you the crown of life. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 21:1-4
As Jesus looked up, he saw rich people putting their offerings into the treasury; then he happened to notice a poverty-stricken widow putting in two small coins, and he said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them; for these have all contributed money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in all she had to live on.”
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, O Lord, the sacred offerings which at your bidding we dedicate to your name and, in order that through these gifts we may become worthy of your love, grant us unfailing obedience to your commands. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 116: 1, 2
O praise the Lord, all you nations, for his merciful love towards us is great.
Prayer after Communion
We pray, almighty God, that those to whom you give the joy of participating in divine mysteries may never be parted from you. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
God’s affection for the “anawim” (the poor) has always been a mystery. Psalm 33 affirms that: “When a poor man cries out, the Lord hears”. Also, in the Beatitudes we read: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3). The gesture of the miserable widow in today’s Gospel, she who gave all she had to live on while the rich gave of their surpluses, challenges us on our way of giving or offering. Yes, giving is an art! Giving actually has a whole theology that needs to be learned. With God, we must give what is dear to us: our own heart and our own life; we must give with faith, with joy, without regret and without counting the cost. This is what the one who had less than everyone else did. Poor and miserable as she was, this widow successfully captured the attention of Jesus who saw beyond appearances. She reassures us that no one is so poor that they have nothing to offer.