12th Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 4
Saint Etheldreda
Green
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 27: 8-9
The Lord is the strength of his people, a saving refuge for the one he has anointed. Save your people, Lord, and bless your heritage, and govern them for ever.
Collect
Grant, O Lord, that we may always revere and love your holy name, for you never deprive of your guidance those you set firm on the foundation of your love. 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: Job 38:1,8-11
From the heart of the tempest the Lord gave Job his answer. He said: Who pent up the sea behind closed doors when it leapt tumultuous out of the womb, when I wrapped it in a robe of mist and made black clouds its swaddling bands; when I marked the bounds it was not to cross and made it fast with a bolted gate? Come thus far, I said, and no farther: here your proud waves shall break.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 106(107):23-26,28-32
R/ O give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures for ever.
Some sailed to the sea in ships to trade on the mighty waters. These men have seen the Lord’s deeds, the wonders he does in the deep.
For he spoke; he summoned the gale, tossing the waves of the sea up to heaven and back into the deep; their souls melted away in their distress.
Then they cried to the Lord in their need and he rescued them from their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper: all the waves of the sea were hushed.
They rejoiced because of the calm and he led them to the haven they desired. Let them thank the Lord for his love, for the wonders he does for men.
Second reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14-17
The love of Christ overwhelms us when we reflect that if one man has died for all, then all men should be dead; and the reason he died for all was so that living men should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life for them. From now onwards, therefore, we do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh. Even if we did once know Christ in the flesh, that is not how we know him now. And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here.
Gospel Acclamation:
cf.Ep1:17,18
Alleluia, alleluia! May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our mind, so that we can see what hope his call holds for us. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 4:35-41
With the coming of evening, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind they took him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him. Then it began to blow a gale and the waves were breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped. But he was in the stern, his head on the cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, ‘Master, do you not care? We are going down!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?’ They were filled with awe and said to one another, ‘Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Receive, O Lord, the sacrifice of conciliation and praise and grant that, cleansed by its action, we may make offering of a heart pleasing to you. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 144: 15
The eyes of all look to you, Lord, and you give them their food in due season.
Prayer after Communion
Renewed and nourished by the Sacred Body and Precious Blood of your Son, we ask of your mercy, O Lord, that what we celebrate with constant devotion may be our sure pledge of redemption. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Life is full of storms. At times, they can become so strong and strange that our human strength can no longer support us. At such moments, fear and complaints might take over the central stage of our life. Even in some cases, we might lose our faith in God, thinking that he has abandoned us, or that he does not exist. These storms come in different forms. They could be problems in our marriage, our children who are not responding well, lack of a good job, insufficient finance, inability to procreate, or a prolonged sickness that has defiled all treatments. They could also be the inability to find or maintain a fair and stable relationship or fall out with people all the time. They could also be poor results in our academics or business. The list is unending, but these represent the realities we face every day. Brethren, the truth is that there is no assurance that our lives will be utterly free of storms. However, the good news is that there is an assurance that Christ is with us to help us succeed.