Blessed Dominic Barberi
(1792 – 1849)
Green/White
Dominic Barberi was born near Viterbo, Italy, in 1792 and joined the Passionist Order. He worked as a missionary in England. Blessed Dominic was noted for the personal warmth of his approach to non-Catholics and for his zeal in preaching; he drew crowds in spite of his strong Italian accent. Blessed Dominic died at Reading in 1849.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 85: 1-3
Turn your ear, O Lord, and answer me; save the servant who trusts in you, my God. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to you all the day long.
Collect
O God, who cause the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose, grant your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found. 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 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5,11-12
From Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika which is in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; wishing you grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We feel we must be continually thanking God for you, brothers; quite rightly, because your faith is growing so wonderfully and the love that you have for one another never stops increasing; and among the Churches of God we can take special pride in you for your constancy and faith under all the persecutions and troubles you have to bear. It all shows that God’s judgement is just, and the purpose of it is that you may be found worthy of the kingdom of God; it is for the sake of this that you are suffering now. Knowing this, we pray continually that our God will make you worthy of his call, and by his power fulfil all your desires for goodness and complete all that you have been doing through faith; because in this way the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you and you in him, by the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 95:1-5
R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
O sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord all the earth. O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Proclaim his help day by day, tell among the nations his glory and his wonders among all the peoples.
The Lord is great and worthy of praise, to be feared above all gods; the gods of the heathens are naught.
Gospel Acclamation : Jn17:17
Alleluia, alleluia! Your word is truth, O Lord: consecrate us in the truth. Alleluia!
Gospel : Matthew 23:13-22
Jesus said, ‘Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who shut up the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces, neither going in yourselves nor allowing others to go in who want to. ‘Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when you have him you make him twice as fit for hell as you are. ‘Alas for you, blind guides! You who say, “If a man swears by the Temple, it has no force; but if a man swears by the gold of the Temple, he is bound.” Fools and blind! For which is of greater worth, the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? Or else, “If a man swears by the altar it has no force; but if a man swears by the offering that is on the altar, he is bound.” You blind men! For which is of greater worth, the offering or the altar that makes the offering sacred? Therefore, when a man swears by the altar he is swearing by that and by everything on it. And when a man swears by the Temple he is swearing by that and by the One who dwells in it. And when a man swears by heaven he is swearing by the throne of God and by the One who is seated there. ’
Prayer over the Offerings
O Lord, who gained for yourself a people by adoption through the one sacrifice offered once for all, bestow graciously on us, we pray, the gifts of unity and peace in your Church. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 103: 13-15
The earth is replete with the fruits of your work, O Lord; you bring forth bread from the earth and wine to cheer the heart.
Prayer after Communion
Complete within us, O Lord, we pray, the healing work of your mercy and graciously perfect and sustain us, so that in all things we may please you. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Jesus refers to the Scribes and Pharisees as blind guides. The scribes were the writers or copiers of the law. The Pharisees were a sect dedicated to strict observance of the law. There was the general assumption that by virtue of proximity to the law, the Scribes and Pharisees were well informed about the law. Therefore they took it upon themselves to be the custodians and guide to the law. In practice however, there was little congruence between what they taught and how they behaved. By applying separate sets of principles in their teaching and in the behaviour they undermined the authority of the law which they were custodians of. In Evangelii Nuntiandi, Pope Paul VI, says that “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” If there is crisis of evangelisers, there is an even deeper crisis of witnesses at different levels. How am I accountable for my behavior as an evangelizer? As adults, how do we bear authentic witness before the younger generation?