Saint Robert Bellarmine,
Bishop, Doctor (1542 – 1621)
Green/White
He was born in Montepulciano, in Tuscany, and became a Jesuit. He wrote two catechisms and some devotional commentaries on the Psalms and on the Seven Last Words.
Entrance Antiphon Cf. Sir 36: 18
Give peace, O Lord, to those who wait for you, that your prophets be found true. Hear the prayers of your servant, and of your people Israel.`
Collect
Look upon us, O God, Creator and ruler of all things, and, that we may feel the working of your mercy, grant that we may serve you with all our heart. 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 Corinthians 12:12-14,27-31
Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink. Nor is the body to be identified with any one of its many parts. Now you together are Christ’s body; but each of you is a different part of it. In the Church, God has given the first place to apostles, the second to prophets, the third to teachers; after them, miracles, and after them the gift of healing; helpers, good leaders, those with many languages. Are all of them apostles, or all of them prophets, or all of them teachers? Do they all have the gift of miracles, or all have the gift of healing? Do all speak strange languages, and all interpret them? Be ambitious for the higher gifts.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 99:1-5
R/ We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing for joy.
Know that he, the Lord, is God. He made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Go within his gates, giving thanks. Enter his courts with songs of praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name.
Indeed, how good is the Lord, eternal his merciful love. He is faithful from age to age.
Gospel Acclamation: cf.2Tim1:10
Alleluia, alleluia! Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death and he has proclaimed life through the Good News. Alleluia!
Gospel Luke 7:11-17
Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. When he was near the gate of the town it happened that a dead man was being carried out for burial, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the townspeople were with her. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do not cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his hand on the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Everyone was filled with awe and praised God saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.’ And this opinion of him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.
Prayer over the Offerings
Look with favour on our supplications, O Lord, and in your kindness, accept these, your servants’ offerings, that what each has offered to the honour of your name may serve the salvation of all. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 35: 8
How precious is your mercy, O God! The children of men seek shelter in the shadow of your wings.
Prayer after Communion
May the working of this heavenly gift, O Lord, we pray, take possession of our minds and bodies, so that its effects, and not our own desires, may always prevail in us. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
«The man sat up and began to speak.» This passage highlights the compassion of Jesus for a vulnerable woman without the support of husband or son. Jesus «sees» the grieving widow and «has compassion on her.» This story brings back vivid memories of the Prophet Elijah. It shows Jesus’ power to raise the dead to new life as evidence of his divine identity. As he tells the messengers sent by John the Baptist right after this healing, «The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised». Someone cries out: “A great prophet has risen among us!” and another voice shouts “God has looked favourably on his people”. Jesus never really respected the “no touching” rule. More than once, he dared to touch the untouchable: lepers, a woman with the issue of blood, and dead bodies. In bringing the widow’s son to life Jesus broke a scientific rule, a law of nature.