Saturday 1st February

by | Jan 31, 2025 | Evangelium

Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Blessed Philip of Jesús Munárriz Azcona, priest, and his companions, religious and martyrs.

Psalter: Week III

White/Red/Green

These include the 184 Claretian martyrs who have been beatified so far. We remember, then, following the chronological order of the beatifications, the 51 martyrs of Barbastro (25 October 1992), Fr Andrés Solá Molist (20 November 2005), the 23 martyrs beatified in Tarragona (13 October 2013) and the 109 beatified in Barcelona(22 October 2017).

Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 95: 1, 6

O sing a new song to the Lord; sing to the Lord, all the earth. In his presence are majesty and splendour, strength and honour in his holy place.

Collect

Almighty ever-living God, direct our actions according to your good pleasure, that in the name of your beloved Son we may abound in good works. 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: Hebrews 11:1-2,8-19

Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen. It was for faith that our ancestors were commended.  It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the inheritance given to him and his descendants, and that he set out without knowing where he was going. By faith he arrived, as a foreigner, in the Promised Land, and lived there as if in a strange country, with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. They lived there in tents while he looked forward to a city founded, designed and built by God. It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to conceive, because she believed that he who had made the promise would be faithful to it. Because of this, there came from one man, and one who was already as good as dead himself, more descendants than could be counted, as many as the stars of heaven or the grains of sand on the seashore. All these died in faith, before receiving any of the things that had been promised, but they saw them in the far distance and welcomed them, recognising that they were only strangers and nomads on earth. People who use such terms about themselves make it quite plain that they are in search of their real homeland. They can hardly have meant the country they came from, since they had the opportunity to go back to it; but in fact they were longing for a better homeland, their heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, since he has founded the city for them. It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He offered to sacrifice his only son even though the promises had been made to him and he had been told: It is through Isaac that your name will be carried on. He was confident that God had the power even to raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was given back Isaac from the dead.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm Luke 1:69-75

R/ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel! He has visited his people and redeemed them.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior in the house of David his servant, as he promised by the lips of holy men,  those who were his prophets from of old.

A saviour who would free us from our foes,  from the hands of all who hate us. So his love for our fathers is fulfilled and his holy covenant remembered.

He swore to Abraham our father  to grant us that free from fear,   and saved from the hands of our foes, we might serve him in holiness and justice   all the days of our life in his presence.

Gospel Acclamation: cf.Ps26:11

Alleluia, alleluia! Instruct me, Lord, in your way; on an even path lead me. 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  

Accept our offerings, O Lord, we pray, and in sanctifying them grant that they may profit us for salvation. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 33: 6 

Look toward the Lord and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed.

Prayer after Communion  

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, receiving the grace by which you bring us to new life, we may always glory in your gift. Through Christ our Lord.

Meditation

What storms confront us in our times? Family breakdowns, moral decadence, a disregard for the truth, indifference toward the suffering of a fellow human being, social unrest, a foreboding future, and pervasive uncertainty? How do we confront such storms? In their fear, the apostles, sought solace in the Lord, who was with them. Frequently, the storms are so overpowering that, in our despair, we fail to see beyond them. What is even more disheartening is that we fail to see Christ right beside us, peacefully at rest in the stern, waiting for us to beckon him for help. If only we could find Jesus in the stern, we could calm the storm. It is a profound expression of faith to bless God’s name, acknowledging His visits and redemption of His people, and to call on Him when all hope seems lost! Seek God in your trials today and always.