Saint John Chrysostom (349 – 407)
Psalter: Week III
White
He was born in Antioch. After a thorough education, he took up the ascetic life. He was ordained to the priesthood, and became a fruitful and effective preacher. The term Chrysostom meaning «golden-mouthed» was given because of his great eloquence.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Dn 12: 3
Those who are wise will shine brightly like the splendour of the firmament and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars for ever.
Collect
O God, strength of those who hope in you, who willed that the Bishop Saint John Chrysostom should be illustrious by his wonderful eloquence and his experience of suffering, grant us, we pray, that, instructed by his teachings, we may be strengthened through the example of his invincible patience. 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 Timothy 1:15-17
Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of them; and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life. To the eternal King, the undying, invisible and only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm : Psalm 112(113):1-7
R/ May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord! May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting praised be the name of the Lord! High above all nations is the Lord, above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God, who has risen on high to his throne yet stoops from the heights to look down, to look down upon heaven and earth? From the dust he lifts up the lowly, from the dung heap he raises the poor
Gospel Acclamation : Jn14:6
Alleluia, alleluia! I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord; No one can come to the Father except through me. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 6:43-49
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart. ‘Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord” and not do what I say? ‘Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them – I will show you what he is like. He is like the man who when he built his house dug, and dug deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!’
Prayer over the Offerings
May the sacrifice which we gladly present in commemoration of Saint John Chrysostom be pleasing to you, O God, for, taught by him, we, too, give ourselves entirely to you in praise. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. 1 Cor 1: 23-24
We proclaim Christ crucified; Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, O merciful God, that these mysteries we have received as we commemorate Saint John Chrysostom, may confirm us in your love and enable us to be faithful in confessing your truth. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
“…the man who built his house on soil”! Now, I pause to reflect: In all the fervour about my Faith, whose name and image am I truly defending — Jesus’ or my own? When faced with disagreement concerning my preaching, do I become gloomy and lament the lack appreciation for my sacrifices in spreading the Good News? Similarly, If I do not receive gratitude after performing a generous act, do I consider giving up on doing good for others? Lord Jesus, remind me that it is only your name that I should be defending in all my thoughts, actions, and words. Amen.