SAINT GABINUS
Psalter IV | VIOLET
He was a member of the imperial Roman. His life took a profound turn when he embraced Christianity and became a devout follower of Jesus Christ and dedicated himself to spreading the teachings of the faith, even in the face of potential danger. He became a target of this persecution. He was captured, and faced the choice between renouncing his faith or suffering a brutal martyrdom. His selfless sacrifice serves as a powerful testament to his unwavering devotion to his faith.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 54: 17-20, 23
When I cried to the Lord, he heard my voice; he rescued me from those who attack me. Entrust your cares to the Lord, and he will support you.
Collect
Prompt our actions with your inspiration, we pray, O Lord, and further them with your constant help, that all we do may always begin from you and by you be brought to completion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Moses said to the people: “Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy. If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, I tell you now that you will certainly perish; you will not have a long life on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy. I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land that the Lord swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
R/ Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
- Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked Nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, But delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his law day and night.
- He is like a tree planted near running water, That yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers.
- Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away. For the Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.
Saint Biography
He was a member of the imperial Roman. His life took a profound turn when he embraced Christianity and became a devout follower of Jesus Christ and dedicated himself to spreading the teachings of the faith, even in the face of potential danger. He became a target of this persecution. He was captured, and faced the choice between renouncing his faith or suffering a brutal martyrdom. His selfless sacrifice serves as a powerful testament to his unwavering devotion to his faith.
Gospel Acclamation: Matthew 4:17
Repent, says the Lord; the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Gospel: Luke 9:22-25
Jesus said to his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” Then he said to all, If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”
Prayer over the Offerings
Regard with favour, O Lord, we pray, the offerings we set upon this sacred altar, that, bestowing on us your pardon, our oblations may give honour to your name. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 50: 12
Create a pure heart for me, O God; renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Prayer after Communion
Having received the blessing of your heavenly gifts, we humbly beseech you, almighty God, that they may always be for us a source both of pardon and of salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Prayer over the People
Almighty God, who have made known to your people the ways of eternal life, lead them by that path, we pray, to you, the unfading light. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
“Renounce yourself, take up your cross and follow me.” Lent is a time for conversion, and if we want to achieve conversion we must first renounce ourselves. To renounce oneself is to abandon one’s will in favour of God’s will. Jesus asked his Father in the garden of Gethsemane to take the cup of suffering away from if he could; but he said God’s will, and not his will, should be done. We have to deny all the desires and habits that we are attached to but which go against God’s will; we have to desire what God wants over what we want. Secondly, we must take up our cross and follow Jesus. Jesus carried his cross all the way to Calvary; we must accept to bear with all the challenges, difficulties and sufferings that come as part of human life or as a result of our being followers of Jesus. Moses reminds us that life is choice between blessing and curse; to choose the blessing is to choose to die to ourselves and embrace suffering, like Jesus did. It is only by suffering with Jesus that we will triumph with him.