SAINT AIMEE
Psalter IV | VIOLET
She entered the Augustinian Sisters of Mercy convent and in 1935 became the mother superior. She was known for her dedication to helping Allied soldiers and French resistance fighters during the war, sheltering them at the convent and aiding their escape. She was later elected as the first Superior General of the Federation of Augustinian monasteries in 1946 and was awarded the French Legion of Honour by General Charles de Gaulle for her bravery and service. Sadly, she died in 1951 from a cerebral hemorrhage before she could embark on a mission to South Africa, at the age of 49.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 29:11
The Lord heard and had mercy on me; the Lord became my helper.
Collect
Show gracious favour, O Lord, we pray, to the works of penance we have begun, that we may have strength to accomplish with sincerity the bodily observances we undertake. 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: Isaiah 58:1-9a
Thus says the Lord God: Cry out full-throated and unsparingly, lift up your voice like a trumpet blast; Tell my people their wickedness, and the house of Jacob their sins. They seek me day after day, and desire to know my ways, Like a nation that has done what is just and not abandoned the law of their God; They ask me to declare what is due them, pleased to gain access to God. “Why do we fast, and you do not see it? afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?” Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your laborers. Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw. Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high! Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance: That a man bow his head like a reed and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 18-19
R/ A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
- Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me.
- For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always: “Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.”
- For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Saint Biography
She entered the Augustinian Sisters of Mercy convent and in 1935 became the mother superior. She was known for her dedication to helping Allied soldiers and French resistance fighters during the war, sheltering them at the convent and aiding their escape. She was later elected as the first Superior General of the Federation of Augustinian monasteries in 1946 and was awarded the French Legion of Honour by General Charles de Gaulle for her bravery and service. Sadly, she died in 1951 from a cerebral hemorrhage before she could embark on a mission to South Africa, at the age of 49.
Gospel Acclamation: Amos 5:14
Seek good and not evil so that you may live, and the Lord will be with you.
Gospel: Matthew 9:14-15
The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
Prayer over the Offerings
We offer, O Lord, the sacrifice of our Lenten observance, praying that it may make our intentions acceptable to you and add to our powers of self-restraint. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 24:4
O Lord, make me know your ways, teach me your paths.
Prayer after Communion
We pray, almighty God, that, through partaking of this mystery, we may be cleansed of all our misdeeds, and so be suited for the remedies of your compassion. Through Christ our Lord.
Prayer over the People
For your mighty deeds, O God of mercy, may your people offer endless thanks, and, by observing the age-old disciplines along their pilgrim journey, may they merit to come and behold you for ever. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
“This is the sort of fast that pleases me.” As long as Jesus was present with his disciples, they could not fast because of the joy of having the Master with them. But Jesus knew that he would be taken away from them when he would die. Jesus has left this world and we no longer enjoy his physical presence, although he is with us in spirit, and we long for the day when we will be fully united with him. Fasting is therefore an act meant to draw us closer to Jesus. It is for this reason that Isaiah teaches us that true fasting is supposed to purify our hearts and dispose us to love God and our neighbour more and more. Abstaining from food and drink is us useless if it does not teach us to feed the hungry and give water to the thirsty. Depriving ourselves of things we are attached to serves no purpose if it does not enable us to abandon bad habits and character traits. In a nutshell, true fasting must bear fruits of charity, because it is meant to make us deny ourselves in order to obey God and serve others. Let this kind of fasting be our objective during Lent.