SAINT ETHELBERT
Psalter I | VIOLET
He embraced Christianity and supported the Christian faith, but did not enforce conversions on his subjects. He founded the abbeys of Christ Church, Sts. Peter and Paul in Canterbury, and St. Andrew’s in Rochester. He played a pivotal role in the establishment of Christianity in England and is recognized as a saint in some traditions.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 24:6, 2, 22
Remember your compassion, O Lord, and your merciful love, for they are from of old. Let not our enemies exult over us. Redeem us, O God of Israel, from all our distress.
Collect
Look kindly, Lord, we pray, on the devotion of your people, that those who by self-denial are restrained in body may by the fruit of good works be renewed in mind. 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: Jonah 3:1-10
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you.” So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,” when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes. Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his nobles: “Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep, shall taste anything; they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water. Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God; every man shall turn from his evil way and from the violence he has in hand. Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath, so that we shall not perish.” When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 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.
- A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
- 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
He embraced Christianity and supported the Christian faith, but did not enforce conversions on his subjects. He founded the abbeys of Christ Church, Sts. Peter and Paul in Canterbury, and St. Andrew’s in Rochester. He played a pivotal role in the establishment of Christianity in England and is recognized as a saint in some traditions.
Gospel Acclamation: Joel 2:12-13
Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart for I am gracious and merciful.
Gospel: Luke 11:29-32
While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”
Prayer over the Offerings
We offer to you, O Lord, what you have given to be dedicated to your name, that, just as for our benefit you make these gifts a Sacrament, so you may let them become for us an eternal remedy. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 5: 12
All who take refuge in you shall be glad, O Lord, and ever cry out their joy, and you shall dwell among them.
Prayer after Communion
O God, who never cease to nourish us by your Sacrament, grant that the refreshment you give us through it may bring us unending life. Through Christ our Lord.
Prayer over the People
Watch over your people, Lord, and in your kindness cleanse them from all sins, for if evil has no dominion over them, no trial can do them harm. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
“A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.” Psalm 50(51) is the prayer of a sinner who humbly acknowledges his sin and sincerely asks God for forgiveness. This is the attitude that the people of Nineveh adopted when they heard Jonah’s preaching; they believed in God, fasted, prayed and changed their ways. This is the attitude that Jesus, unfortunately, did not see in the people of his generation; despite all his miracles and his teaching, they had not changed. Acknowledgement of our sinfulness and conversion are the first step to establishing communion with God. But quite often we refuse to take this step; we look for arguments to justify the wrong things we do; we are too proud to accept our faults in our relationships with others; we refuse to go for confession, and even when we go, sometimes we are not sincere. As long as we refuse to acknowledge our wrongdoing, humbly ask God for forgiveness, and sincerely strive to change, we can never come close to God. Let us pray for the grace of humble and contrite hearts.