wednesday 13 May 2020
Saint John the Silent
Our Lady of Fatima
Also known as St John the Hesychast he was a Christian saint known for living alone for seventy-six years. He was given the surname because he loved recollection and silence.
White
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 70: 8, 23
Let my mouth be filled with your praise, that I may sing aloud; my lips shall shout for joy, when I sing to you, alleluia.
Collect
O God, restorer and lover of innocence, direct the hearts of your servants towards yourself, that those you have set free from the darkness of unbelief may never stray from the light of your truth. 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: Acts 15:1-6
Some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, ‘Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved.’ This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it was arranged that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the apostles and elders. All the members of the church saw them off, and as they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria they told how the pagans had been converted, and this news was received with the greatest satisfaction by the brothers. When they arrived in Jerusalem they were welcomed by the church and by the apostles and elders, and gave an account of all that God had done with them. But certain members of the Pharisees’ party who had become believers objected, insisting that the pagans should be circumcised and instructed to keep the Law of Moses. The apostles and elders met to look into the matter.
Psalm 121 (122): 1-5
R/ I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
1) I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’ And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.
2) Jerusalem is built as a city strongly compact. It is there that the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord.
3) For Israel’s law it is, there to praise the Lord’s name. There were set the thrones of judgement of the house of David.
Gospel Acclamation: Jn 10:14
Alleluia, alleluia! I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my own sheep and my own know me. Alleluia!
Gospel: John 15:1-8
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more. You are pruned already, by means of the word that I have spoken to you. Make your home in me, as I make mine in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, but must remain part of the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is like a branch that has been thrown away – he withers; these branches are collected and thrown on the fire, and they are burnt. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask what you will and you shall get it. It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit, and then you will be my disciples.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Grant, we pray, O Lord, that we may always find delight in these paschal mysteries, so that the renewal constantly at work within us may be the cause of our unending joy. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon
The Lord has risen and shone his light upon us, whom he has redeemed by his Blood, alleluia.
Prayer after Communion
Hear, O Lord, our prayers, that this most holy exchange, by which you have redeemed us, may bring your help in this present life and ensure for us eternal gladness. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Jesus repeatedly uses the word “abide” to describe that relationship of the vine to the branches. As vine and branches draw life from each other, we draw life from the body of Christ in the Eucharist so we can share his love among others and so bear much fruit. One of Jesus’ key appeals to the disciples in John’s gospel is “Remain in me”, which can also be translated as “make your home with me”. “Abide in me and I in you”. The more closely we are united to Christ by faith, charity and good works done with the intention of pleasing God, the more intensely will he live in us and bestow on us continually a new life of grace. Thus we shall become, not merely living branches, but branches laden with fruit, the fruit of sanctity destined to bring joy to the heart of God.