by L'équipe de publication | Feb 15, 2024 | Evangelium
Saint Daniel
Purple
Daniel and his four companions (Elias, Isaias, Jeremy and Samuel) were Egyptians who visited Christians condemned working in the mines of Cilicia during Maximus persecution, to comfort them. Apprehended, they were all tortured and then beheaded.
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, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Isaiah 58:1-9
Thus says the Lord: Shout for all you are worth, raise your voice like a trumpet. Proclaim their faults to my people, their sins to the House of Jacob. They seek me day after day, they long to know my ways, like a nation that wants to act with integrity and not ignore the law of its God. They ask me for laws that are just, they long for God to draw near: ‘Why should we fast if you never see it, why do penance if you never notice?’ Look, you do business on your fast-days, you oppress all your workmen; look, you quarrel and squabble when you fast and strike the poor man with your fist. Fasting like yours today will never make your voice heard on high. Is that the sort of fast that pleases me, a truly penitential day for men? Hanging your head like a reed, lying down on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call fasting, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the sort of fast that pleases me – it is the Lord who speaks – to break unjust fetters and undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke, to share your bread with the hungry, and shelter the homeless poor, to clothe the man you see to be naked and not turn from your own kin? Then will your light shine like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over. Your integrity will go before you and the glory of the Lord behind you. Cry, and the Lord will answer; call, and he will say, ‘I am here.’
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 50:3-6,18-19
R/ A humbled, contrite heart, O God, you will not spurn.
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out my offence. O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.
My offences truly I know them; my sin is always before me Against you, you alone, have I sinned; what is evil in your sight I have done.
For in sacrifice you take no delight, burnt offering from me you would refuse, my sacrifice, a contrite spirit. A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.
Gospel Acclamation : cf.Ps129:5,7
Glory and praise to you, O Christ! My soul is waiting for the Lord, I count on his word, because with the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption. Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Gospel : Matthew 9:14-15
John’s disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come for the bridegroom to be 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.
Meditation
Jesus talks to us about fasting and its necessity. Fasting is an excellent spiritual discipline leading us to a deeper relationship with God. When we are in a deep relationship with God, we will know what to fast from. We are to fast from sin because it creeps so easily into our lives and clings tenaciously onto us. Sin destroys our relationship with God. Fasting is a spiritual means to restore that relationship. Fasting is also a form of prayer. Hence, may our fasting cleanse and empty us of our selfish desires and draw us closer to God. Remember, God has better common sense than man. We often look at things microscopically and fail to understand the bigger picture or their rationale. Sometimes we comply with a technical attitude rather than a discerning spirit behind the word of God. So the goal of fasting is neither to make us suffer nor to observe the rules faithfully, but to convert, to repent and turn away from the worldliness of our being and enter into a spirit of love and communion with God. During this Lent, we look forward to being with the Lord in prayer, fasting and almsgiving, in works of charity.
by L'équipe de publication | Feb 14, 2024 | Evangelium
Psalter: Week 4
Saint Walfrid
Purple
He was born in Pisa. He married and had five sons and at least one daughter. After a time, they decided to follow the Benedictine Rule of Monte Casino. St. Walfrid’s cultus was confirmed in 1861.
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, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Moses said to the people: ‘See, today I set before you life and prosperity, death and disaster. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I enjoin on you today, if you love the Lord your God and follow his ways, if you keep his commandments, his laws, his customs, you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to make your own. But if your heart strays, if you refuse to listen, if you let yourself be drawn into worshipping other gods and serving them, I tell you today, you will most certainly perish; you will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today: I set before you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live, in the love of the Lord your God, obeying his voice, clinging to him; for in this your life consists, and on this depends your long stay in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob he would give them.’
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 1:1-4,6
R/ Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners nor sits in the company of scorners, but whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders his law day and night.
He is like a tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves shall never fade; and all that he does shall prosper.
Not so are the wicked, not so! For they like winnowed chaff shall be driven away by the wind. For the Lord guards the way of the just but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
Gospel Acclamation : Ps50:12,14
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus! A pure heart create for me, O God, and give me again the joy of your help. Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Gospel : Luke 9:22-25
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘The Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.’ Then to all he said, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, that man will save it. What gain, then, is it for a man to have won the whole world and to have lost or ruined his very self?’
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.
Meditation
Following Jesus entails a choice. Every decision contains the potential for life or death, as well as the potential for good or evil. We inherit a blessing if we can listen to our hearts and attend to the voice of God. In the Gospel, Jesus continues to guide the decisions that we must make. Some of his proposals are painful and difficult to implement. However, that is the path that leads to the fullness of life. To follow Jesus, we must take up the cross and deny ourselves. This road entails putting selfish goals aside, tolerating discomforts and fears, and accepting the chance of death. A disciple would pursue this path cheerfully, understanding that life on earth is not for self-gratification but for loving service to God and humankind. Such choices and decisions guide the Lenten journey towards the resurrection, a new and eternal existence.
by L'équipe de publication | Feb 12, 2024 | Evangelium
Saint Catherine de Ricci
(1522 – 1589)
Green
Catherine was born Alexandrina in 1522 in Florence, Italy. Catherine entered a convent at Prat in Tuscany and became known for her great sanctity. She is known for her “Ecstasy of the Passion, which she experienced from noon on Thursday till four o’clock on Friday.
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 30: 3-4
Be my protector, O God, a mighty stronghold to save me. For you are my rock, my stronghold! Lead me, guide me, for the sake of your name.
Collect
O God, who teach us that you abide in hearts that are just and true, grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace as to become a dwelling pleasing to you. 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 : James 1:12-18
Happy the man who stands firm when trials come. He has proved himself, and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him. Never, when you have been tempted, say, ‘God sent the temptation’; God cannot be tempted to do anything wrong, and he does not tempt anybody. Everyone who is tempted is attracted and seduced by his own wrong desire. Then the desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it too has a child, and the child is death. Make no mistake about this, my dear brothers: it is all that is good, everything that is perfect, which is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow of a change. By his own choice he made us his children by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first-fruits of all that he had created.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 93(94):12-15, 18-19
R/ Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord.
Happy the man whom you teach, O Lord, whom you train by means of your law; to him you give peace in evil days while the pit is being dug for the wicked.
The Lord will not abandon his people nor forsake those who are his own; for judgement shall again be just and all true hearts shall uphold it.
When I think: ‘I have lost my foothold’; your mercy, Lord, holds me up. When cares increase in my heart your consolation calms my soul.
Gospel Acclamation : cf.Ac16:14
Alleluia, alleluia! Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son. Alleluia!
Gospel : Mark 8:14-21
The disciples had forgotten to take any food and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then he gave them this warning, ‘Keep your eyes open; be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’ And they said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ And Jesus knew it, and he said to them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear? Or do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ They answered, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ And they answered, ‘Seven.’ Then he said to them, ‘Are you still without perception?’
Prayer over the Offerings
May this oblation, O Lord, we pray, cleanse and renew us and may it become for those who do your will the source of eternal reward. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Cf. Ps 77: 29-30
They ate and had their fill, and what they craved the Lord gave them; they were not disappointed in what they craved.
Prayer after Communion
Having fed upon these heavenly delights, we pray, O Lord, so that we may always long for that food by which we truly live. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Despite all the miracles Jesus had performed, the disciples still did not understand him. Jesus chastises the disciples for their lack of comprehension. They appear to be frustrating Jesus by being oblivious to his message to them. They seemed to have overlooked who he was and what he was ultimately all about. Up to this point in the gospel, Jesus has gained a following among the people; they appear to be drawn to or intrigued by him. However, beginning in chapter 8, Jesus encounters people turning away from him (including the disciples themselves). It must have irritated Jesus to see how profoundly they misunderstood him. He’s spent so much time with them, taught them well, nurtured them, and probably expected them to understand his message. But they did not. Let us ask God to open our hearts to always trust in God.
by L'équipe de publication | Feb 11, 2024 | Evangelium
Saint Buonfiglio Monaldo
Green
Buonfiglio is one of the several Florentine founders of the Servite Order (Servants of Mary) who took up a life of solitude and prayer. These founders were canonized in 1887 by Pope Leo XIII.
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 30: 3-4
Be my protector, O God, a mighty stronghold to save me. For you are my rock, my stronghold! Lead me, guide me, for the sake of your name.
Collect
O God, who teach us that you abide in hearts that are just and true, grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace as to become a dwelling pleasing to you. 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 : James 1:1-11
From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of the Dispersion. My brothers, you will always have your trials but, when they come, try to treat them as a happy privilege; you understand that your faith is only put to the test to make you patient, but patience too is to have its practical results so that you will become fully-developed, complete, with nothing missing. If there is any one of you who needs wisdom, he must ask God, who gives to all freely and ungrudgingly; it will be given to him. But he must ask with faith, and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the waves thrown up in the sea when the wind drives. That sort of person, in two minds, wavering between going different ways, must not expect that the Lord will give him anything. It is right for the poor brother to be proud of his high rank, and the rich one to be thankful that he has been humbled, because riches last no longer than the flowers in the grass; the scorching sun comes up, and the grass withers, the flower falls; what looked so beautiful now disappears. It is the same with the rich man: his business goes on; he himself perishes.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 118(119): 67-68, 71-72, 75-76
R/ Let your love come to me and I shall live.
Before I was afflicted I strayed but now I keep your word. You are good and your deeds are good; teach me your statutes.
It was good for me to be afflicted, to learn your statutes. The law from your mouth means more to me than silver and gold.
Lord, I know that your decrees are right, that you afflicted me justly. Let your love be ready to console me by your promise to your servant.
Gospel Acclamation : Ps 94:8
Alleluia, alleluia! Harden not your hearts today, but listen to the voice of the Lord. Alleluia!
Gospel : Mark 8:11-13
The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with Jesus; they demanded of him a sign from heaven, to test him. And with a sigh that came straight from the heart he said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.’ And leaving them again and re-embarking, he went away to the opposite shore.
Prayer over the Offerings
May this oblation, O Lord, we pray, cleanse and renew us and may it become for those who do your will the source of eternal reward. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Cf. Ps 77: 29-30
They ate and had their fill, and what they craved the Lord gave them; they were not disappointed in what they craved.
Prayer after Communion
Having fed upon these heavenly delights, we pray, O Lord, so that we may always long for that food by which we truly live. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
There’s something incredibly human and heartbreaking about Jesus sighing. We groan when we realise that nothing we say or do makes sense to people around us. We sigh as unimaginable grief wells up inside us. God sighs when he sees in us weak faith and willful opposition to truth, which hinders the Spirit from entering our hearts. The Pharisees’ desire for a sign revealed their lack of confidence in Jesus since they had already decided he was working with Beelzebul (Mk 3:22). Jesus goes without satisfying them because he knew their minds were wholly locked and that no indication would persuade them differently. True faith requires no signs; it simply believes, trusts, and loves—the type of faith James encourages us to embrace in his message today.
by L'équipe de publication | Feb 10, 2024 | Evangelium
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Psalter: Week ii
Green
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 30: 3-4
Be my protector, O God, a mighty stronghold to save me. For you are my rock, my stronghold! Lead me, guide me, for the sake of your name.
Collect
O God, who teach us that you abide in hearts that are just and true, grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace as to become a dwelling pleasing to you. 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: Leviticus 13:1-2,44-46
The unclean man must live outside the camp
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘If a swelling or scab or shiny spot appears on a man’s skin, a case of leprosy of the skin is to be suspected. The man must be taken to Aaron, the priest, or to one of the priests who are his sons. ‘The man is leprous: he is unclean. The priest must declare him unclean; he is suffering from leprosy of the head. A man infected with leprosy must wear his clothing torn and his hair disordered; he must shield his upper lip and cry, “Unclean, unclean.” As long as the disease lasts he must be unclean; and therefore he must live apart: he must live outside the camp.’
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
31(32):1-2,5,11
R/ You are my refuge, O Lord; you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Happy the man whose offence is forgiven, whose sin is remitted. O happy the man to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no guile.
But now I have acknowledged my sins; my guilt I did not hide. I said: ‘I will confess my offence to the Lord.’ And you, Lord, have forgiven the guilt of my sin.
Rejoice, rejoice in the Lord, exult, you just! O come, ring out your joy, all you upright of heart.
Second reading: 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1
Whatever you eat, whatever you drink, whatever you do at all, do it for the glory of God. Never do anything offensive to anyone – to Jews or Greeks or to the Church of God; just as I try to be helpful to everyone at all times, not anxious for my own advantage but for the advantage of everybody else, so that they may be saved. Take me for your model, as I take Christ.
Gospel Acclamation: cf. Ep1:17,18
Alleluia, alleluia! May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our mind, so that we can see what hope his call holds for us. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 1:40-45
A leper came to Jesus and pleaded on his knees: ‘If you want to’ he said ‘you can cure me.’ Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. ‘Of course I want to!’ he said. ‘Be cured!’ And the leprosy left him at once and he was cured. Jesus immediately sent him away and sternly ordered him, ‘Mind you say nothing to anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your healing prescribed by Moses as evidence of your recovery.’ The man went away, but then started talking about it freely and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but had to stay outside in places where nobody lived. Even so, people from all around would come to him.
Prayer over the Offerings
May this oblation, O Lord, we pray, cleanse and renew us and may it become for those who do your will the source of eternal reward. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Cf. Ps 77: 29-30
They ate and had their fill, and what they craved the Lord gave them; they were not disappointed in what they craved.
Prayer after Communion
Having fed upon these heavenly delights, we pray, O Lord, so that we may always long for that food by which we truly live. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Jesus cures a man afflicted with leprosy (a term referring to any repulsive skin disease). A leper comes to Jesus and begs to be cured. Moved with compassion, Jesus touches the “untouchable” and heals him. He then sends him to a priest to be reinstated into the community. Leprosy, a contagious skin disease suspected by the contemporaries of Jesus, had very little tolerance in Israel. In Mark, we manifest the formidable freedom and the force of Jesus concerning this disease. The patient advances towards Jesus and expresses his faith remarkably: “If you want to…you can cure me..” The distress of man moves Jesus. Jesus touches the leprous one and says to him: “Of course, I want to!” Jesus is the one who seizes our infirmities, cures them and reintroduces us within our social framework.
by L'équipe de publication | Feb 9, 2024 | Evangelium
Saint Scholastica
(480 – 547)
White
She was born in Nursia in about 480, the twin sister of St Benedict. She was dedicated to God from an early age and followed her brother to Cassino, where she died in about 547.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 94: 6-7
O come, let us worship God and bow low before the God who made us, for he is the Lord our God.
Collect
Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care, that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace, they may be defended always by your protection. 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 Kings 12:26-32,13:33-34
Jeroboam thought to himself, ‘As things are, the kingdom will revert to the House of David. If this people continues to go up to the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, the people’s heart will turn back again to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will put me to death.’ So the king thought this over and then made two golden calves; he said to the people, ‘You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, Israel; these brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ He set up one in Bethel and the people went in procession all the way to Dan in front of the other. He set up the temple of the high places and appointed priests from ordinary families, who were not of the sons of Levi. Jeroboam also instituted a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth of the month, like the feast that was kept in Judah, and he went up to the altar. That was how he behaved in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made; and at Bethel he put the priests of the high places he had established. Jeroboam did not give up his wicked ways but went on appointing priests for the high places from the common people. He consecrated as priests of the high places any who wished to be. Such conduct made the House of Jeroboam a sinful House, and caused its ruin and extinction from the face of the earth.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 105(106):6-7, 19-22
R/ O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
Our sin is the sin of our fathers; we have done wrong, our deeds have been evil. Our fathers when they were in Egypt paid no heed to your wonderful deeds.
They fashioned a calf at Horeb and worshipped an image of metal, exchanging the God who was their glory for the image of a bull that eats grass.
They forgot the God who was their saviour, who had done such great things in Egypt, such portents in the land of Ham, such marvels at the Red Sea.
Gospel Acclamation : Mt4:4
Alleluia, alleluia! Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Alleluia!
Gospel : Mark 8:1-10
A great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat. So Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. If I send them off home hungry they will collapse on the way; some have come a great distance.’ His disciples replied, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place like this?’ He asked them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ ‘Seven’ they said. Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them among the crowd. They had a few small fish as well, and over these he said a blessing and ordered them to be distributed also. They ate as much as they wanted, and they collected seven basketfuls of the scraps left over. Now there had been about four thousand people. He sent them away and immediately, getting into the boat with his disciples, went to the region of Dalmanutha.
Prayer over the Offerings
O Lord, our God, who once established these created things to sustain us in our frailty, grant, we pray, that they may become for us now the Sacrament of eternal life. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Cf. Ps 106: 8-9
Let them thank the Lord for his mercy, his wonders for the children of men, for he satisfies the thirsty soul, and the hungry he fills with good things.
Prayer after Communion
O God, who have willed that we be partakers in the one Bread and the one Chalice, grant us, we pray, so to live that, made one in Christ, we may joyfully bear fruit for the salvation of the world. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Today’s well-known narrative of Jesus feeding a multitude of thousands with seven loaves of bread and a few fish exemplifies Jesus’ reliability. He not only saw the hunger and misery his disciples were going through, but he also took action. He doubled the scant resources to feed his people. He quenched their hunger and gave them the energy they needed to get home safely. We might pause to consider our capacity to TRUST that God would provide for us entirely. When did God bless me with strength and nourishment? It’s wonderful to feel cared for, powerful, and fed. It is now our responsibility to feed the hungry both physically and spiritually.
