by L'équipe de publication | Nov 2, 2023 | Evangelium
SAINT Martin de Porres
He was born in Lima in Peru, the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a black ex-slave. He entered the Dominican Order and spent his life working for the sick and the poor. He had a great devotion to the Holy Eucharist. He has been named as a patron saint of those of mixed race..
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 104
Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, increase our faith, hope and charity, and make us love what you command, so that we may merit what you promise. 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: Romans 9:1-5
What I want to say now is no pretence; I say it in union with Christ – it is the truth – my conscience in union with the Holy Spirit assures me of it too. What I want to say is this: my sorrow is so great, my mental anguish so endless, I would willingly be condemned and be cut off from Christ if it could help my brothers of Israel, my own flesh and blood. They were adopted as sons, they were given the glory and the covenants; the Law and the ritual were drawn up for them, and the promises were made to them. They are descended from the patriarchs and from their flesh and blood came Christ who is above all, God for ever blessed! Amen.
Psalm 147:12-15,19-20
R/ O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem! Zion, praise your God! He has strengthened the bars of your gates. He has blessed the children within you.
He established peace on your borders, he feeds you with finest wheat. He sends out his word to the earth and swiftly runs his command.
He makes his word known to Jacob, to Israel his laws and decrees. He has not dealt thus with other nations; he has not taught them his decrees.
Gospel Acclamation: cf. 1Th2: 13
Alleluia, alleluia! Accept God’s message for what it really is: God’s message, and not some human thinking. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 14:1-6
Now on a Sabbath day Jesus had gone for a meal to the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. There in front of him was a man with dropsy, and Jesus addressed the lawyers and Pharisees. “Is it against the law,” he asked, “to cure a man on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent, so he took the man and cured him and sent him away. Then he said to them, “Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on a Sabbath day without hesitation?” And to this they could find no answer.
Prayer over the Offerings
Look, we pray, O Lord, on the offerings we make to your majesty, that whatever is done by us in your service may be directed above all to your glory. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 19
We will ring out our joy at your saving help and exult in the name of our God.
Prayer after Communion
May your Sacraments, O Lord, we pray, perfect in us what lies within them, that what we now celebrate in signs we may one day possess in truth. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
From the Hebrew “shabat” (to cease, to be idle), the Sabbath day (7th day of the week) was an exceptional day dedicated to rest according to Ex 20:8-11. In Jewish culture, man was supposed to free himself from the slavery of work on this day. But it was precisely on the Sabbath that Jesus healed a sick man. By this act, Jesus shows the infinite mercy of GOD and his overflowing love for us. The silence of the Pharisees and Doctors of the Law in reaction to Jesus’ thorny question in the Gospel is proof that the Law of LOVE must always prevail over our human laws. YES! Let us accept and defend the Law of Love over the Love of the Law that enslaves us.
by L'équipe de publication | Oct 31, 2023 | Evangelium
All Saints – Solemnity
All Saints Day is the day on which Catholics celebrate all the saints, known and unknown. All Saints Day beckons us to something beautiful: It reminds us of our great potential—the promise that lies within each of us. The promise of holiness.
Entrance Antiphon
Let us all rejoice in the Lord, as we celebrate the feast day in honour of all the Saints, at whose festival the Angels rejoice and praise the Son of God.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, by whose gift we venerate in one celebration, the merits of all the Saints, bestow on us, we pray, through the prayers of so many intercessors, an abundance of the reconciliation with you for which we earnestly long. 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: Apocalypse 7:2-4. 9-14
I, John, saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, “Wait before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Then I heard how many were sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel. After that I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted aloud, “Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne, surrounding the elders and the four animals, prostrated themselves before the throne, and touched the ground with their foreheads, worshipping God with these words, “Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.” One of the elders then spoke, and asked me, “Do you know who these people are, dressed in white robes, and where they have come from?” I answered him, “You can tell me, my Lord.” Then he said, “These are the people who have been through great persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.”
Psalm 23:1-6
R/ Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, the world and all its peoples. It is he who set it on the seas; on the waters he made it firm.
Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things.
He shall receive blessings from the Lord and reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Second Reading: 1 John 3:1-3
Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children; and that is what we are. Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us. My dear people, we are already the children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; all we know is, that when it is revealed we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is. Surely everyone who entertains this hope must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.
Gospel Acclamation: Mt11:28
Alleluia, alleluia! Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest, says the Lord. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12
Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them: “How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy the gentle: they shall have the earth for their heritage. Happy those who mourn: they shall be comforted. Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right: they shall be satisfied. Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them. Happy the pure in heart: they shall see God. Happy the peacemakers: they shall be called sons of God. Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”
Prayer over the Offerings
May these offerings we bring in honour of all the Saints be pleasing to you, O Lord, and grant that, just as we believe the Saints to be already assured of immortality, so we may experience their concern for our salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Mt 5: 8-10
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Prayer after Communion
As we adore you, O God, who alone are holy and wonderful in all your Saints, we implore your grace, so that, coming to perfect holiness in the fullness of your love, we may pass from this pilgrim table to the banquet of our heavenly homeland. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Today’s Gospel (on the Beatitudes) introduces us formidably into the Month of the Dead and invites us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven by taking care of our social and moral life and by enroling in the school of holiness. In fact, the blessings we seek are for everyone according to our different states in life and the different situations in which we await the Lord; the meek, the poor in heart, the afflicted, the hungry or thirsty for justice, the merciful, etc.
by L'équipe de publication | Oct 30, 2023 | Evangelium
Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg
He was bishop of Regensburg in Bavaria from Christmas 972 until his death. He is a saint of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches (canonized in 1052). He is regarded as one of the three great German saints of the 10th century, the other two being Saint Ulrich and Saint Conrad of Constance..
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 104: 3-4
Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, increase our faith, hope and charity, and make us love what you command, so that we may merit what you promise. 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: Romans 8:18-25
I think that what we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory, as yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us. The whole creation is eagerly waiting for God to reveal his sons. It was not for any fault on the part of creation that it was made unable to attain its purpose, it was made so by God; but creation still retains the hope of being freed, like us, from its slavery to decadence, to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of God. From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free. For we must be content to hope that we shall be saved – our salvation is not in sight, we should not have to be hoping for it if it were – but, as I say, we must hope to be saved since we are not saved yet – it is something we must wait for with patience.
Psalm 125(126)
R/ What marvels the Lord worked for us.
When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, it seemed like a dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, on our lips there were songs.
The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels the Lord worked for them!’ What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage as streams in dry land. Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.
They go out, they go out, full of tears, carrying seed for the sowing: they come back, they come back, full of song, carrying their sheaves.
Gospel Acclamation : Jn 15: 15
Alleluia, alleluia! I call you friends, says the Lord, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 13:18-21
Jesus said, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it with? It is like a mustard seed which a man took and threw into his garden: it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air sheltered in its branches. Another thing,” he said, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God with? It is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.”
Prayer over the Offerings
Look, we pray, O Lord, on the offerings we make to your majesty, that whatever is done by us in your service may be directed above all to your glory. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 19: 6
We will ring out our joy at your saving help and exult in the name of our God.
Prayer after Communion
May your Sacraments, O Lord, we pray, perfect in us what lies within them, that what we now celebrate in signs we may one day possess in truth. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
A mustard seed is very small, even insignificant. In fact, it is not sown but thrown into a garden. Leaven, on the other hand, is simply buried! And these are the two images that Jesus uses to talk about the Kingdom of God, no less! But it’s true that the mustard seed is a potential tree, and that leaven, as its name indicates, can make the whole dough rise! No doubt, Jesus wants us to understand that nothing is insignificant for our God. He can do anything: from a seed, he can make a tree; he gives meaning and fruitfulness to what, in our lives, seems so small or derisory. It is in our weakness that his power unfolds, but he needs us to offer him these small things that transform the world.
by L'équipe de publication | Oct 29, 2023 | Evangelium
SAINT Marcellus
A centurion from Tingis (Morocco), he not only refused to worship Roman gods but also threw down his soldier’s insignia in front of the legion’s standards. As he did this, he proclaimed his Christian identity, his allegiance to the Lord and rejected the worship of gods made of stone and wood. He was put to death by the sword around the year 300.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 104: 3-4
Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, increase our faith, hope and charity, and make us love what you command, so that we may merit what you promise. 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: Romans 8:12-17
My brothers, there is no necessity for us to obey our unspiritual selves or to live unspiritual lives. If you do live in that way, you are doomed to die; but if by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body you will live. Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God. The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God. And if we are children we are heirs as well: heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory.
Psalm 67 (68): 2, 4, 6-7, 20-21
R/ This God of ours is a God who saves.
Let God arise, let his foes be scattered. Let those who hate him flee before him. But the just shall rejoice at the presence of God, they shall exult and dance for joy.
Father of the orphan, defender of the widow, such is God in his holy place. God gives the lonely a home to live in; he leads the prisoners forth into freedom.
May the Lord be blessed day after day. He bears our burdens, God our saviour. This God of ours is a God who saves. The Lord our God holds the keys of death.
Gospel Acclamation : Jn 17: 17
Alleluia, alleluia! Your word is truth, O Lord: consecrate us in the truth. Alleluia!
Gospel Luke 13:10-17
One Sabbath day Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who for eighteen years had been possessed by a spirit that left her enfeebled; she was bent double and quite unable to stand upright. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are rid of your infirmity.” And he laid his hands on her. And at once she straightened up, and she glorified God. But the synagogue official was indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, and he addressed the people present. “There are six days,” he said, “when work is to be done. Come and be healed on one of those days and not on the Sabbath.” But the Lord answered him. “Hypocrites!” he said “Is there one of you who does not untie his ox or his donkey from the manger on the Sabbath and take it out for watering? And this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has held bound these eighteen years – was it not right to untie her bonds on the Sabbath day?” When he said this, all his adversaries were covered with confusion, and all the people were overjoyed at all the wonders he worked.
Prayer over the Offerings
Look, we pray, O Lord, on the offerings we make to your majesty, that whatever is done by us in your service may be directed above all to your glory. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 19: 6
We will ring out our joy at your saving help and exult in the name of our God.
Prayer after Communion
May your Sacraments, O Lord, we pray, perfect in us what lies within them, that what we now celebrate in signs we may one day possess in truth. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Jesus saw the bent woman and immediately understood her suffering. He healed her without asking her permission. She immediately realised that Jesus had delivered her from her illness and gave thanks to God. What a beautiful, simple miracle, like the exchange of a look of love and trust. The ruler of the synagogue intervenes in this gentleness with great noise: he addresses the crowd to get over his bad temper, and speaks to them like a bad master to his servants. He pretends to be defending the rights of God but has not the slightest movement of compassion for this woman who has been crippled for eighteen years. It is Jesus’ turn to be indignant at this false judgement, which prefers order to love. This should be a lesson to us; the respect for human life, human dignity and the well-being of our neighbour are above every law. Let us strive for what makes man whole.
by L'équipe de publication | Oct 28, 2023 | Evangelium
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Psalter week II
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 104: 3-4
Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, increase our faith, hope and charity, and make us love what you command, so that we may merit what you promise. 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: Exodus 22:20-26
The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the sons of Israel this: ‘You must not molest the stranger or oppress him, for you lived as strangers in the land of Egypt. You must not be harsh with the widow, or with the orphan; if you are harsh with them, they will surely cry out to me, and be sure I shall hear their cry; my anger will flare and I shall kill you with the sword, your own wives will be widows, your own children orphans. If you lend money to any of my people, to any poor man among you, you must not play the usurer with him: you must not demand interest from him. If you take another’s cloak as a pledge, you must give it back to him before sunset. It is all the covering he has; it is the cloak he wraps his body in; what else would he sleep in? If he cries to me, I will listen, for I am full of pity.’”
Psalm 17 (18): 2-4, 47, 51
R/ I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, Lord, my strength, my rock, my fortress, my saviour. My God is the rock where I take refuge; my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold. The Lord is worthy of all praise, when I call I am saved from my foes.
Long life to the Lord, my rock! Praised be the God who saves me, He has given great victories to his king and shown his love for his anointed.
Second reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10
You observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction, and you were led to become imitators of us, and of the Lord; and it was with the joy of the Holy Spirit that you took to the gospel, in spite of the great opposition all round you. This has made you the great example to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia since it was from you that the word of the Lord started to spread – and not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia, for the news of your faith in God has spread everywhere. We do not need to tell other people about it: other people tell us how we started the work among you, how you broke with idolatry when you were converted to God and became servants of the real, living God; and how you are now waiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming.
Gospel Acclamation: cf. Ac16:14
Alleluia, alleluia! Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 22:34-40
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, “Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?” Jesus said, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.”
Prayer over the Offerings
Look, we pray, O Lord, on the offerings we make to your majesty, that whatever is done by us in your service may be directed above all to your glory. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 19: 6
We will ring out our joy at your saving help and exult in the name of our God.
Prayer after Communion
May your Sacraments, O Lord, we pray, perfect in us what lies within them, that what we now celebrate in signs we may one day possess in truth. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
What is love? How are we to love? We feel that these questions hold the key to the true life to which we aspire. It is because Christ has the words of eternal life; because he came so that people might have life in abundance by giving his life for us, that he alone can reveal to us the whole truth about Love. We learn of this truth through his Word which Paul invites us to accept, that is, to meditate on and above all to believe, with the joy of the Holy Spirit; and through his living example, which the same Paul exhorts us to imitate. It is only by contemplating him, through prayer and encounter in the sacraments, that we will understand, step by step, what it means to love God above all else and our neighbour as ourselves, and that we will be able to live this twofold and unique commandment of love. It is a commandment that opens up eternal life to us, even while we are still here on earth.
by L'équipe de publication | Oct 27, 2023 | Evangelium
SAINTS SIMON AND Jude, Apostle
Feast
Jude, also called Thaddaeus, is the apostle who at the Last Supper asked the Lord why he showed himself only to the disciples and not to the world. For many centuries he was scarcely venerated because people confused him with Judas Iscariot. He is the patron saint of lost and desperate causes.
Entrance Antiphon
These are the holy men whom the Lord chose in his own perfect love; to them he gave eternal glory.
Collect
O God, who by the blessed Apostles have brought us to acknowledge your name, graciously grant, through the intercession of Saints Simon and Jude, that the Church may constantly grow by increase of the peoples who believe in 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: Ephesians 2:19-22
You are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household. You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone. As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit.
Psalm 18(19):2-5
R/ Their word goes forth through all the earth.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story and night unto night makes known the message.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard yet their span extends through all the earth, their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
Gospel Acclamation: cf. Te Deum
Alleluia, alleluia! We praise you, O God, we acknowledge you to be the Lord. The glorious company of the apostles praise you, O Lord. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 6:12-16
Jesus went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came, he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them; he called them ‘apostles’: Simon whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor.
Prayer over the Offerings
As we venerate the perpetual glory of the holy Apostles Simon and Jude, O Lord, we ask that you receive our prayers and lead us to worthy celebration of the sacred mysteries. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Jn 14: 23
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.
Prayer after Communion
Having received this Sacrament, O Lord, we humbly implore you in the Holy Spirit, that what we do to honour the glorious passion of the Apostles Simon and Jude may keep us ever in your love. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Jesus chooses twelve apostles from among the disciples. He matured his choice in prayer; a night spent listening to the voice of the Father and the whisper of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps, without this night of prayer, he would have called other disciples than these: men who were better educated, more faithful… But there was no job interview, no test. Simply the ratification of a choice made in perfect trust in the Father who is never mistaken in his plans. From choosing the brand of food we eat, to choosing our clothes or our job, we are constantly making decisions, big or small. Of course, we need to reflect, to evaluate the foreseeable consequences of our actions. But even more than that, it is good for us to make ourselves available to the signs that God gives us to light up our roads and crossroads.
