by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Jan 20, 2023 | Evangelium
SATURDAY 21 January
SAINT AGNES
As with so many of the early Roman martyrs, very little is now known about Agnes’ life. Agnes was filled with the love of God from an early age, vowed herself to celibacy, and when the opportunity of martyrdom arose, she did not hide away but stepped forward and took it.
Entrance Antiphon
Behold, now she follows the Lamb who was crucified for us, powerful in virginity, modesty her offering, a sacrifice on the altar of chastity.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, who choose what is weak in the world to confound the strong, mercifully grant, that we, who celebrate the heavenly birthday of your Martyr Saint Agnes, may follow her constancy in the faith. 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: Hebrews 9: 2-3, 11-14
There was a tent which comprised two compartments: the first, in which the lamp stand, the table and the presentation loaves were kept, was called the Holy Place; then beyond the second veil, an innermost part which was called the Holy of Holies. But now Christ has come, as the high priest of all the blessings which were to come. He has passed through the greater, the more perfect tent, which is better than the one made by men’s hands because it is not of this created order; and he has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption for us. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer are sprinkled on those who have incurred defilement and they restore the holiness of their outward lives; how much more effectively the blood of Christ, who offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to God through the eternal Spirit, can purify our inner self from dead actions so that we do our service to the living God.
Psalm 46(47):2-3,6-9
R/ God goes up with shouts of joy;
the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
All peoples, clap your hands, cry to God with shouts of joy! For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear, great king over all the earth.
God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast. Sing praise for God, sing praise, sing praise to our king, sing praise.
God is king of all the earth, sing praise with all your skill. God is king over the nations; God reigns on his holy throne.
Gospel Acclamation: 2 Co 5: 19
Alleluia, alleluia! God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 3: 20-21
Jesus went home, and once more such a crowd collected that they could not even have a meal. When his relatives heard of this, they set out to take charge of him, convinced he was out of his mind.
Prayer over the Offerings
May the offerings we bring in celebration of blessed Agnes. win your gracious acceptance, O Lord, we pray, just as the struggle of her suffering and passion was pleasing to you. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Rv 7: 17
The Lamb who is at the centre of the throne will lead them to the springs of the waters of life.
Prayer after Communion
O God, who bestowed on blessed Agnes. a crown among the Saints for her twofold triumph of virginity and martyrdom, grant, we pray, through the power of this Sacrament, that, bravely overcoming every evil, we may attain the glory of heaven. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Have you ever lacked the support of your friends and family? Such is the case of the misunderstood that Jesus faces in today’s Gospel. After giving new teachings, healing the sick, casting out demons, and preaching by living an exemplary life, Christ is disowned by his very own. Following his example, we are called to persevere in our Christian life in a corrupt and unjust society. In adversity, we must redouble our efforts in promoting Christian values and, above all, preach by the example of our lives. Let us give thanks to the Lord for all those workers of the Gospel who, despite situations of abandonment, have not given up on enlightening the world.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Jan 19, 2023 | Evangelium
FRIDAY 20 January
Blessed Cyprian Iwere Tansi
Saint Fabian, Pope
Saint sebatine
Father Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi was born in Nigeria in 1903. He joined the Cistercian Abbey of Mount St Bernard, near Nottingham. He return to establish a Trappist Monastery in the Diocese of Onitsha in Nigeria. Fr Tansi lived the monastic life with great faith and humility. Absorbed in prayer, he was a living example of patience and charity. Early in 1964 he was diagnosed with aortic aneurysm and died two weeks later on 20 January 1964.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 65 : 4
All the earth shall bow down before you, O God, and shall sing to you, shall sing to your name, O Most High!
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, who govern all things, both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the pleading of your people and bestow your peace on our times. 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: Hebrews 8: 6-13
We have seen that Christ has been given a ministry of a far higher order, and to the same degree it is a better covenant of which he is the mediator, founded on better promises. If that first covenant had been without a fault, there would have been no need for a second one to replace it. And in fact, God does find fault with them; he says: See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks – when I will establish a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, but not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They abandoned that covenant of mine, and so I on my side deserted them. It is the Lord who speaks. No, this is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel when those days arrive – it is the Lord who speaks. I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. Then I will be their God and they shall be my people. There will be no further need for neighbour to try to teach neighbour, or brother to say to brother, ‘Learn to know the Lord.’ No, they will all know me, the least no less than the greatest, since I will forgive their iniquities and never call their sins to mind. By speaking of a new covenant, he implies that the first one is already old. Now anything old only gets more antiquated until in the end it disappears.
Psalm 84 (85): 8, 10-14
Mercy and faithfulness have met.
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your saving help. His help is near for those who fear him, and his glory will dwell in our land.
Mercy and faithfulness have met; justice and peace have embraced. Faithfulness shall spring from the earth and justice look down from heaven.
The Lord will make us prosper and our earth shall yield its fruit. Justice shall march before him and peace shall follow his steps.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! Through the Good News God called us to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 3: 13-19
Jesus went up into the hills and summoned those he wanted. So they came to him and he appointed twelve; they were to be his companions and to be sent out to preach, with power to cast out devils. And so he appointed the Twelve: Simon to whom he gave the name Peter, James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges or “Sons of Thunder”; then Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the man who was to betray him.
Prayer over the Offerings
Grant us, O Lord, we pray, that we may participate worthily in these mysteries, for whenever the memorial of this sacrifice is celebrated the work of our redemption is accomplished. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon
Those who keep God’s word with a good and perfect heart patiently bring forth fruit.
Prayer after Communion
Pour on us, O Lord, the Spirit of your love, and in your kindness make those you have nourished by this one heavenly Bread one in mind and heart. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
The choice of the apostles reflects our Lord’s desire to associate us with his mission. It is a choice of ordinary people for extraordinary work. Christ calls us by name to stay with him and witness his Gospel like the apostles. He wants to use us, our time, and our talents to extend the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us be the feet of Christ on earth and go to proclaim the Gospel; let us be his hands and live charity; let us be those envoys who expel the demons of hatred, division, jealousy, slander. Let us be witnesses to the truth.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Jan 18, 2023 | Evangelium
THURSDAY 19 January
SAINT FILLAN
St. Fillan, son of Feriach was also known as Foelan. Extravagant miracles attributed to him, such as the one in which his prayers caused a wolf that had killed the ox he was using to drag materials to the church he was building. Fillan died on January 19.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 65: 4
All the earth shall bow down before you, O God, and shall sing to you, shall sing to your name, O Most High!
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, who govern all things, both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the pleading of your people and bestow your peace on our times. 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: Hebrews 7: 25-8 : 6
The power of Jesus to save is utterly certain, since he is living for ever to intercede for all who come to God through him. To suit us, the ideal high priest would have to be holy, innocent and uncontaminated, beyond the influence of sinners, and raised up above the heavens; one who would not need to offer sacrifices every day, as the other high priests do for their own sins and then for those of the people, because he has done this once and for all by offering himself. The Law appoints high priests who are men subject to weakness; but the promise on oath, which came after the Law, appointed the Son who is made perfect for ever. The great point of all that we have said is that we have a high priest of exactly this kind. He has his place at the right of the throne of divine Majesty in the heavens, and he is the minister of the sanctuary and of the true Tent of Meeting which the Lord, and not any man, set up. It is the duty of every high priest to offer gifts and sacrifices, and so this one too must have something to offer. In fact, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are others who make the offerings laid down by the Law and these only maintain the service of a model or a reflection of the heavenly realities. For Moses, when he had the Tent to build, was warned by God who said: See that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. We have seen that he has been given a ministry of a far higher order, and to the same degree it is a better covenant of which he is the mediator, founded on better promises.
Psalm 39(40): 7-10, 17
R/ Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear. You do not ask for holocaust and victim. Instead, here am I.
In the scroll of the book it stands written that I should do your will. My God, I delight in your law in the depth of my heart.
Your justice I have proclaimed in the great assembly. My lips I have not sealed; you know it, O Lord.
O let there be rejoicing and gladness for all who seek you. Let them ever say: ‘The Lord is great’, who love your saving help.
Gospel Acclamation: cf. Jn6:63,68
Alleluia, alleluia! Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life; you have the message of eternal life. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 3:7-12
Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him. And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he warned them strongly not to make him known.
Prayer over the Offerings
Grant us, O Lord, we pray, that we may participate worthily in these mysteries, for whenever the memorial of this sacrifice is celebrated the work of our redemption is accomplished. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 22: 5
You have prepared a table before me, and how precious is the chalice that quenches my thirst.
Prayer after Communion
Pour on us, O Lord, the Spirit of your love, and in your kindness make those you have nourished by this one heavenly Bread one in mind and heart. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Jesus has always been kind to those who have heard of him and sought him. That is why we can see the multitude that came to meet him in today’s Gospel. We also want to touch Christ! We are like this crowd made up of both holy and unclean spirits who recognise his authority as the Son of God, and who want to be healed. We need to touch Christ present in the Eucharist. In this deep and permanent relationship with Christ in the Eucharist, we are healed of our sufferings, and our spirits of fear, sadness, selfishness, and hypocrisy are cast out.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Jan 17, 2023 | Evangelium
WEDNESDAY 18 January
SAINT VOLUSIAN
Bishop of Tours, France. A senator at Tours, he was initially married, supposedly to a most unpleasant wife. Named bishop of the city in 488, he was forced to leave the see in 496 by the Arian Visigoths, and went to Spain. He died perhaps in Toulouse, or in Spain, possibly as a martyr.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 65: 4
All the earth shall bow down before you, O God, and shall sing to you, shall sing to your name, O Most High!
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, who govern all things, both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the pleading of your people and bestow your peace on our times. 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: Hebrews 7: 1, 1-3, 15-17
You remember that Melchizedek, king of Salem, a priest of God Most High, went to meet Abraham who was on his way back after defeating the kings, and blessed him; and also that it was to him that Abraham gave a tenth of all that he had. By the interpretation of his name, he is, first, ‘king of righteousness’ and also king of Salem, that is, ‘king of peace’; he has no father, mother or ancestry, and his life has no beginning or ending; he is like the Son of God. He remains a priest for ever. This becomes even more clearly evident when there appears a second Melchizedek, who is a priest not by virtue of a law about physical descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it was about him that the prophecy was made: You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever.
Psalm 109(110): 1-4
R/ You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
The Lord’s revelation to my Master: ‘Sit on my right: your foes I will put beneath your feet.’
The Lord will wield from Zion your sceptre of power rule in the midst of all your foes.
A prince from the day of your birth on the holy mountains; from the womb before the dawn, I begot you.
The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change. ‘You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.’
Gospel Acclamation: Heb 4: 12
Alleluia, alleluia! The word of God is something alive and active: it can judge secret emotions and thoughts. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 3:1-6
Jesus went into a synagogue, and there was a man there who had a withered hand. And they were watching him to see if he would cure him on the Sabbath day, hoping for something to use against him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Stand up out in the middle!” Then he said to them, “Is it against the law on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to kill?” But they said nothing. Then, grieved to find them so obstinate, he looked angrily round at them, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was better. The Pharisees went out and at once began to plot with the Herodians against him, discussing how to destroy him.
Prayer over the Offerings
Grant us, O Lord, we pray, that we may participate worthily in these mysteries, for whenever the memorial of this sacrifice is celebrated the work of our redemption is accomplished. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 22
You have prepared a table before me, and how precious is the chalice that quenches my thirst.
Prayer after Communion
Pour on us, O Lord, the Spirit of your love, and in your kindness make those you have nourished by this one heavenly Bread one in mind and heart. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
When Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath, it implies that love and compassion are above the Law and must moderate or guide it. Jesus invites us always to do good and to teach, by our actions, that appeasement must take precedence over confrontation. Christ healed the man with the withered hand and restored his dignity by calling him to stand among those present. As we can see, the scene takes place in the Synagogue, so the Church is the place where our human dignity and our dignity as children of God are restored. Today, let us listen to the voice of the Lord who wants to heal us of our atrophies, for it is to each one of us that he says again: “stretch out your hand”.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Jan 15, 2023 | Evangelium
MONDAY 16 January
SAINT FURSA
He was an Irish monk who did much to establish Christianity throughout the British Isles and particularly in East Anglia, at a time when a high Christian civilization existed in Ireland but had been largely wiped out elsewhere.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 65: 4
All the earth shall bow down before you, O God, and shall sing to you, shall sing to your name, O Most High!
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, who govern all things, both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the pleading of your people and bestow your peace on our times. 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: Hebrews 5:1-10
Every high priest has been taken out of mankind and is appointed to act for men in their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins; and so he can sympathise with those who are ignorant or uncertain because he too lives in the limitations of weakness. That is why he has to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honour on himself, but each one is called by God, as Aaron was. Nor did Christ give himself the glory of becoming high priest, but he had it from the one who said to him: You are my son, today I have become your father, and in another text: You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever. During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard. Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation and was acclaimed by God with the title of high priest of the order of Melchizedek.
Psalm 109(110): 1-4
R/ You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
The Lord’s revelation to my Master: ‘Sit on my right: your foes I will put beneath your feet.’
The Lord will wield from Zion your sceptre of power: rule in the midst of all your foes.
A prince from the day of your birth on the holy mountains; from the womb before the dawn, I begot you.
The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change. ‘You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.’
Gospel Acclamation: cf. 1Th 2: 13
Alleluia, alleluia! Accept God’s message for what it really is: God’s message, and not some human thinking. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 2:18-22
One day when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and said to him, “Why is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?” Jesus replied, “Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of fasting while the bridegroom is still with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they could not think of fasting. But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then, on that day, they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak; if he does, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. And nobody puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins too. No! New wine, fresh skins!”
Prayer over the Offerings
Grant us, O Lord, we pray, that we may participate worthily in these mysteries, for whenever the memorial of this sacrifice is celebrated the work of our redemption is accomplished. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 22: 5
You have prepared a table before me, and how precious is the chalice that quenches my thirst.
Prayer after Communion
Pour on us, O Lord, the Spirit of your love, and in your kindness make those you have nourished by this one heavenly Bread one in mind and heart. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Change is not always easy and sometimes is resistant to time. Often the fear of change makes us cling to our customs, traditions and social laws that determine our worldview and actions. However, Jesus once again confronts the Pharisees with new teaching about the non-observance of fasting by his disciples. He calls us to do something new instead of living according to our old ways. What are the important changes to make in our lives? What are the old habits we need to drop? May the Lord give us the grace to become guests at His wedding.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Jan 14, 2023 | Evangelium
SUNDAY 15 January
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time,
psalter week II
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 65: 4
All the earth shall bow down before you, O God, and shall sing to you, shall sing to your name, O Most High!
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, who govern all things, both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the pleading of your people and bestow your peace on our times. 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 49: 3, 5-6
The Lord said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I shall be glorified”; I was honoured in the eyes of the Lord, my God was my strength. And now the Lord has spoken, he who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, to gather Israel to him: “It is not enough for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel; I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
Psalm 39(40): 2, 4, 7-10
R/ Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
I waited, I waited for the Lord and he stooped down to me; he heard my cry. He put a new song into my mouth, praise of our God.
You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear. You do not ask for holocaust and victim. Instead, here am I.
In the scroll of the book it stands written that I should do your will. My God, I delight in your law in the depth of my heart.
Your justice I have proclaimed in the great assembly. My lips I have not sealed; you know it, O Lord.
Second reading: 1 Corinthians 1: 1-3I,
Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle, together with brother Sosthenes, send greetings to the church of God in Corinth, to the holy people of Jesus Christ, who are called to take their place among all the saints everywhere who pray to our Lord Jesus Christ; for he is their Lord no less than ours. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send you grace and peace.
Gospel Acclamation: cf. Lk 19: 38, 2: 14
Alleluia, alleluia! Blessings on the King who comes, in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens! Alleluia!
Gospel: John 1: 29-34
Seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, “Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. I did not know him myself, and yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptising with water.” John also declared, “I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit.’ Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.”
Prayer over the Offerings
Grant us, O Lord, we pray, that we may participate worthily in these mysteries, for whenever the memorial of this sacrifice is celebrated the work of our redemption is accomplished. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 22: 5
You have prepared a table before me, and how precious is the chalice that quenches my thirst.
Prayer after Communion
Pour on us, O Lord, the Spirit of your love, and in your kindness make those you have nourished by this one heavenly Bread one in mind and heart. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation Today we still hear John the Baptist talking about Jesus. He humbly confesses that he did not know Jesus until the one who sent him to baptize revealed Jesus to him. John the Baptist, who had already shown Jesus as the beloved Son of God, testifies to him as “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” and as the one “who baptises in the Spirit.” This is a testimony related to the mission of Jesus. We, too, are called to witness to Christ; who is he to us?
