by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Dec 10, 2021 | Evangelium
11
December
Pope St. Damasus I
(305 – 384)
Violet / White
A Spaniard, he was born about 305. Joining the Roman clergy, he was elected Pope in 366, in calamitous times. He held many synods against heretics and schismatics. He promoted the cult of the martyrs. He died in 384.
Entrance Antiphon Ps 79: 4, 2
Come and show us your face, O Lord, who are seated upon the Cherubim, and we will be saved.
Collect
May the splendour of your glory dawn in our hearts, we pray, almighty God, that all shadows of the night may be scattered and we may be shown to be children of light by the advent of your Only Begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Ecclesiasticus 48:1-4,9-12
The prophet Elijah arose like a fire, his word flaring like a torch. It was he who brought famine on the people, and who decimated them in his zeal. By the word of the Lord, he shut up the heavens, he also, three times, brought down fire. How glorious you were in your miracles, Elijah! Has anyone reason to boast as you have? Taken up in the whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with fiery horses; designated in the prophecies of doom to allay God’s wrath before the fury breaks, to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children, and to restore the tribes of Jacob, Happy shall they be who see you, and those who have fallen asleep in love.
Psalm 79(80):2-3,15-16,18-19
R/ Lord of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
1. O shepherd of Israel, hear us, shine forth from your cherubim throne. O Lord, rouse up your might,O Lord, come to our help.
2. God of hosts, turn again, we implore, look down from heaven and see. Visit this vine and protect it, the vine your right hand has planted.
3. May your hand be on the man you have chosen, the man you have given your strength. And we shall never forsake you again; give us life that we may call upon your name.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! The day of the Lord is near; Look, he comes to save us. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 17:10-13
As they came down from the mountain the disciples put this question to Jesus, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah has to come first?’ ‘True;’ he replied, ‘Elijah is to come to see that everything is once more as it should be; however, I tell you that Elijah has come already and they did not recognise him but treated him as they pleased; and the Son of Man will suffer similarly at their hands.’ The disciples understood then that he had been speaking of John the Baptist.
Prayer over the Offerings
May the sacrifice of our worship, Lord, we pray, be offered to you unceasingly, to complete what was begun in sacred mystery and powerfully accomplish for us your saving work. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Rv 22: 12
Behold, I am coming soon and my recompense is with me, says the Lord, to bestow a reward according to the deeds of each.
Prayer after Communion
We implore your mercy, Lord, that this divine sustenance may cleanse us of our faults and prepare us for the coming feasts. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
The prophet Malachi had prophesied that Elijah would come again to get everything ready before the day of the Lord would come. Jesus tells his disciples and us today that Elijah did return, in the person of John the Baptist. Ben Sirach tells us in the First Reading that Elijah came to “turn the hearts of fathers towards their children, and to restore the tribes of Jacob”. In other words, his mission was to preach repentance among the Israelites, to invite them to purify their hearts and to return to their God. Repentance is the central message of Advent; God wants us to change our hearts and return to him. But as Jesus points out in the Gospel, the Israelites did not recognise John the Baptist; rather, they treated him as they pleased. John the Baptist’s message of repentance is addressed to us during this season of Advent. Are we going to reject it, like the Israelites did, or are we going to accept it and let the power of God transform our lives?
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Dec 9, 2021 | Evangelium
09
December
St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin
(1474 – 1548)
Violet / White
He was born in 1474 in Mexico. As an adult he embraced Christianity and he and his wife were baptized. In 1531 the Mother of God appeared to him. Through the purity of his faith, his humility and his fervour, a church was built, in honour of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He devoted himself to the care of the sanctuary and the reception of pilgrims until his death in 1548.
Entrance Antiphon : Ps 118: 151-152
You, O Lord, are close, and all your ways are truth. From of old I have known of your decrees, for you are eternal.
Collect
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the paths of your Only Begotten Son, that through his coming, we may be found worthy to serve you with minds made pure. 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 41:13-20
I, the Lord, your God, I am holding you by the right hand; I tell you, ‘Do not be afraid, I will help you.’ Do not be afraid, Jacob, poor worm, Israel, puny mite. I will help you – it is the Lord who speaks – the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer. See, I turn you into a threshing-sled, new, with doubled teeth; you shall thresh and crush the mountains, and turn the hills to chaff. You shall winnow them and the wind will blow them away, the gale will scatter them. But you yourself will rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the Holy One of Israel. The poor and needy ask for water, and there is none, their tongue is parched with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them. I will make rivers well up on barren heights, and fountains in the midst of valleys; turn the wilderness into a lake, and dry ground into waterspring. In the wilderness I will put cedar trees, acacias, myrtles, olives. In the desert I will plant juniper, plane tree and cypress side by side; so that men may see and know, may all observe and understand that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Psalm 144(145):1,9-13a
R/ The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love.
1. I will give you glory, O God my king, I will bless your name forever. How good is the Lord to all, compassionate to all his creatures.
2. All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and your friends shall repeat their blessing. They shall speak of the glory of your reign and declare your might, O God, to make known to men your mighty deeds and the glorious splendour of your reign.
3. Yours is an everlasting kingdom; your rule lasts from age to age.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! Come, Lord, with your peace that we may rejoice in your presence with sincerity of heart. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 11:11-15
Jesus spoke to the crowds: ‘I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is. Since John the Baptist came, up to this present time, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and the violent are taking it by storm. Because it was towards John that all the prophecies of the prophets and of the Law were leading; and he, if you will believe me, is the Elijah who was to return. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen!’
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, we pray, O Lord, these offerings we make, gathered from among your gifts to us, and may what you grant us to celebrate devoutly here below gain for us the prize of eternal redemption. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ti 2: 12-13
Let us live justly and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of the glory of our great God.
Prayer after Communion
May these mysteries, O Lord,in which we have participated,profit us, we pray,for even now, as we walk amid passing things,you teach us by themto love the things of heavenand hold fast to what endures.Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Jesus presents John the Baptist to his followers. In so doing, he cites Elijah, one of the Old Testament Prophets. By designating John the Baptist as Elijah, Jesus presents himself as the expected Messiah. Elijah, in fact, lifted up to heaven in a chariot of fire, was to return and thus precede the coming of the Messiah. John the Baptist led an austere life in the desert and preached repentance with fervour in preparation for the coming of the Lord. Despite his ruggedness, his attention was focused, like Elijah who was able to recognise God’s presence in “the sound of a gentle breeze” (1Kg19:12). John the Baptist recognised the expected Messiah in a man who had come among a crowd of sinners to receive the baptism in the Jordan River. May we, like John the Baptist and Elijah, recognise and welcome the small signs of God’s presence in our lives!
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Dec 9, 2021 | Evangelium
10
December
St Melchiades
(d. 314)
Violet / White
Born in Africa, Melchiades was pope in Rome when the Church obtained its freedom after centuries of persecution. He took advantage of the new favourable situation to organise the Church on solid foundations. He ordered the construction of many churches and was the first pope to occupy the cathedral of St. John Lateran. He was pope for only 3 years.
Entrance Antiphon
Behold, the Lord will come descending with splendour to visit his people with peace, and he will bestow on them eternal life.
Collect
Grant that your people, we pray, almighty God, may be ever watchful for the coming of your Only Begotten Son, that, as the author of our salvation himself has taught us, we may hasten, alert and with lighted lamps, to meet him when he comes. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Isaiah 48:17-19
Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is good for you, I lead you in the way that you must go. If only you had been alert to my commandments, your happiness would have been like a river, your integrity like the waves of the sea. Your children would have been numbered like the sand, your descendants as many as its grains. Never would your name have been cut off or blotted out before me.
Psalm 1:1-4,6
R/ Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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
Alleluia, alleluia! See, the king, the Lord of the world, will come. He will free us from the yoke of our bondage. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19
Jesus spoke to the crowds: ‘What description can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place: “We played the pipes for you, and you wouldn’t dance; we sang dirges, and you wouldn’t be mourners.” ‘For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He is possessed.” The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Yet wisdom has been proved right by her actions.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Be pleased, O Lord, with our humble prayers and offerings, and, since we have no merits to plead our cause, come, we pray, to our rescue with the protection of your mercy. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Phil 3: 20-21
We await a saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our mortal bodies, to conform with his glorified body.
Prayer after Communion
Replenished by the food of spiritual nourishment, we humbly beseech you, O Lord, that, through our partaking in this mystery, you may teach us to judge wisely the things of earth and hold firm to the things of heaven. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
“If you hear his voice, harden not your heart” (Ps 94). The liturgy puts these words on our lips every day to keep our attention alert to God’s presence in our lives. The time of Advent brings us closer to the coming of the Nativity of the Saviour. For us Christians, he is already there and calls us constantly. Let us remain vigilant! Let us not become tasteless salt, or deaf people who cannot hear the songs of the gatherings, nor the cries and complaints of the unfortunate people around us. In Jesus, it is wisdom that speaks and insists that we act before it is too late. The Lord, needs our hands, our imagination, our heart, to relieve, console and lift those who are bending under their burden at our door. The Lord is close at hand, in us and in each of them. Let us not close our hearts!
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Dec 7, 2021 | Evangelium
08
December
The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
White
The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin, a grace that enabled Mary to give a “Yes” to becoming mother of the incarnate God, Jesus. The doctrine was formally defined as a doctrine of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1854.
Entrance Antiphon : Is 61: 10
I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bride adorned with her jewels.
Collect
O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, prepared a worthy dwelling for your Son; grant, we pray, that, as you preserved her from every stain by virtue of the Death of your Son which you foresaw, so, through her intercession, we too may be cleansed and admitted to your presence. 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 : Genesis 3:9-15. 20
After Adam had eaten of the tree the Lord God called to him, ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden.’ he replied. ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked. ‘Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It was the woman you put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’ Then the Lord God asked the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman replied, ‘The serpent tempted me and I ate.’ Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, ‘Be accursed beyond all cattle, all wild beasts. You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust every day of your life. I will make you enemies of each other: you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. It will crush your head and you will strike its heel.’ The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live.
Psalm 97:1-4
R/ Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders.
1. Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation.
2. The Lord has made known his salvation; has shown his justice to the nations. He has remembered his truth and love for the house of Israel.
3. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout to the Lord all the earth, ring out your joy.
Second Reading : Ephesians 1:3-6.11-12
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ. Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ for his own kind purposes, to make us praise the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved. And it is in him that we were claimed as God’s own, chosen from the beginning, under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things as he decides by his own will; chosen to be, for his greater glory, the people who would put their hopes in Christ before he came.
Gospel Acclamation : Lk 1:28
Alleluia, alleluia! Hail, Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee! Blessed art thou among women Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 1:26-38
The Angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgins name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you,’ the angel answered, ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary, ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.
Prayer over the Offerings
Graciously accept the saving sacrifice which we offer you, O Lord, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and grant that, as we profess her, on account of your prevenient grace, to be untouched by any stain of sin, so, through her intercession, we may be delivered from all our faults. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon
Glorious things are spoken of you, O Mary, for from you arose the sun of justice, Christ our God.
Prayer after Communion
May the Sacrament we have received, O Lord our God, heal in us the wounds of that fault from which in a singular way you preserved Blessed Mary in her Immaculate Conception. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary teaches us that our Blessed Mother herself was conceived in her mother’s womb without sin. God gave Mary immunity from original sin to pave the way for her to be the mother of Jesus. The Gospel shows us that Mary accepted to cooperate in God’s design to be the Mother of God. Her Fiat, her unconditional Yes to the Lord, was spoken from a heart filled with love for God. This teenage girl from Nazareth, a small town in Galilee, said an unconditional yes, without conditions. She never had great intellectual formation like most people today, yet she was able to say yes. It was a total surrender.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Dec 6, 2021 | Evangelium
07
December
St. Ambrose of Milan (340 – 397)
White
He was born in Trier, Germany, between 337 and 340. Coerced by the people and by the emperor, he was baptized, ordained, and installed as bishop in 374. Ambrose was a key figure in the conversion of St Augustine to Catholicism, impressing Augustine by his intelligence and scholarship. He died on Holy Saturday, 4th April 397.
Entrance Antiphon Cf. Sir 15: 5
In the midst of the Church he opened his mouth, and the Lord filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding and clothed him in a robe of glory.
Collect
O God, who made the Bishop Saint Ambrose a teacher of the Catholic faith and a model of apostolic courage, raise up in your Church, men after your own heart to govern her with courage and wisdom. 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 40:1-11
‘Console my people, console them,’ says your God. ‘Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call to her that her time of service is ended, that her sin is atoned for, that she has received from the hand of the Lord double punishment for all her crimes.’ A voice cries, ‘Prepare in the wilderness a way for the Lord. Make a straight highway for our God across the desert. Let every valley be filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low. Let every cliff become a plain, and the ridges a valley; then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all mankind shall see it; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’ A voice commands, ‘Cry!’ and I answered, ‘What shall I cry?’” – ‘All flesh is grass and its beauty like the wild flower’s. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on them. (The grass is without doubt the people.) The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God remains for ever.’ Go up on a high mountain, joyful messenger to Zion. Shout with a loud voice, joyful messenger to Jerusalem. Shout without fear, say to the towns of Judah, ‘Here is your God.’ Here is the Lord coming with power, his arm subduing all things to him. The prize of his victory is with him, his trophies all go before him. He is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against his breast and leading to their rest the mother ewes.
Psalm 95(96):1-3,10-13
R/ Here is our God coming with power.
1. O sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord all the earth. O sing to the Lord, bless his name. Proclaim his help day by day.
2. Tell among the nations his glory and his wonders among all the peoples. Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’ He will judge the peoples in fairness.
3. Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad, let the sea and all within it thunder praise, let the land and all it bears rejoice, all the trees of the wood shout for joy at the presence of the Lord for he comes, he comes to rule the earth.
4. With justice, he will rule the world, he will judge the peoples with his truth.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! Come, Lord! Do not delay. Forgive the sins of your people.Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 18:12-14
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Tell me. Suppose a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays; will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search of the stray? I tell you solemnly, if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the ninety-nine that did not stray at all. Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.’
Prayer over the Offerings
As we celebrate the divine mysteries, O Lord, we pray, may the Holy Spirit fill us with that light of faith by which he constantly enlightened Saint Ambrose for the spreading of your glory. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Ps 1: 2, 3
He who ponders the law of the Lord day and night will yield fruit in due season.
Prayer after Communion
Lead us who have been strengthened by the power of this Sacrament, O Lord, so to profit from the teaching of Saint Ambrose, that, hastening fearlessly along your paths, we may be prepared for the delights of the eternal banquet. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Economists will confirm that going after the lost sheep is disproportionate or foolish. Moralists too will not understand how the shepherd leaves ninety-nine sheep on the hillside while he searches for the one stubborn sheep which has strayed off and is lost. Funny enough he leaves the main flock defenceless to go looking for the stray. It is a big risk for the shepherd because he could lose the ninety-nine for the sake of the one. Jesus goes beyond all human paradigms to go for the lost sheep. There is a great lesson here: Our God values each one of us and calls each by name.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Dec 5, 2021 | Evangelium
06
December
St. Nicholas, Bishop
Violet
He was bishop of Myra, in Lycia (now part of Turkey) and died about the middle of the fourth century. He has been venerated throughout the Church, especially since the 10th century. Because of his help to the poor he is the patron saint of pawnbrokers, whose insignia of three golden balls represent the three purses of gold he is said to have given secretly to a poor man who could not afford dowries for his three daughters.
Entrance Antiphon: Jer 31: 10; Is 35: 4
Hear the word of the Lord, O nations; declare it to the distant lands: Behold, our Saviour will come; you need no longer fear.
Collect
May our prayer of petition rise before you, we pray, O Lord, that, with purity unblemished, we, your servants, may come, as we desire, to celebrate the great mystery of the Incarnation of your Only Begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading Isaiah 35:1-10
Let the wilderness and the dry-lands exult, let the wasteland rejoice and bloom, let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil, let it rejoice and sing for joy. The glory of Lebanon is bestowed on it, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God. Strengthen all weary hands, steady all trembling knees and say to all faint hearts, ‘Courage! Do not be afraid. Look, your God is coming, vengeance is coming, the retribution of God; he is coming to save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed, then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy; for water gushes in the desert, streams in the wasteland, the scorched earth becomes a lake, the parched land springs of water. The lairs where the jackals used to live become thickets of reed and papyrus. And through it will run a highway undefiled which shall be called the Sacred Way; the unclean may not travel by it, nor fools stray along it. No lion will be there nor any fierce beast roam about it, but the redeemed will walk there, for those the Lord has ransomed shall return. They will come to Zion shouting for joy, everlasting joy on their faces; joy and gladness will go with them and sorrow and lament be ended.
Psalm 84(85):9-14
R/ Look, our God is coming to save us.
1. I will hear what the Lord God has to say, a voice that speaks of peace, peace for his people. His help is near for those who fear him and his glory will dwell in our land.
2. Mercy and faithfulness have met; justice and peace have embraced. Faithfulness shall spring from the earth and justice look down from heaven.
3. 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: Lk3:4,6
Alleluia, alleluia! Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight, and all mankind shall see the salvation of God. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 5:17-26
Jesus was teaching one day, and among the audience there were Pharisees and doctors of the Law who had come from every village in Galilee, from Judaea and from Jerusalem. And the Power of the Lord was behind his works of healing. Then some men appeared, carrying on a bed a paralysed man whom they were trying to bring in and lay down in front of him. But as the crowd made it impossible to find a way of getting him in, they went up on to the flat roof and lowered him and his stretcher down through the tiles into the middle of the gathering, in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith he said, ‘My friend, your sins are forgiven you.’ The scribes and the Pharisees began to think this over. ‘Who is this man talking blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ But Jesus, aware of their thoughts, made them this reply, ‘What are these thoughts you have in your hearts? Which of these is easier: to say, “Your sins are forgiven you” or to say, “Get up and walk”? But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ – he said to the paralysed man – ‘I order you: get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.’ And immediately before their very eyes he got up, picked up what he had been lying on and went home praising God. They were all astounded and praised God, and were filled with awe, saying, ‘We have seen strange things today.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, we pray, O Lord, these offerings we make, gathered from among your gifts to us, and may what you grant us to celebrate devoutly here below gain for us the prize of eternal redemption. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 105: 4-5; Is 38: 3
Come, O Lord, visit us in peace, that we may rejoice before you with a blameless heart.
Prayer after Communion
May these mysteries, O Lord, in which we have participated, profit us, we pray, for even now, as we walk amid passing things, you teach us by them to love the things of heaven and hold fast to what endures. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Jesus admires not only the faith of the person with paralysis,, but also that of all his friends. At first glance, Jesus surprises us. He heals the soul while all were waiting for the body to be healed. However, Jesus, as an excellent teacher, knows how to increase both their faith and their confidence because if he surprises, he does not disappoint. Now, what is more important, the healing of the body or the healing of the soul? Jesus goes first to the essential, which is the entry into communion with the Father, and which requires the child to turn to him: “Father, forgive my sins.” Before any difficult encounter, any important decision to be taken, say again those two words that restore us to our relationship with the Father and consequently with others: Father, forgive. The Holy Spirit can then act in us. Let us also make an effort to care for a sick sister or brother, to help a family in need, and above all, to pray together for Christ to be present in our midst.
