by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Sep 4, 2021 | Evangelium
Sunday
05
September
Pope St. Gregory the Great
(540 – 604)
White
He was elected Pope on 3rd September 590, the first monk to be elected to this office. He wrote extensively on pastoral care, spirituality, and morals, and designated himself “servant of the servants of God.” He died on 12th March 604.
Entrance Antiphon
Blessed Gregory, raised upon the throne of Peter, sought always the beauty of the Lord and lived in celebration of that love.
Collect
O God, who care for your people with gentleness and rule them in love, through the intercession of Pope Saint Gregory, endow, we pray, with a spirit of wisdom those to whom you have given authority to govern, that the flourishing of a holy flock may become the eternal joy of the shepherds. 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: Colossians 1:15-20
Christ Jesus is the image of the unseen God and the first-born of all creation, for in him were created
all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible, Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers – all things were created through him and for him. Before anything was created, he existed, and he holds all things in unity. Now the Church is his body, he is its head. As he is the Beginning, he was first to be born from the dead, so that he should be first in every way; because God wanted all perfection to be found in him and all things to be reconciled through him and for him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, when he made peace by his death on the cross.
Psalm 99(100):2-5
R/ Come before the Lord, singing for joy.
1. Serve the Lord with gladness.Come before him, singing for joy.
2. Know that he, the Lord, is God.He made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
3. Go within his gates, giving thanks. Enter his courts with songs of praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name.
4. Indeed, how good is the Lord, eternal his merciful love. He is faithful from age to age.
Gospel Acclamation: cf.Ps18:9
Alleluia, alleluia! Your words gladden the heart, O Lord, they give light to the eyes. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 5:33-39
WThe Pharisees and the scribes said to Jesus, ‘John’s disciples are always fasting and saying prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees too, but yours go on eating and drinking.’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely you cannot make the bridegroom’s attendants fast while the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come, the time for the bridegroom to be taken away from them; that will be the time when they will fast.’ He also told them this parable, ‘No one tears a piece from a new cloak to put it on an old cloak; if he does, not only will he have torn the new one, but the piece taken from the new will not match the old. ‘And nobody puts new wine into old skins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and then run out, and the skins will be lost. No; new wine must be put into fresh skins. And nobody who has been drinking old wine wants new. “The old is good” he says.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Grant our supplication, we pray, O Lord, that this sacrifice we present in celebration of Saint Gregory may be for our good, since through its offering you have loosed the offences of all the world. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Lk 12:42
This is the steward, faithful and prudent, whom the Lord set over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time.
Prayer after Communion
Through Christ the teacher, O Lord, instruct those you feed with Christ, the living Bread, that on the feast day of Saint Gregory they may learn your truth and express it in works of charity. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Perhaps, we can readily rattle all the titles and names of Jesus which we have read in books or heard in sermons and inspirational songs. The question remains whether any of these titles has an impact in our lives and relationship with Jesus. We could simply be like the Apostles saying what they had heard others say about Jesus. He asks us today: “But you, who do you say that I am?” This is a personal question. It demands a personal answer. Such an answer ought to be based on a personal experience of an encounter with Jesus. This is the task of our spiritual journey.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Sep 3, 2021 | Evangelium
Saturday
04
September
Blessed Dina Bélanger
(1897 – 1929)
Green / White
She was born on 30 April 1897 in Québec and at the recommendation of her parish priest she went to New York to study at the Institute of Musical Art, with the intention of becoming a concert pianist. On her return home, she decided to enter the religious life in the Congregation of Jésus-Marie at Sillery, where the nuns had their mother house.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 85: 3, 5
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to you all the day long. O Lord, you are good and forgiving, full of mercy to all who call to you.
Collect
God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name, so that, by deepening our sense of reverence, you may nurture in us what is good and, by your watchful care, keep safe what you have nurtured. 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: Colossians 1:21-23
Not long ago, you were foreigners and enemies, in the way that you used to think and the evil things that you did; but now he has reconciled you, by his death and in that mortal body. Now you are able to appear before him holy, pure and blameless – as long as you persevere and stand firm on the solid base of the faith, never letting yourselves drift away from the hope promised by the Good News, which you have heard, which has been preached to the whole human race, and of which I, Paul, have become the servant.
Psalm 53(54):3-4,6,8
R/ I have God for my help.
1. O God, save me by your name; by your power, uphold my cause. O God, hear my prayer listen to the words of my mouth.
2. But I have God for my help. The Lord upholds my life. I will sacrifice to you with willing heart and praise your name for it is good:
Gospel Acclamation: Ps26:11
Alleluia, alleluia! Instruct me, Lord, in your way; on an even path lead me. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 6:1-5
One sabbath Jesus happened to be taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples were picking ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands and eating them. Some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing something that is forbidden on the sabbath day?’ Jesus answered them, ‘So you have not read what David did when he and his followers were hungry how he went into the house of God, took the loaves of offering and ate them and gave them to his followers, loaves which only the priests are allowed to eat?’ And he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is master of the sabbath.’
Prayer over the Offerings
May this sacred offering, O Lord, confer on us always the blessing of salvation, that what it celebrates in mystery it may accomplish in power. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 30: 20
How great is the goodness, Lord, that you keep for those who fear you.
Prayer after Communion
Renewed by this bread from the heavenly table, we beseech you, Lord, that, being the food of charity, it may confirm our hearts and stir us to serve you in our neighbour. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Sunday, the weekly celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection, is the “new Sabbath”, the fulfilment of the Sabbath. On Sundays, the faithful are to abstain from labour and business concerns which impede the worship to be rendered to God, the joy which is proper to the Lord’s Day or the proper relaxation of mind and body. The issue in the objection of the Pharisees is not so much the Sabbath, but their exaggerated multiplication and detailed expansion of laws. In the end, holiness would be more about keeping laws and less about loving God. Jesus teaches otherwise.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Sep 2, 2021 | Evangelium
Friday
03
September
Pope St. Gregory the Great
(540 – 604)
White
He was elected Pope on 3rd September 590, the first monk to be elected to this office. He wrote extensively on pastoral care, spirituality, and morals, and designated himself “servant of the servants of God.” He died on 12th March 604.
Entrance Antiphon
Blessed Gregory, raised upon the throne of Peter, sought always the beauty of the Lord and lived in celebration of that love.
Collect
O God, who care for your people with gentleness and rule them in love, through the intercession of Pope Saint Gregory, endow, we pray, with a spirit of wisdom those to whom you have given authority to govern, that the flourishing of a holy flock may become the eternal joy of the shepherds. 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: Colossians 1:15-20
Christ Jesus is the image of the unseen God and the first-born of all creation, for in him were created
all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible, Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers – all things were created through him and for him. Before anything was created, he existed, and he holds all things in unity. Now the Church is his body, he is its head. As he is the Beginning, he was first to be born from the dead, so that he should be first in every way; because God wanted all perfection to be found in him and all things to be reconciled through him and for him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, when he made peace by his death on the cross.
Psalm 99(100):2-5
R/ Come before the Lord, singing for joy.
1. Serve the Lord with gladness.Come before him, singing for joy.
2. Know that he, the Lord, is God.He made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
3. Go within his gates, giving thanks. Enter his courts with songs of praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name.
4. Indeed, how good is the Lord, eternal his merciful love. He is faithful from age to age.
Gospel Acclamation: cf.Ps18:9
Alleluia, alleluia! Your words gladden the heart, O Lord, they give light to the eyes. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 5:33-39
WThe Pharisees and the scribes said to Jesus, ‘John’s disciples are always fasting and saying prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees too, but yours go on eating and drinking.’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely you cannot make the bridegroom’s attendants fast while the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come, the time for the bridegroom to be taken away from them; that will be the time when they will fast.’ He also told them this parable, ‘No one tears a piece from a new cloak to put it on an old cloak; if he does, not only will he have torn the new one, but the piece taken from the new will not match the old. ‘And nobody puts new wine into old skins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and then run out, and the skins will be lost. No; new wine must be put into fresh skins. And nobody who has been drinking old wine wants new. “The old is good” he says.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Grant our supplication, we pray, O Lord, that this sacrifice we present in celebration of Saint Gregory may be for our good, since through its offering you have loosed the offences of all the world. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Lk 12:42
This is the steward, faithful and prudent, whom the Lord set over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time.
Prayer after Communion
Through Christ the teacher, O Lord, instruct those you feed with Christ, the living Bread, that on the feast day of Saint Gregory they may learn your truth and express it in works of charity. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Perhaps, we can readily rattle all the titles and names of Jesus which we have read in books or heard in sermons and inspirational songs. The question remains whether any of these titles has an impact in our lives and relationship with Jesus. We could simply be like the Apostles saying what they had heard others say about Jesus. He asks us today: “But you, who do you say that I am?” This is a personal question. It demands a personal answer. Such an answer ought to be based on a personal experience of an encounter with Jesus. This is the task of our spiritual journey.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Sep 1, 2021 | Evangelium
Thursday
02
September
Blessed André Grasset
(1758 – 1792)
Green
He was born in Montréal on 3rd April 1758 and ordained a priest in 1783. In the face of persecution he took shelter with the Eudist Fathers in Paris. He was executed in 1792 together with almost 200 other priests. He was beatified by Pope Pius XI on 17 October 1926.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 85: 3, 5
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to you all the day long. O Lord, you are good and forgiving, full of mercy to all who call to you.
Collect
God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name, so that, by deepening our sense of reverence, you may nurture in us what is good and, by your watchful care, keep safe what you have nurtured. 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: Colossians 1:9-14
Ever since the day we heard about you, we have never failed to pray for you, and what we ask God is that through perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding you should reach the fullest knowledge of his will. So you will be able to lead the kind of life which the Lord expects of you, a life acceptable to him in all its aspects; showing the results in all the good actions you do and increasing your knowledge of God. You will have in you the strength, based on his own glorious power, never to give in, but to bear anything joyfully, thanking the Father who has made it possible for you to join the saints and with them to inherit the light. Because that is what he has done: he has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves, and in him, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.
Psalm 97(98):2-6
R/ The Lord has made known his salvation.
1. 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.
2. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout to the Lord, all the earth, ring out your joy.
3. Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp with the sound of music. With trumpets and the sound of the horn acclaim the King, the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation: 2Thess2:14
Alleluia, alleluia! Through the Good News God called us to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 5:1-11
Jesus was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of two boats close to the bank. The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats – it was Simon’s – and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point. When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’ Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.
Prayer over the Offerings
May this sacred offering, O Lord, confer on us always the blessing of salvation, that what it celebrates in mystery it may accomplish in power. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 30: 20
How great is the goodness, Lord, that you keep for those who fear you.
Prayer after Communion
Renewed by this bread from the heavenly table, we beseech you, Lord, that, being the food of charity, it may confirm our hearts and stir us to serve you in our neighbour. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Simon has every reason to disregard the instruction of Jesus, for he is a professional fisherman and Jesus is a carpenter. But Simon follows Jesus; and the result? A huge catch! Sometimes we have too much confidence in what we know, or in our experience of life, or we get stuck in our little world. It is sad, especially when it goes to the extent that we close up to the promptings of God. Sometimes what God expects of us may not seem to align with human logic or with our expectations. We need to be like Simon, to listen to God, and to follow his will all the same.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Aug 31, 2021 | Evangelium
Wednesday
01
September
St. Giles
(c.650 – c.710)
Green
St. Giles was a seventh century Athenian of noble birth. His piety and learning made him an object of great admiration. He spent many years in solitude with God. He founded a monastery with an excellent discipline therein. St. Giles died in about the year 710.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 85: 3, 5
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to you all the day long. O Lord, you are good and forgiving, full of mercy to all who call to you.
Collect
God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name, so that, by deepening our sense of reverence, you may nurture in us what is good and, by your watchful care, keep safe what you have nurtured. 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: Colossians 1:1-8
From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy to the saints in Colossae, our faithful brothers in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. We have never failed to remember you in our prayers and to give thanks for you to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ever since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you show towards all the saints because of the hope, which is stored up for you in heaven. It is only recently that you heard of this, when it was announced in the message of the truth. The Good News which has reached you is spreading all over the world and producing the same results as it has among you ever since the day when you heard about God’s grace and understood what this really is. Epaphras, who taught you, is one of our closest fellow workers and a faithful deputy for us as Christ’s servant, and it was he who told us all about your love in the Spirit.
Psalm 51(52):10-11
R/ I trust in the goodness of God forever and ever.
1. I am like a growing olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the goodness of God forever and ever.
2. I will thank you for evermore; for this is your doing. I will proclaim that your name is good, in the presence of your friends.
Gospel Acclamation: 1P1:25
Alleluia, alleluia! The word of the Lord remains for ever: What is this word? It is the Good News that has been brought to you. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 4:38-44
Leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever and they asked him to do something for her. Leaning over her he rebuked the fever and it left her. And she immediately got up and began to wait on them. At sunset all those who had friends suffering from diseases of one kind or another brought them to him, and laying his hands on each he cured them. Devils too came out of many people, howling, ‘You are the Son of God.’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ. When daylight came he left the house and made his way to a lonely place. The crowds went to look for him, and when they had caught up with him they wanted to prevent him leaving them, but he answered, ‘I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do.’ And he continued his preaching in the synagogues of Judaea.
Prayer over the Offerings
May this sacred offering, O Lord, confer on us always the blessing of salvation, that what it celebrates in mystery it may accomplish in power. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 30: 20
How great is the goodness, Lord, that you keep for those who fear you.
Prayer after Communion
Renewed by this bread from the heavenly table, we beseech you, Lord, that, being the food of charity, it may confirm our hearts and stir us to serve you in our neighbour. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Sometimes we imagine there’s not much we can do for others who are suffering, especially from diseases. We seek medical attention in various places. We must also always remember to bring them to Jesus, like those in the Gospel. Jesus is the supreme physician, who cures the soul, and then the body if it is his will. This is the power of intercession, when we lift others up in prayer. In addition, we must not forget the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick in which we encounter the same Jesus who cured Simon’s mother and all the other sick people.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Aug 30, 2021 | Evangelium
TUESDAY
31
August
St Aidan
(d. 651)
Green
He was born in Ireland and became a monk of Iona. He preached the Gospel, founded churches and monasteries, and freed slaves throughout the kingdom. He died at Bamburgh in Northumberland in 651.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 85: 3, 5
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to you all the day long. O Lord, you are good and forgiving, full of mercy to all who call to you.
Collect
God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name, so that, by deepening our sense of reverence, you may nurture in us what is good and, by your watchful care, keep safe what you have nurtured. 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 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11
You will not be expecting us to write anything to you, brothers, about ‘times and seasons’, since you know very well that the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night. It is when people are saying, ‘How quiet and peaceful it is’ that the worst suddenly happens, as suddenly as labour pains come on a pregnant woman; and there will be no way for anybody to evade it. But it is not as if you live in the dark, my brothers, for that Day to overtake you like a thief. No, you are all sons of light and sons of the day: we do not belong to the night or to darkness, so we should not go on sleeping, as everyone else does, but stay wide awake and sober. God never meant us to experience the Retribution, but to win salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that, alive or dead, we should still live united to him. So give encouragement to each other, and keep strengthening one another, as you do already.
Psalm 26 (27):1, 4, 13-14
R/ I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
1. The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; before whom shall I shrink?
2. There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long, to live in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life, to savour the sweetness of the Lord, to behold his temple.
3. I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!
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: Luke 4:31-37
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean devil, and it shouted at the top of its voice, ‘Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the devil, throwing the man down in front of everyone, went out of him without hurting him at all. Astonishment seized them and they were all saying to one another, ‘What teaching! He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.’ And reports of him went all through the surrounding countryside.
Prayer over the Offerings
May this sacred offering, O Lord, confer on us always the blessing of salvation, that what it celebrates in mystery it may accomplish in power. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 30: 20
How great is the goodness, Lord, that you keep for those who fear you.
Prayer after Communion
Renewed by this bread from the heavenly table, we beseech you, Lord, that, being the food of charity, it may confirm our hearts and stir us to serve you in our neighbour. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Like many believers at the time, the believers in Thessalonica were expecting Jesus to return very soon and usher in the kingdom in its fullness. Paul, however, sets the record straight indicating that they should not worry about when Jesus will come again, but should instead concentrate on how ready they will be. Paul’s advice is just as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago. In the Gospel, Jesus preaches in the synagogue with authority because he is authority incarnate- the Word made flesh. While Jesus’s duty is to preach with authority, ours is to approach God’s Word submissively and with an eagerness to do everything the Lord desires. Are you eager to be taught by the Lord and to conform your life to His Word?
