by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Feb 18, 2019 | Evangelium
Bl. Alvarez of Corova
Alvarez entered the Dominican convent at Cordova in 1368. He became known for his preaching prowess in Spain and Italy. By the time of his death, he was famous all over Spain for his teaching, preaching, asceticism, and holiness. His cult was confirmed in 1741.
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Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 30: 3-4
Be my protector, O God, a mighty stronghold to save me. For you are my rock, my stronghold! Lead me, guide me, for the sake of your name.
Collect
O God, who teach us that you abide in hearts that are just and true, grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace as to become a dwelling pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Genesis 6:5-8, 7:1-5, 10
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that the thoughts in his heart fashioned nothing but wickedness all day long. The Lord regretted having made man on the earth, and his heart grieved. ‘I will rid the earth’s face of man, my own creation,’ the Lord said ‘and of animals also, reptiles too, and the birds of heaven; for I regret having made them.’ But Noah had found favour with the Lord. The Lord said to Noah, ‘Go aboard the ark, you and all your household, for you alone among this generation do I see as a good man in my judgement. Of all the clean animals you must take seven of each kind, both male and female; of the unclean animals you must take two, a male and its female (and of the birds of heaven also, seven of each kind, both male and female), to propagate their kind over the whole earth. For in seven days’ time I mean to make it rain on the earth for forty days and nights, and I will rid the earth of every living thing that I made.’ Noah did all that the Lord ordered. Seven days later the waters of the flood appeared on the earth.
Psalm 28 (29):1-4, 9-10
R/ The Lord will bless his people with peace.
1)Give the Lord, you sons of God, give the Lord glory and power; give the Lord the glory of his name. Adore the Lord in his holy court.
2) The Lord’s voice resounding on the waters, the Lord on the immensity of waters; the voice of the Lord, full of power, the voice of the Lord, full of splendour.
3) The God of glory thunders. In his temple they all cry: ‘Glory!’ The Lord sat enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits as king for ever.
Gospel Acclamation: cf. Ac. 16:14
Alleluia, alleluia!Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 8:14-21
The disciples had forgotten to take any food and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then he gave them this warning, ‘Keep your eyes open; be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’ And they said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ And Jesus knew it, and he said to them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear? Or do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ They answered, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ And they answered, ‘Seven.’ Then he said to them, ‘Are you still without perception?’
Prayer over the Offerings
May this oblation, O Lord, we pray, cleanse and renew us and may it become for those who do your will the source of eternal reward. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 77: 29-30
They ate and had their fill, and what they craved the Lord gave them; they were not disappointed in what they craved.
Prayer after Communion
Having fed upon these heavenly delights, we pray, O Lord, so that we may always long for that food by which we truly live. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
My security is in God. Most of us may not have gone for a boat ride, talk less of being in a boat when there is a storm. When the boat is being tossed about in the sea during the storm, the only thing to hang on to is the boat, which we hope will not capside. It may not be a sure source of security, but that is the only one available in the midst of the storm at sea. Today’s readings mention boats. The First Reading talks about an ark big enough to hold the various species of animals. The Gospel talks about a boat with a dozen or more men on it crossing the lake. But whether it is the big ark or that small boat, how do we perceive it? The ark is the refuge of life and the means of salvation. Outside the ark is the flood which destroys everything. In the boat and present in the midst of the disciples is the Lord of life and Saviour of all. But the disciples don’t seem to perceive it. As for us, how do we perceive God as we come for this Mass, or as we peruse these readings at home? May we hear the Word of Life and experience the saving love of God in the Eucharist.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Feb 17, 2019 | Evangelium
St. Simon
In St. Matthew’s Gospel, we read of St. Simon who is described as one of our Lord’s brethren or kinsmen. He is one of those brethren of Christ who are mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as having received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
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Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 30: 3-4
Be my protector, O God, a mighty stronghold to save me. For you are my rock, my stronghold! Lead me, guide me, for the sake of your name.
Collect
O God, who teach us that you abide in hearts that are just and true, grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace as to become a dwelling pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Genesis 4:1-15, 25
The man had intercourse with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. ‘I have acquired a man with the help of the Lord’ she said. She gave birth to a second child, Abel, the brother of Cain. Now Abel became a shepherd and kept flocks, while Cain tilled the soil. Time passed and Cain brought some of the produce of the soil as an offering for the Lord, while Abel for his part brought the first-born of his flock and some of their fat as well. The Lord looked with favour on Abel and his offering. But he did not look with favour on Cain and his offering, and Cain was very angry and downcast. The Lord asked Cain, ‘Why are you angry and downcast? If you are well disposed, ought you not to lift up your head? But if you are ill disposed, is not sin at the door like a crouching beast hungering for you, which you must master?’ Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let us go out’; and while they were in the open country, Cain set on his brother Abel and killed him. The Lord asked Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ ‘I do not know’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s guardian?’ ‘What have you done?’ the Lord asked. ‘Listen to the sound of your brother’s blood, crying out to me from the ground. Now be accursed and driven from the ground that has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood at your hands. When you till the ground it shall no longer yield you any of its produce. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer over the earth.’ Then Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear. See! Today you drive me from this ground. I must hide from you, and be a fugitive and a wanderer over the earth. Why, whoever comes across me will kill me!’ ‘Very well, then,’ the Lord replied ‘if anyone kills Cain, sevenfold vengeance shall be taken for him.’ So the Lord put a mark on Cain, to prevent whoever might come across him from striking him down. Adam had intercourse with his wife, and she gave birth to a son whom she named Seth, ‘because God has granted me other offspring’ she said ‘in place of Abel, since Cain has killed him.’
Psalm 49(50):1, 8, 16-17, 20-21
R Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.
1)The God of gods, the Lord, has spoken and summoned the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting. ‘I find no fault with your sacrifices, your offerings are always before me.’
2) ‘But how can you recite my commandments and take my covenant on your lips, you who despise my law and throw my words to the winds?
3) ‘You who sit and malign your brother and slander your own mother’s son. You do this, and should I keep silence? Do you think that I am like you?’
Gospel Acclamation: Ps 94:8
Alleluia, alleluia!Harden not your hearts today, but listen to the voice of the Lord. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 8:11-13
The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with Jesus; they demanded of him a sign from heaven, to test him. And with a sigh that came straight from the heart he said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.’ And leaving them again and re-embarking, he went away to the opposite shore.
Prayer over the Offerings
May this oblation, O Lord, we pray, cleanse and renew us and may it become for those who do your will the source of eternal reward. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 77: 29-30
They ate and had their fill, and what they craved the Lord gave them; they were not disappointed in what they craved
Prayer after Communion
Having fed upon these heavenly delights, we pray, O Lord, so that we may always long for that food by which we truly live. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
How many times have you grown envious and resentful of your mate, neighbour or colleague because you feel he is doing better? In the First Reading today, Cain killed Abel because Abel had a clean heart and hands. In the Gospel, the Jews came to question Jesus for signs of authority as the Messiah, for he was displacing them. Naturally, Cain was angry and downcast. God even talked to him, telling him to be well disposed for the sin of resentment and bitterness was waiting to devour him like a crouching beast. But Cain did not listen to God, and letting his anger develop into resentment and bitterness, he committed the first murder which is recorded in the Bible. God is always speaking to us, but are we listening to Him? If only we were aware of the emotions within us, the signs that are in us, then we would know how God speaks to us.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Feb 16, 2019 | Evangelium
SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: Psalter II
THE SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS OF THE SERVITE ORDER
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Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 30: 3-4
Be my protector, O God, a mighty stronghold to save me. For you are my rock, my stronghold! Lead me, guide me, for the sake of your name.
Collect
O God, who teach us that you abide in hearts that are just and true, grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace as to become a dwelling pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Jeremiah 17:5-8
The Lord says this: ‘A curse on the man who puts his trust in man, who relies on things of flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord. He is like dry scrub in the wastelands: if good comes, he has no eyes for it, he settles in the parched places of the wilderness, a salt land, uninhabited. ‘A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord, with the Lord for his hope. He is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it feels no alarm, its foliage stays green; it has no worries in a year of drought, and never ceases to bear fruit.’
Psalm 1:1-4,6
R) Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
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.
Second reading: 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20
If Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead? For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. And what is more serious, all who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people. But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.
Gospel Acclamation: Mt 11:25
Alleluia, alleluia!Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom to mere children. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 6:17, 20-26
Jesus came down with the Twelve and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said: ‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God. Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied. Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh. Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets. ‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now. Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry. Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep. ‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’
Prayer over the Offerings
May this oblation, O Lord, we pray, cleanse and renew us and may it become for those who do your will the source of eternal reward. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 77: 29-30
They ate and had their fill, and what they craved the Lord gave them; they were not disappointed in what they craved.
Prayer after Communion
Having fed upon these heavenly delights, we pray, O Lord, so that we may always long for that food by which we truly live. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Crosses that draw us closer to God.In our Gospel today, Jesus did not say that poverty, or hunger, or sadness, or hatred is a blessing. Instead, he said that people are blessed when they are poor, hungry, weeping and hated if and only if these conditions of need and dependence make them rely on God. When we rely on God, we are who we are meant to be, humans in relationship with God our creator. So the poverty, hunger, weeping, hatred, or whatever our cross is can be an instrument to draw us closer to God. Whatever cross we have in our lives is there for a purpose, to keep us close to God. In that sense our cross is also our blessing. Of course Jesus does not mean that in itself it is good to be poor, hungry, weeping or hated. Poverty, hunger, sadness, and hatred are social problems we should strive to conquer. Jesus told the parable of the rich man and Lazarus to remind those with a surplus to help the needy (Luke 16:19-31). When we are rich, filled now, laughing now and are well spoken of now, we may be tempted to forget about God. We may be tempted to treat the gifts of God as gods. So what looks like a blessing in the eyes of the world can, from the spiritual point of view, turn out to be a curse and vice versa.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Feb 15, 2019 | Evangelium
St Daniel
Daniel and his four companions (Elias, Isaias, Jeremy and Samuel) were Egyptians who visited Christians condemned to work in the mines of Cilicia during Maximus’ persecution, to comfort them. Apprehended, they were all tortured and then beheaded.
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Entrance Antiphon: Ps 94: 6-7
O come, let us worship God and bow low before the God who made us, for he is the Lord our God.
Collect
Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care, that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace, they may be defended always by your protection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Genesis 3:9-24
The Lord God called to the man. ‘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. To the woman he said: ‘I will multiply your pains in childbearing, you shall give birth to your children in pain. Your yearning shall be for your husband, yet he will lord it over you.’ To the man he said, ‘Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, ‘Accursed be the soil because of you. With suffering shall you get your food from it every day of your life. It shall yield you brambles and thistles, and you shall eat wild plants. With sweat on your brow shall you eat your bread, until you return to the soil, as you were taken from it. For dust you are and to dust you shall return.’ The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live. The Lord God made clothes out of skins for the man and his wife, and they put them on. Then the Lord God said, ‘See, the man has become like one of us, with his knowledge of good and evil. He must not be allowed to stretch his hand out next and pick from the tree of life also, and eat some and live for ever.’ So the Lord God expelled him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he had been taken. He banished the man, and in front of the garden of Eden he posted the cherubs, and the flame of a flashing sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.
Psalm 89 (90):2-6, 12-13
R) O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
1)Before the mountains were born or the earth or the world brought forth, you are God, without beginning or end.
2) You turn men back to dust and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’ To your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday, come and gone, no more than a watch in the night.
3) You sweep men away like a dream, like the grass which springs up in the morning. In the morning it springs up and flowers: by evening it withers and fades.
4) Make us know the shortness of our life that we may gain wisdom of heart. Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever? Show pity to your servants.
Gospel Acclamation: Mt. 4:4
Alleluia, alleluia!Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 8:1-10
A great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat. So Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. If I send them off home hungry they will collapse on the way; some have come a great distance.’ His disciples replied, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place like this?’ He asked them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ ‘Seven’ they said. Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them among the crowd. They had a few small fish as well, and over these he said a blessing and ordered them to be distributed also. They ate as much as they wanted, and they collected seven baskets full of the scraps left over. Now there had been about four thousand people. He sent them away and immediately, getting into the boat with his disciples, went to the region of Dalmanutha.
Prayer over the Offerings
O Lord, our God, who once established these created things to sustain us in our frailty, grant, we pray, that they may become for us now the Sacrament of eternal life. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 106: 8-9
Let them thank the Lord for his mercy, his wonders for the children of men, for he satisfies the thirsty soul, and the hungry he fills with good things.
Prayer after Communion
O God, who have willed that we be partakers in the one Bread and the one Chalice, grant us, we pray, so to live that, made one in Christ, we may joyfully bear fruit for the salvation of the world. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Sin and suffering.Many questions have been asked about sin and suffering, especially innocent suffering or suffering as a consequence of other people’s sin. Some may even question the inheritance of Original Sin for which we should not be liable. We will always have our questions about sin and suffering. But let us listen to what questions God is asking us. In the First Reading, we hear God asking the question: “Where are you?” So even though Adam and Even had sinned, God did not abandon them but searched for them. In the Gospel, we hear Jesus asking another question: “How many loaves have you?” Jesus was not looking at the limitations; he was more interested in possibilities. God is reaching out to us with his questions so that we may look again at our questions about life, about sin and about suffering. Jesus is asking us to put the loaves of our lives with our questions into His hands. From his hands we will receive the Bread of Life that will give us faith and hope.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Feb 14, 2019 | Evangelium
ST. WALFRID
He was born in Pisa. He married and had five sons and at least one daughter. After a time, they decided to follow the Benedictine Rule of Monte Casino. St. Walfrid’s cultus was confirmed in 1861.
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Entrance Antiphon: Ps 94: 6-7
O come, let us worship God and bow low before the God who made us, for he is the Lord our God.
Collect
Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care, that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace, they may be defended always by your protection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Genesis 3:1-8
The serpent was the most subtle of all the wild beasts that the Lord God had made. It asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?’ The woman answered the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, “You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death.” ‘ Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘No! You will not die! God knows in fact that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.’ The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was desirable for the knowledge that it could give. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She gave some also to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised that they were naked. So they sewed fig-leaves together to make themselves loin-cloths. The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Psalm 31 (32):1-2, 5-7
R) Happy the man whose offence is forgiven.
1)Happy the man whose offence is forgiven, whose sin is remitted. O happy the man to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no guile.
2) But now I have acknowledged my sins; my guilt I did not hide. I said: ‘I will confess my offence to the Lord.’ And you, Lord, have forgiven the guilt of my sin.
3) So let every good man pray to you in the time of need. The floods of water may reach high but him they shall not reach.
4) You are my hiding place, O Lord; you save me from distress. You surround me with cries of deliverance.
Gospel Acclamation: cf. Jn 6:63, 68
Alleluia, alleluia!Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life; you have the message of eternal life. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 7:31-37
Returning from the district of Tyre, Jesus went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, right through the Decapolis region. And they brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the man’s ears and touched his tongue with spittle. Then looking up to heaven he sighed; and he said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And his ears were opened, and the ligament of his tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly. And Jesus ordered them to tell no one about it, but the more he insisted, the more widely they published it. Their admiration was unbounded. ‘He has done all things well,’ they said ‘he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.’
Prayer over the Offerings
O Lord, our God, who once established these created things to sustain us in our frailty, grant, we pray, that they may become for us now the Sacrament of eternal life. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 106: 8-9
Let them thank the Lord for his mercy, his wonders for the children of men, for he satisfies the thirsty soul, and the hungry he fills with good things.
Prayer after Communion
O God, who have willed that we be partakers in the one Bread and the one Chalice, grant us, we pray, so to live that, made one in Christ, we may joyfully bear fruit for the salvation of the world. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Guilt, fear, then remorse. The readings of today confront us with the question of guilt, that feeling of responsibility or remorse for an offence we have committed. We are familiar with the feeling of shame that comes when we offend someone that we love. We also know the feeling of guilt that accompanies sin, an offence against God almighty. Adam and Eve also experienced guilt. Immediately after they had sinned by disobeying God, Adam and Eve felt the same guilt that we feel when we sin. And they felt something else, fear. We fear retribution or punishment from the one offended. How can I go from the negative feeling of guilt to the positive feeling of joy and hope? Christ exhorts us not only to have remorse and sorrow for our sins, but also to come to him for forgiveness. Fear can hinder us from seeking the forgiveness of God. It is important to seek forgiveness as soon as we experience guilt and sorrow for our sin. Another hindrance to seeking forgiveness is a feeling that my sin is just too terrible, that God can’t forgive me. What is your attitude towards the Sacrament of Reconciliation?
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Feb 13, 2019 | Evangelium
St. Cyril, Monk and St Methodius, Bishop (826 – 885)
He was born in Thessalonica. With his brother Cyril he went to Moravia to preach the faith. They translated liturgical texts and invented the Glagolithic and the Cyrillic alphabet. He died in 885.
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Entrance Antiphon
These are holy men who became friends of God, glorious heralds of divine truth.
Collect
O God, who enlightened the Slavic peoples through the brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius, grant that our hearts may grasp the words of your teaching, and perfect us as a people of one accord in true faith and right confession. 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 2:18-25
The Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate.’ So from the soil the Lord God fashioned all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven. These he brought to the man to see what he would call them; each one was to bear the name the man would give it. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven and all the wild beasts. But no helpmate suitable for man was found for him. So the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. The Lord God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. The man exclaimed: ‘This at last is bone from my bones, and flesh from my flesh! This is to be called woman, for this was taken from man.’ This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body. Now both of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they felt no shame in front of each other.
Psalm 127(128):1-5
R) O blessed are those who fear the Lord.
1)blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways! By the labour of your hands you shall eat. You will be happy and prosper.
2) Your wife will be like a fruitful vine in the heart of your house; your children like shoots of the olive, around your table.
3) Indeed thus shall be blessed the man who fears the Lord. May the Lord bless you from Zion all the days of your life!
Gospel Acclamation: Ps. 144:13
Alleluia, alleluia!The Lord is faithful in all his words and loving in all his deeds. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 7:24-30
Jesus left Gennesaret and set out for the territory of Tyre. There he went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not pass unrecognised. A woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him straight-away and came and fell at his feet. Now the woman was a pagan, by birth a Syrophoenician, and she begged him to cast the devil out of her daughter. And he said to her, ‘The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ But she spoke up: ‘Ah yes, sir,’ she replied ‘but the house-dogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps.’ And he said to her, ‘For saying this, you may go home happy: the devil has gone out of your daughter.’ So she went off to her home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone.
Prayer over the Offerings
Look, O Lord, upon the offerings which we bring before your majesty in commemoration of Saints Cyril and Methodius, and grant that these gifts may become the sign of a new humanity, reconciled to you in loving charity. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Mk 16: 20
The disciples went forth and preached the Gospel, while the Lord worked with them, confirming the word through accompanying signs.
Prayer after Communion
O God, Father of all nations, who make us sharers in the one Bread and the one Spirit and heirs of the eternal banquet, grant in your kindness on this feast day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, that the multitude of your children, persevering in the same faith, may be united in building up the Kingdom of justice and peace. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Three important messages stand out in our Gospel of today. First, making demands on behalf of the weak and afflicted requires risk-taking. Then, figures of authority must be open to requests from the weak and despised. Finally, doing good demands persistence. Jesus’ initial response to the woman reminds me of how easy it is for figures of authority to reject requests from people because of their race, education, age, sex, social status, etc. However, unlike most powerful people, Jesus changes course and grants the woman’s request. He doesn’t just walk away or tell his disciples to get rid of her. This should remind decision-makers to LISTEN to petitioners with respect rather than ignore them for an arbitrary reason. Finally, this reading teaches that we must persist when we fight for justice. We shouldn’t fold the first time someone says no. Jesus’ ultimate response to the woman gives us hope that we will win.
