by L'équipe de publication | Nov 27, 2024 | Evangelium
Saint Catherine Laboure
Green
St. Catherine Laboure, virgin, was born on May 2, 1806. At an early age she entered the community of the Daughters of Charity in France. Three times in 1830 the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Catherine Laboure, who then was a twenty-four-year-old novice. She died in 1876.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 84: 9
The Lord speaks of peace to his people and his holy ones and to those who turn to him.
Collect
Stir up the will of your faithful, we pray, O Lord, that, striving more eagerly to bring your divine work to fruitful completion, they may receive in greater measure the healing remedies your kindness bestows. 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 : Apocalypse18:1-2, 21-23, 19:1-3,9
I, John, saw an angel come down from heaven, with great authority given to him; the earth was lit up with his glory. At the top of his voice he shouted, ‘Babylon has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen, and has become the haunt of devils and a lodging for every foul spirit and dirty, loathsome bird. Then a powerful angel picked up a boulder like a great millstone, and as he hurled it into the sea, he said, ‘That is how the great city of Babylon is going to be hurled down, never to be seen again. Never again in you, Babylon, will be heard the song of harpists and minstrels, the music of flute and trumpet; never again will craftsmen of every skill be found or the sound of the mill be heard; never again will shine the light of the lamp, never again will be heard the voices of bridegroom and bride. Your traders were the princes of the earth, all the nations were under your spell. After this I seemed to hear the great sound of a huge crowd in heaven, singing, ‘Alleluia! Victory and glory and power to our God! He judges fairly, he punishes justly, and he has condemned the famous prostitute who corrupted the earth with her fornication; he has avenged his servants that she killed.’ They sang again, ‘Alleluia! The smoke of her will go up for ever and ever.’ The angel said, ‘Write this: Happy are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb’, and he added, ‘All the things you have written are true messages from God.’
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 99:2-5
R/ Happy are those who are invited to the wedding-feast of the Lamb.
Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing for joy.
Know that he, the Lord, is God. He made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Go within his gates, giving thanks. Enter his courts with songs of praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name.
Indeed, how good is the Lord, eternal his merciful love. He is faithful from age to age.
Gospel Acclamation : Mt24:42,44
Alleluia, alleluia! Stay awake and stand ready, because you do not know the hour when the Son of Man is coming. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 21:20-28
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you must realise that she will soon be laid desolate. Then those in Judaea must escape to the mountains, those inside the city must leave it, and those in country districts must not take refuge in it. For this is the time of vengeance when all that Scripture says must be fulfilled. Alas for those with child, or with babies at the breast, when those days come! They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive to every pagan country; and Jerusalem will be trampled down by the pagans until the age of the pagans is completely over. ‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, O Lord, the sacred offerings which at your bidding we dedicate to your name and, in order that through these gifts we may become worthy of your love, grant us unfailing obedience to your commands. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 116: 1, 2
O praise the Lord, all you nations, for his merciful love towards us is great.
Prayer after Communion
We pray, almighty God, that those to whom you give the joy of participating in divine mysteries may never be parted from you. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Jesus makes predictions about the world’s end and Jerusalem’s destruction. We are terrified by these prophecies, and the idea of the world’s end also makes us consider our mortality. We frequently avoid thinking about this out of fear. Jesus warns the people not to fall for deception because individuals will come telling them things, and there will be indications and symptoms when they are asked when such destruction will occur. Following Jesus’ teaching and example, it is crucial to make an effort to balance one’s relationships with God and one’s neighbours. When this equilibrium is achieved and maintained, we no longer need to worry about when the end will occur since we are prepared for whether it will occur today or tomorrow. As Christians, we are responsible for paying attention to the voice of Jesus when He instructs us in these words: “When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.”.
by L'équipe de publication | Nov 26, 2024 | Evangelium
Saint Ferga (c.700 – 784)
Green/White
He is also known as Vergilius of Salzburg. He was born of a noble family and educated in the monastery at Iona. In 745 he left Ireland on pilgrimage. He became Abbot of St Peter’s at Salzburg. He engaged in controversy with St Boniface, but on Boniface’s martyrdom he became his successor as Bishop of Salzburg in 767.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 84: 9
The Lord speaks of peace to his people and his holy ones and to those who turn to him.
Collect
Stir up the will of your faithful, we pray, O Lord, that, striving more eagerly to bring your divine work to fruitful completion, they may receive in greater measure the healing remedies your kindness bestows. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Apocalypse 15:1-4
What I, John, saw in heaven was a great and wonderful sign: seven angels were bringing the seven plagues that are the last of all, because they exhaust the anger of God. I seemed to see a glass lake suffused with fire, and standing by the lake of glass, those who had fought against the beast and won, and against his statue and the number which is his name. They all had harps from God, and they were singing the hymn of Moses, the servant of God, and of the Lamb: ‘How great and wonderful are all your works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are all your ways, King of nations. Who would not revere and praise your name, O Lord? You alone are holy, and all the pagans will come and adore you for the many acts of justice you have shown.’
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
97(98):1-3,7-9
R/ How great and wonderful are all your works, Lord God almighty.
Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation.
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.
Let the sea and all within it, thunder; the world, and all its peoples. Let the rivers clap their hands and the hills ring out their joy at the presence of the Lord.
For the Lord comes, he comes to rule the earth. He will rule the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.
Gospel Acclamation: Lk21:36
Alleluia, alleluia! Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to stand with confidence before the Son of Man. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 21:12-19
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name – and that will be your opportunity to bear witness. Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, O Lord, the sacred offerings which at your bidding we dedicate to your name and, in order that through these gifts we may become worthy of your love, grant us unfailing obedience to your commands. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 116: 1, 2
O praise the Lord, all you nations, for his merciful love towards us is great.
Prayer after Communion
We pray, almighty God, that those to whom you give the joy of participating in divine mysteries may never be parted from you. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Discipleship entails paying a cost. The disciple is not greater than the master. If Jesus was persecuted by men of his time, the disciple cannot expect a fairer treatment. Persecutions and trials are however opportunities to test our fidelity in Jesus, opportunities to bear witness for Jesus. In the Acts of the Apostles we see how the early Christians were harassed and killed, but these persecutions and the blood of the martyrs became the seed that grew the faith. The early church thrived despite the intense persecution. Jesus tells us that in these persecutions, Christians will be betrayed even by members of their families. .Jesus assures us of the Father’s providential care in the midst of persecutions – not a hair of our head will perish. The key to victory over persecution is perseverance. We must stand firm, fight the good fight and run the race to the end.
by L'équipe de publication | Nov 25, 2024 | Evangelium
Saint Leonard of Porto Maurizio (1676 – 1751)
Green
Leonard was born in Porto Maurizio in 1676. He joined the Franciscan order and for forty-seven years preached, wrote letters and sermons, and travelled the whole length of Italy. The popularity of the Stations of the Cross is much due to the impetus he gave to the devotion. He died at Rome in 1751.
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 84: 9
The Lord speaks of peace to his people and his holy ones and to those who turn to him.
Collect
Stir up the will of your faithful, we pray, O Lord, that, striving more eagerly to bring your divine work to fruitful completion, they may receive in greater measure the healing remedies your kindness bestows. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Apocalypse 14:14-19
In my vision I, John, saw a white cloud and, sitting on it, one like a son of man with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the sanctuary, and shouted aloud to the one sitting on the cloud, ‘Put your sickle in and reap: harvest time has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ Then the one sitting on the cloud set his sickle to work on the earth, and the earth’s harvest was reaped. Another angel, who also carried a sharp sickle, came out of the temple in heaven, and the angel in charge of the fire left the altar and shouted aloud to the one with the sharp sickle, ‘Put your sickle in and cut all the bunches off the vine of the earth; all its grapes are ripe.’ So the angel set his sickle to work on the earth and harvested the whole vintage of the earth and put it into a huge winepress, the winepress of God’s anger.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 95(96):10-13
R/ The Lord comes to rule the earth.
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’ The world he made firm in its place; he will judge the peoples in fairness.
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.
With justice he will rule the world, he will judge the peoples with his truth.
Gospel Acclamation: Lk21:28
Alleluia, alleluia! Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 21:5-11
When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said, ‘All these things you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.’ And they put to him this question: ‘Master,’ they said ‘when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?’ ‘Take care not to be deceived,’ he said ‘because many will come using my name and saying, “I am he” and, “The time is near at hand.” Refuse to join them. And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, O Lord, the sacred offerings which at your bidding we dedicate to your name and, in order that through these gifts we may become worthy of your love, grant us unfailing obedience to your commands. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Ps 116: 1, 2
O praise the Lord, all you nations, for his merciful love towards us is great.
Prayer after Communion
We pray, almighty God, that those to whom you give the joy of participating in divine mysteries may never be parted from you. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Every generation thinks they are living through the end times because of escalating violence, terrorism, religious persecution, natural disasters and wars among nations. Some fundamentalists and doomsday prophets have stirred up end-time panic attacks on Christians by reading the signs of the times in the light of the great tribulation that will precede the end of the world. Catastrophic events do not allow us to predict how soon the end will come because such events have happened throughout history. Jesus’ point in today’s Gospel is that no one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven…(Matt 24:36). Therefore, don’t be misled by false messianic figures and false preachers who try to hit the panic button by claiming that the end is here. Jesus wants his disciples to be spiritually ready and to keep watch because no one knows the day or the hour.
by L'équipe de publication | Nov 24, 2024 | Evangelium
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin, Martyr (d. 305)
Green/Red
Saint Catherine was very outspoken at the time of the persecutions of Christians. She even protested openly to the emperor Maxentius who had her arrested, tortured on the wheel and decapitated in 305. St Catherine’s courage is a great challenge to all African Christians in their struggle for justice and peace.
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 84: 9
The Lord speaks of peace to his people and his holy ones and to those who turn to him.
Collect
Stir up the will of your faithful, we pray, O Lord, that, striving more eagerly to bring your divine work to fruitful completion, they may receive in greater measure the healing remedies your kindness bestows. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Apocalypse 14:1-5
In my vision I, John, saw Mount Zion, and standing on it a Lamb who had with him a hundred and forty-four thousand people, all with his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. I heard a sound coming out of the sky like the sound of the ocean or the roar of thunder; it seemed to be the sound of harpists playing their harps. There in front of the throne they were singing a new hymn in the presence of the four animals and the elders, a hymn that could only be learnt by the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the world; they follow the Lamb wherever he goes; they have been redeemed from amongst men to be the first-fruits for God and for the Lamb. They never allowed a lie to pass their lips and no fault can be found in them.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 23:1-6
R/ Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, the world and all its peoples. It is he who set it on the seas; on the waters he made it firm.
Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things.
He shall receive blessings from the Lord and reward from the God who saves him. Such are the men who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Gospel Acclamation : Rv2:10
Alleluia, alleluia! Even if you have to die, says the Lord, keep faithful, and I will give you the crown of life. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 21:1-4
As Jesus looked up, he saw rich people putting their offerings into the treasury; then he happened to notice a poverty-stricken widow putting in two small coins, and he said, ‘I tell you truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them; for these have all contributed money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in all she had to live on.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, O Lord, the sacred offerings which at your bidding we dedicate to your name and, in order that through these gifts we may become worthy of your love, grant us unfailing obedience to your commands. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Ps 116: 1, 2
O praise the Lord, all you nations, for his merciful love towards us is great.
Prayer after Communion
We pray, almighty God, that those to whom you give the joy of participating in divine mysteries may never be parted from you. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
The widow’s generosity so much touched Jesus because he knew that the corrupt s leaders were the beneficiaries of the temple donations. They were ripping off the widows and orphans. He said, “beware of the scribes who swallow the property of widows” (Lk 20:47). Jesus was in condemnation of a politico-religious system that exploits and impoverishes the poor and vulnerable of the society. From another perspective, Jesus is teaching us that what matters in God’s sight is not the amount we give but the cost to the giver. God looks at the beauty of the heart and the giver’s means and motives. We should be free and generous whenever we give to enhance the cause of the gospel. Nothing is ever too small when we give liberally and cheerfully from our hearts. God, who loves a cheerful giver, sees us and will replenish us.
by L'équipe de publication | Nov 23, 2024 | Evangelium
34th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 2
Christ the King
White
Entrance Antiphon : Rv 5: 12; 1: 6
How worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and divinity, and wisdom and strength and honour. To him belong glory and power for ever and ever.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, whose will is to restore all things in your beloved Son, the King of the universe, grant, we pray, that the whole creation, set free from slavery, may render your majesty service and ceaselessly proclaim your praise. 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: Daniel 7:13-14
I gazed into the visions of the night. And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man. He came to the one of great age and was led into his presence. On him was conferred sovereignty, glory and kingship, and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants. His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty which shall never pass away, nor will his empire ever be destroyed.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 92(93):1-2,5
R/ The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.
The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed; the Lord has robed himself with might, he has girded himself with power.
The world you made firm, not to be moved; your throne has stood firm from of old. From all eternity, O Lord, you are.
Truly your decrees are to be trusted. Holiness is fitting to your house, O Lord, until the end of time.
Second reading: Apocalypse 1:5-8
Grace and peace to you from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the First-Born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. It is he who is coming on the clouds; everyone will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the earth will mourn over him. This is the truth. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’ says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
Gospel Acclamation: Mk11:10
Alleluia, alleluia! Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the coming kingdom of our father David! Alleluia!
Gospel: John 18:33-37
‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Pilate asked. Jesus replied, ‘Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others spoken to you about me?’ Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?’ Jesus replied, ‘Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.’ ‘So you are a king then?’ said Pilate. ‘It is you who say it’ answered Jesus. ‘Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.’
Prayer over the Offerings
As we offer you, O Lord, the sacrifice by which the human race is reconciled to you, we humbly pray, that your Son himself may bestow on all nations the gifts of unity and peace. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 28: 10-11
The Lord sits as King for ever. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Prayer after Communion
Having received the food of immortality, we ask, O Lord, that, glorying in obedience to the commands of Christ, the King of the universe, we may live with him eternally in his heavenly kingdom. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Meditation
The Cross of Jesus always carries the inscription INRI, which stands for Iudaeorum, meaning Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews. However, today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Jesus is King, not only of the Jews but of all who are and all that is. The kingship of Christ does not depend on armies and armouries but on the power of truth. His kingdom does not belong to the world. He is the King of hearts belonging to people who live in the world. He showed us by example how to make him our King. We recall how he served others by providing food to the multitudes, washing the feet of his apostles, and spending his entire life serving others. We make Christ our King by joining and helping Christ to serve others. Jesus is the King of Truth, King of Integrity, King of Love, Wonderful Counsellor, and King of Peace. As Christians, followers of Jesus, are we people of truth, people of integrity, people of love, and people of peace?
by L'équipe de publication | Nov 22, 2024 | Evangelium
Pope Saint Clement I
Green/Red/White
Clement was the fourth Bishop of Rome after Peter, Linus and Cletus. Clement’s letter to the Corinthian church has survived. It is the first known Patristic document, and exhorts them to peace and brotherly harmony.
Entrance Antiphon : Jer 29: 11, 12, 14
The Lord said: I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction. You will call upon me, and I will answer you, and I will lead back your captives from every place.
Collect
Grant us, we pray, O Lord our God, the constant gladness of being devoted to you, for it is full and lasting happiness to serve with constancy the author of all that is good. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Apocalypse 11:4-12
I, John, heard a voice saying: ‘These, my two witnesses, are the two olive trees and the two lamps that stand before the Lord of the world. Fire can come from their mouths and consume their enemies if anyone tries to harm them; and if anybody does try to harm them he will certainly be killed in this way. They are able to lock up the sky so that it does not rain as long as they are prophesying; they are able to turn water into blood and strike the whole world with any plague as often as they like. When they have completed their witnessing, the beast that comes out of the Abyss is going to make war on them and overcome them and kill them. Their corpses will lie in the main street of the Great City known by the symbolic names Sodom and Egypt, in which their Lord was crucified. Men out of every people, race, language and nation will stare at their corpses, for three-and-a-half days, not letting them be buried, and the people of the world will be glad about it and celebrate the event by giving presents to each other, because these two prophets have been a plague to the people of the world.’ After the three-and-a-half days, God breathed life into them and they stood up, and everybody who saw it happen was terrified; then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, ‘Come up here’, and while their enemies were watching, they went up to heaven in a cloud.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 143:1-2,9-10
R/ Blessed be the Lord, my rock.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my arms for battle, who prepares my hands for war.
He is my love, my fortress; he is my stronghold, my savior my shield, my place of refuge. He brings peoples under my rule.
To you, O God, will I sing a new song; I will play on the ten-stringed lute to you who give kings their victory, who set David your servant free.
Gospel Acclamation : cf.Lk8:15
Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are those who, with a noble and generous heart, take the word of God to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 20:27-40
Some Sadducees – those who say that there is no resurrection – approached him and they put this question to him, ‘Master, we have it from Moses in writing, that if a man’s married brother dies childless, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Well then, there were seven brothers. The first, having married a wife, died childless. The second and then the third married the widow. And the same with all seven, they died leaving no children. Finally the woman herself died Now, at the resurrection, to which of them will she be wife since she had been married to all seven?’ Jesus replied, ‘The children of this world take wives and husbands, but those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world and in the resurrection from the dead do not marry because they can no longer die, for they are the same as the angels, and being children of the resurrection they are sons of God. And Moses himself implies that the dead rise again, in the passage about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all men are in fact alive.’ Some Scribes then spoke up. ‘Well put, Master’ they said – because they would not dare to ask him any more questions.
Prayer over the Offerings
Grant, O Lord, we pray, that what we offer in the sight of your majesty may obtain for us the grace of being devoted to you and gain us the prize of everlasting happiness. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Ps 72: 28
To be near God is my happiness, to place my hope in God the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
We have partaken of the gifts of this sacred mystery, humbly imploring, O Lord, that what your Son commanded us to do in memory of him may bring us growth in charity. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
The Sadducees approach Jesus intending to ridicule the belief in the resurrection of the dead. Jesus points out to them that the resurrection of the dead is not to be doubted since the Scriptures testify to the fact. At the end of the day, when they find themselves defeated and unable to ask Jesus any further questions, they praise his intelligence. That was it with the Sadducees. Where are we concerning belief in the resurrection? When we believe in the resurrection of the dead, our earthly life is shaped accordingly. Our choices, actions, and relationships with others are subject to the will of God so that at the end of our earthly life, we may be judged worthy to live in God’s presence forever.
