by Norbert Doulanni | Sep 7, 2025 | Evangelium
The Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Feast
Saint Adrian
Psalter: Week III
White
Adrian was a pagan officer of Nicomedia. Impressed by the courage of a group of Christians who were being tortured, he declared himself a Christian and was imprisoned with them before he was put to death. Adrian is the patron of soldiers and butchers.
Entrance Antiphon
Let us celebrate with joy the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for from her arose the sun of justice, Christ our God.
Collect
Impart to your servants, we pray, O Lord, the gift of heavenly grace, that the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin may bring deeper peace to those for whom the birth of her Sonwas the dawning of salvation. 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 : Micah 5:1-4
The Lord says this: But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, the least of the clans of Judah, out of you will be born for me the one who is to rule over Israel; his origin goes back to the distant past, to the days of old. The Lord is therefore going to abandon them till the time when she who is to give birth gives birth. Then the remnant of his brothers will come back to the sons of Israel. He will stand and feed his flock with the power of the Lord, with the majesty of the name of his God. They will live secure, for from then on he will extend his power to the ends of the land. He himself will be peace.
Responsorial Psalm : Psalm 12(13):6-7
R/ I exult for joy in the Lord.
Lord, I trust in your merciful love. Let my heart rejoice in your saving help.
Let me sing to the Lord for his goodness to me, singing psalms to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of all praise, for the sun of justice, Christ our God, was born of you. Alleluia!
Gospel : Matthew 1:1-16,18-23
A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, Tamar being their mother, Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,Salmon was the father of Boaz, Rahab being his mother,Boaz was the father of Obed, Ruth being his mother, Obed was the father of Jesse;and Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Azariah, Azariah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah; and Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers. Then the deportation to Babylon took place. After the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob; and Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ. This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’
Prayer over the Offerings
May the humanity of your Only Begotten Son come, O Lord, to our aid, and may he, who at his birth from the Blessed Virgin did not diminish but consecrated her integrity, by taking from us now our wicked deeds, make our oblation acceptable to you. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon Is 7: 14; Mt 1: 21
Behold, the Virgin will bear a son, who will save his people from their sins.
Prayer after Communion
May your Church exult, O Lord, for you have renewed her with these sacred mysteries, as she rejoices in the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was the hope and the daybreak of salvation for all the world. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,” the Angel reassures Joseph. On this special occasion of your birthday, Mother Mary, I earnestly implore you to grant me the strength to resist the temptation to neglect you. Whenever such temptation comes, give me the strength to cry out, like blind Bartimaeus: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
by Norbert Doulanni | Sep 6, 2025 | Evangelium
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Saint Cloud
Psalter: Week III
Green
Entrance Antiphon Ps 118: 137, 124
You are just, O Lord, and your judgement is right; treat your servant in accord with your merciful love.
Collect
O God, by whom we are redeemed and receive adoption, look graciously upon your beloved sons and daughters, that those who believe in Christ may receive true freedom and an everlasting inheritance. 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: Wisdom 9:13-18
What man indeed can know the intentions of God? Who can divine the will of the Lord? The reasonings of mortals are unsure and our intentions unstable; for a perishable body presses down the soul, and this tent of clay weighs down the teeming mind. It is hard enough for us to work out what is on earth, laborious to know what lies within our reach; who, then, can discover what is in the heavens? As for your intention, who could have learnt it, had you not granted Wisdom and sent your holy spirit from above? Thus have the paths of those on earth been straightened and men been taught what pleases you, and saved, by Wisdom.
Psalm 89(90):3-6,12-14,17
R/ O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
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.
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.
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.
In the morning, fill us with your love; we shall exult and rejoice all our days. Let the favour of the Lord be upon us: give success to the work of our hands.
Second reading: Philemon 1:9-10,12-17
This is Paul writing, an old man now and, what is more, still a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I am appealing to you for a child of mine, whose father I became while wearing these chains: I mean Onesimus. I am sending him back to you, and with him – I could say – a part of my own self. I should have liked to keep him with me; he could have been a substitute for you, to help me while I am in the chains that the Good News has brought me. However, I did not want to do anything without your consent; it would have been forcing your act of kindness, which should be spontaneous. I know you have been deprived of Onesimus for a time, but it was only so that you could have him back for ever, not as a slave any more, but something much better than a slave, a dear brother; especially dear to me, but how much more to you, as a blood-brother as well as a brother in the Lord. So if all that we have in common means anything to you, welcome him as you would me.
Gospel Acclamation: Jn15:15
Alleluia, alleluia! I call you friends, says the Lord, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 14:25-33
Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way and he turned and spoke to them. ‘If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. ‘And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it? Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, the onlookers would all start making fun of him and saying, “Here is a man who started to build and was unable to finish.” Or again, what king marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who advanced against him with twenty thousand? If not, then while the other king was still a long way off, he would send envoys to sue for peace. So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.’
Prayer over the Offerings
O God, who give us the gift of true prayer and of peace, graciously grant that through this offering, we may do fitting homage to your divine majesty and, by partaking of the sacred mystery, we may be faithfully united in mind and heart. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 41: 2-3
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God; my soul is thirsting for God, the living God.
Prayer after Communion
Grant that your faithful, O Lord, whom you nourish and endow with life through the food of your Word and heavenly Sacrament, may so benefit from your beloved Son’s great gifts that we may merit an eternal share in his life. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Meditation
“Still a prisoner of Christ Jesus,” declares Paul. This proclamation for Jesus brings to mind the other word from Scripture which says that “anyone who commits sin is a slave to Satan”. In my daily struggle, two glaring choices confront me: If I choose to do good, Jesus catches me in His net; if I choose to succumb to evil by committing sin, Satan imprisons me as his slave in his dungeon. I see the need to put in extra effort to always make the choice for Jesus. I acknowledge my responsibility for the decisions I make. Lord, help me to resist the allure of my enemy’s sweet, attractive, and dirty path, enticing me to keep blaming others for what is happening to me.
by Norbert Doulanni | Sep 5, 2025 | Evangelium
Saturday memorial of the Blessed
Virgin Mary
Pope Saint Eleutherius
Psalter: Week II
Green/White
Pope Eleutherius was the Bishop of Rome from c. 174 to his death in 189. According to the Liber Pontificalis, he was a deacon of the Roman Church under Pope Anicetus (c. 154–164), and remained so under Pope Soter, whom he succeeded around 174.
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.
Responsorial Psalm : Psalm 53(54):3-4,6,8
R/ I have God for my help.
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.
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
The dispute concerning the Sabbath in today’s Gospel reminds me of the familiar excuses I have often presented whenever I fail to ‘Keep The Lord’s Day Holy.’ I confess, at times, that I have justified my actions with excuses such as oversleeping, having dirty clothes, or being caught up in preparation for an important meeting! And all along, I might have revealed that I spent the previous night at a bachelor’s night, dancing till this the early hours of this Sunday morning. Curiously, no similar obstacles deterred me from being punctual at a ‘njangi’ where money was at stake, or prevented me from visiting the bank promptly on paydays. It is a poignant reminder to be honest and prioritise the sanctity of the Lord’s Day.
by Norbert Doulanni | Sep 4, 2025 | Evangelium
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
(1910 – 1997)
Psalter: Week II
Green
Born in Macedonia, she became a missionary in India. Teresa had an encounter, which she heard Christ tell her, “Come be my light.” She formed the Missionaries of Charity, who set up hospitals and homes for the dying. In 1979 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work. Mother Teresa died in 1997 and was beatified in 2002.
Entrance Antiphon Cf. 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 1:15-20
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.
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: cf.Ps18:9
Alleluia, alleluia! Your words gladden the heart, O Lord, they give light to the eyes. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 5:33-39
The 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
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
The claim of the scribes and Pharisees in today’s Gospel prompts me to recognise that in numerous situations, my ego has the potential to shape my perspective, allowing me to see only what I prefer or choose to see. I acknowledge how my selfishness, fueled by negative thinking, can distort my perception of sacred events, leading me to perceive the proverbial “glass of water as half empty” or deem ‘this student’s progress from 7% to 20% as hopeless.’ Good Jesus, I implore you to give me a positive mindset at all times. Remind me that with You by my side, every situation can be transformed for the better, and help me to overcome the tendency to focus on negativity.
by Norbert Doulanni | Sep 3, 2025 | Evangelium
Saint Mac Nissi
Psalter: Week II
Green
He founded the diocese of Connor in Ireland in 480, and is patron saint of the diocese, which is now part of the diocese of Connor and Down.
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, forever 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.
Responsorial Psalm : Psalm 97(98):2-6
R/ The Lord has made known his 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.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout to the Lord, all the earthring out your joy.
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
The reassurance from Jesus, “Do not be afraid,” serves as a soothing balm for my nerves. I have been told that this command, urging us not to be afraid, appears well over 300 times in the Scriptures. If I were to actively seek them out, I could potentially discover at least one phrase every day in the Bible to read, providing a constant source of solace to quell my fears and alleviate stress and fatigue. Admittedly, I am not sure I have uncovered all these reassuring commands in the Bible yet!
by Norbert Doulanni | Sep 2, 2025 | Evangelium
Pope Saint Gregory the Great (540 – 604)
Psalter: Week II
White
He was elected Pope on 3 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 12 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 1:1-8
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.
Responsorial Psalm : Psalm 51(52):10-11
R/ I trust in the goodness of God forever and ever.
I am like a growing olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the goodness of God forever and ever.
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
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
“We have never failed to remember you in our prayers.” What a joy, what happiness it brings to hear that someone has been praying for me! Reflecting on this, I find myself contemplating whether I have always prayed for the well-being of others, particularly those with whom I do not agree. Moreover, when I meet people who tell me: “Please greet your wife, children, those in your household for me,” have I ever remembered or cared to deliver such heartfelt messages upon returning home?
