by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Feb 13, 2022 | Evangelium
st. cyril, monk & 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 and is one of the patron saints of Europe.
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 : James 1:1-11
From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of the Dispersion. My brothers, you will always have your trials but, when they come, try to treat them as a happy privilege; you understand that your faith is only put to the test to make you patient, but patience too is to have its practical results so that you will become fully-developed, complete, with nothing missing. If there is any one of you who needs wisdom, he must ask God, who gives to all freely and ungrudgingly; it will be given to him. But he must ask with faith, and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the waves thrown up in the sea when the wind drives. That sort of person, in two minds, wavering between going different ways, must not expect that the Lord will give him anything. It is right for the poor brother to be proud of his high rank, and the rich one to be thankful that he has been humbled, because riches last no longer than the flowers in the grass; the scorching sun comes up, and the grass withers, the flower falls; what looked so beautiful now disappears. It is the same with the rich man: his business goes on; he himself perishes.
Psalm 118(119): 67-68, 71-72, 75-76
R/ Let your love come to me and I shall live.
1. Before I was afflicted I strayed but now I keep your word. You are good and your deeds are good; teach me your statutes.
2. It was good for me to be afflicted, to learn your statutes. The law from your mouth means more to me than silver and gold.
3. Lord, I know that your decrees are right, that you afflicted me justly. Let your love be ready to console me by your promise to your servant.
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
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
The problem here was not with the asking for a sign, but with their blunt refusal to acknowledge the signs they had seen before. Just before now, Jesus had liberated the possesed child of a woman, and restored the sight of the blind man, and yet here they stood, asking for a sign. We too can be like the Pharisees, drenched in the blessings of God and yet denying it to his very face out of ego or an ungrateful heart. Our judgement is usually not from us when we act like this. The Lord makes others tell us to our faces how ungrateful we are.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Feb 12, 2022 | Agenda Biblique
6ème Dimanche du Temps Ordinaire
Psautier II
Antienne d’ouverture : Ps 30, 3-4
Seigneur, sois le rocher qui m’abrite, la maison bien défendue qui me sauve. Pour l’honneur de ton nom guide-moi, conduis-moi.
Prière d’ouverture
Dieu qui veux habiter les cœurs droits et sincères, donne-nous de vivre selon ta grâce, alors tu pourras venir en nous pour y faire ta demeure. Par Jésus Christ.
1ère lecture : Jr 17, 5-8
Ainsi parle le Seigneur : Maudit soit l’homme qui met sa foi dans un mortel, qui s’appuie sur un être de chair, tandis que son cœur se détourne du Seigneur. Il sera comme un buisson sur une terre désolée, il ne verra pas venir le bonheur. Il aura pour demeure les lieux arides du désert, une terre salée, inhabitable. Béni soit l’homme qui met sa foi dans le Seigneur, dont le Seigneur est la confiance. Il sera comme un arbre, planté près des eaux, qui pousse, vers le courant, ses racines. Il ne craint pas quand vient la chaleur : son feuillage reste vert. L’année de la sécheresse, il est sans inquiétude : il ne manque pas de porter du fruit.
Psaume : Ps 1, 1-2, 3, 4.6
R/ Heureux est l’homme qui met sa foi dans le Seigneur. (Ps 39, 5a)
1. Heureux est l’homme qui n’entre pas au conseil des méchants, qui ne suit pas le chemin des pécheurs, ne siège pas avec ceux qui ricanent, mais se plaît dans la loi du Seigneur et murmure sa loi jour et nuit !
2. Il est comme un arbre planté près d’un ruisseau, qui donne du fruit en son temps, et jamais son feuillage ne meurt ; tout ce qu’il entreprend réussira. Tel n’est pas le sort des méchants.
3. Mais ils sont comme la paille balayée par le vent. Le Seigneur connaît le chemin des justes, mais le chemin des méchants se perdra.
2ème lecture : 1 Co 15, 12.16-20
Frères, nous proclamons que le Christ est ressuscité d’entre les morts ; alors, comment certains d’entre vous peuvent-ils affirmer qu’il n’y a pas de résurrection des morts ? Car si les morts ne ressuscitent pas, le Christ non plus n’est pas ressuscité. Et si le Christ n’est pas ressuscité, votre foi est sans valeur, vous êtes encore sous l’emprise de vos péchés ; et donc, ceux qui se sont endormis dans le Christ sont perdus. Si nous avons mis notre espoir dans le Christ pour cette vie seulement, nous sommes les plus à plaindre de tous les hommes. Mais non ! le Christ est ressuscité d’entre les morts, lui, premier ressuscité parmi ceux qui se sont endormis.
Acclamation
Alléluia, alléluia! Réjouissez-vous, tressaillez de joie, dit le Seigneur, car votre récompense est grande dans le ciel. Alléluia.(Lc 6, 23)
Évangile : Lc 6, 17.20-26
En ce temps-là, Jésus descendit de la montagne avec les Douze et s’arrêta sur un terrain plat. Il y avait là un grand nombre de ses disciples, et une grande multitude de gens venus de toute la Judée, de Jérusalem, et du littoral de Tyr et de Sidon. Et Jésus, levant les yeux sur ses disciples, déclara : « Heureux, vous les pauvres, car le royaume de Dieu est à vous. Heureux, vous qui avez faim maintenant, car vous serez rassasiés. Heureux, vous qui pleurez maintenant, car vous rirez. Heureux êtes-vous quand les hommes vous haïssent et vous excluent, quand ils insultent et rejettent votre nom comme méprisable, à cause du Fils de l’homme. Ce jour-là, réjouissez-vous, tressaillez de joie, car alors votre récompense est grande dans le ciel ; c’est ainsi, en effet, que leurs pères traitaient les prophètes. Mais quel malheur pour vous, les riches, car vous avez votre consolation ! Quel malheur pour vous qui êtes repus maintenant, car vous aurez faim ! Quel malheur pour vous qui riez maintenant, car vous serez dans le deuil et vous pleurerez ! Quel malheur pour vous lorsque tous les hommes disent du bien de vous ! C’est ainsi, en effet, que leurs pères traitaient les faux prophètes.»
Prière sur les offrandes
Que cette eucharistie, Seigneur notre Dieu, nous purifie et nous renouvelle ; qu’elle donne à ceux qui font ta volonté le bonheur que tu leur as promis. Par Jésus.
Antienne de la communion : Ps 77, 29-30
Le Seigneur combla le désir de son peuple : ils mangèrent et ils furent rassasiés, leur attente ne fut pas trompée.
Prière après la communion
Tu nous as donné, Seigneur, de goûter aux joies du ciel : fais que nous ayons toujours soif des sources de la vraie vie. Par Jésus.
Méditation Le livre de Jérémie, lu dans la première lecture, tout en demandant de mettre notre confiance et notre espoir dans le Seigneur, nous montre qu’en dehors de Dieu, il n’y a pas de bonheur. Dieu est l’unique source de notre vie. Saint Paul, dans la deuxième lecture, nous invite à la foi en la résurrection du Christ et des morts. Croire que le Christ est ressuscité et que les morts ressusciteront avec lui est le fondement de notre espérance chrétienne. L’évangile nous indique la voie du bonheur, le chemin qui nous mène à la sainteté : les Béatitudes. Oui, les Béatitudes, nous dit le pape François, constituent « la carte d’identité du chrétien » (Gaudete et exsultate, n°63). Pour être un bon chrétien et heureux, il faut les vivre
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Feb 11, 2022 | Agenda Biblique
St. Félix
Il fut sacré archevêque de Bourges par Saint Germain de Paris vers 568. Pendant sept ans environ il gouverna très saintement son Eglise. Avec les autres métropolitains du royaume de Bourgogne, il prit part au quatrième concile de Paris et signa les lettres synodales destinées à Aegidius, archevêque de Reims, et au roi Sigebert.
Antienne d’ouverture : PS 94, 6-7
Venez, inclinez-vous, prosternez-vous: adorons le Seigneur qui nous a faits: oui, il est notre Dieu.
Prière d’ouverture
Dans ton amour inlassable, Seigneur, veille sur ta famille; Et puisque ta grâce est notre unique espoir, garde nous sous ta constante protection. Par Jésus Christ.
1ère lecture : 1 R 12, 26-32 ; 13, 33-34
En ces jours-là, devenu roi des dix tribus d’Israël, Jéroboam se dit: « Maintenant, le royaume risque fort de se rallier de nouveau à la maison de David. Si le peuple continue de monter à Jérusalem pour offrir des sacrifices dans la maison du Seigneur, le cœur de ce peuple reviendra vers son souverain, Roboam, roi de Juda, et l’on me tuera. » Après avoir tenu conseil, Jéroboam fit fabriquer deux veaux en or, et il déclara au peuple: « Voilà trop longtemps que vous montez à Jérusalem! Israël, voici tes dieux, qui t’ont fait monter du pays d’Égypte.» Il plaça l’un des deux veaux à Béthel, l’autre à Dane, et ce fut un grand péché. Le peuple conduisit en procession celui qui allait à Dane. Jéroboam y établit un temple à la manière des lieux sacrés. Il institua des prêtres pris n’importe où, et qui n’étaient pas des descendants de Lévi. Jéroboam célébra la fête le quinzième jour du huitième mois, fête pareille à celle que l’on célébrait en Juda, et il monta à l’autel. Il fit de même à Béthel en offrant des sacrifices aux veaux qu’il avait fabriqués; il établit à Béthel les prêtres des lieux sacrés qu’il avait institués. Jéroboam persévéra dans sa mauvaise conduite; il continua d’instituer n’importe qui comme prêtres des lieux sacrés: il donnait l’investiture à tous ceux qui le désiraient, pour en faire des prêtres des lieux sacrés. Tout cela fit tomber dans le péché la maison de Jéroboam, entraîna sa ruine et provoqua sa disparition de la surface de la terre.
Psaume : 105 (106), 6-7ab, 19-20, 21-22
R/ Souviens-toi de nous, Seigneur, dans ta bienveillance pour ton peuple.
1. Avec nos pères, nous avons péché, nous avons failli et renié. En Égypte, nos pères ont méconnu tes miracles, oublié l’abondance de tes grâces.
2. À l’Horeb ils fabriquent un veau, ils adorent un objet en métal: ils échangeaient ce qui était leur gloire pour l’image d’un taureau, d’un ruminant.
3. Ils oublient le Dieu qui les sauve, qui a fait des prodiges en Égypte, des miracles au pays de Cham, des actions terrifiantes sur la mer Rouge.
Acclamation
Alléluia, alléluia! L’homme ne vit pas seulement de pain, mais de toute parole qui sort de la bouche de Dieu. Alléluia. (cf. Jc 1, 21bc)
Évangile : Mc 8, 1-10
En ces jours-là, comme il y avait de nouveau une grande foule, et que les gens n’avaient rien à manger, Jésus appelle à lui ses disciples et leur dit: « J’ai de la compassion pour cette foule, car depuis trois jours déjà ils restent auprès de moi, et n’ont rien à manger. Si je les renvoie chez eux à jeun, ils vont défaillir en chemin, et certains d’entre eux sont venus de loin. » Ses disciples lui répondirent : « Où donc pourra-t-on trouver du pain pour les rassasier ici, dans le désert ? » Il leur demanda : « Combien de pains avez-vous ? » Ils lui dirent: « Sept. » Alors il ordonna à la foule de s’asseoir par terre. Puis, prenant les sept pains et rendant grâce, il les rompit, et il les donnait à ses disciples pour que ceux-ci les distribuent ; et ils les distribuèrent à la foule. Ils avaient aussi quelques petits poissons, que Jésus bénit et fit aussi distribuer. Les gens mangèrent et furent rassasiés. On ramassa les morceaux qui restaient : cela faisait sept corbeilles. Or, ils étaient environ quatre mille. Puis Jésus les renvoya. Aussitôt, montant dans la barque avec ses disciples, il alla dans la région de Dalmanoutha.
Prière sur les offrandes
Seigneur notre Dieu, tu as voulu choisir dans ta création le pain et le vin qui refont chaque jour nos forces: Fais qu’ils deviennent aussi pour nous le sacrement de la vie éternelle. Par Jésus.
Antienne de la communion : Ps 106, 8-9
Proclamons l’amour du Seigneur, ses merveilles pour les hommes: Il a rassasié ceux qui avaient faim, et désaltéré ceux qui avaient soif.
Prière après la communion
Tu as voulu, Seigneur, que nous partagions un même pain et que nous buvions à la même coupe: Accorde-nous de vivre tellement unis dans le Christ que nous portions du fruit pour le salut du monde. Par Jésus.
Méditation
Dans la première lecture, nous voyons que la rupture entre les royaumes d’Israël et de Juda est la conséquence du péché du roi Jéroboam qui se détourna du vrai Dieu pour adorer d’autres dieux. Un message fort qui nous est adressé : oublier les bienfaits de Dieu dans notre vie pour devenir infidèle et servir les dieux de ce monde ne conduit qu’à la ruine. Nous sommes donc appelés à la fidélité à Dieu. L’évangile, quant à lui, nous présente Jésus qui se manifeste comme le nouveau Moïse qui donne à manger à son peuple. Compatissant, il ne demeure pas insensible à sa faim. Dans l’Eucharistie, il continue à nous nourrir. Que sa présence dans les espèces ‘eucharistiées’ soient source de notre vie.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Feb 11, 2022 | Evangelium
St. Buonfiglio
Monaldo
Buonfiglio is one of the several Florentine founders of the Servite Order (Servants of Mary) who took up a life of solitude and prayer. These founders were canonized in 1887 by Pope Leo XIII.
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 : 1 Kings 12:26-32,13:33-34
Jeroboam thought to himself, ‘As things are, the kingdom will revert to the House of David. If this people continues to go up to the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, the people’s heart will turn back again to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will put me to death.’ So the king thought this over and then made two golden calves; he said to the people, ‘You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, Israel; these brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ He set up one in Bethel and the people went in procession all the way to Dan in front of the other. He set up the temple of the high places and appointed priests from ordinary families, who were not of the sons of Levi. Jeroboam also instituted a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth of the month, like the feast that was kept in Judah, and he went up to the altar. That was how he behaved in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made; and at Bethel he put the priests of the high places he had established. Jeroboam did not give up his wicked ways but went on appointing priests for the high places from the common people. He consecrated as priests of the high places any who wished to be. Such conduct made the House of Jeroboam a sinful House, and caused its ruin and extinction from the face of the earth.
Psalm 105(106):6-7, 19-22
R/ O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
1. Our sin is the sin of our fathers; we have done wrong, our deeds have been evil. Our fathers when they were in Egypt paid no heed to your wonderful deeds.
2. They fashioned a calf at Horeb and worshipped an image of metal, exchanging the God who was their glory for the image of a bull that eats grass.
3. They forgot the God who was their saviour, who had done such great things in Egypt, such portents in the land of Ham, such marvels at the Red Sea.
Gospel Acclamation : Mt4:4
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 basketfuls 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
God is also concerned about the physical welfare of his people. At some points in our spiritual journey we tend to forget this part. This compassion is so strong that he seeks to go against what should be normal just to provide. We see this in the words of Christ: “I feel sorry for them… if I send them off they will collapse…” Another great lesion we have is seen in the request of the Lord, “What do you have?”. As much as the Lord seeks to feed us, we too have to show our faith in his power to provide by giving our little efforts.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Feb 10, 2022 | Evangelium
Our Lady of Lourdes
In 1858 the Immaculate Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, near Lourdes in France, in the cavern called “de Massabielle.”Through her, Mary calls on sinners to change their lives.
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 : 1 Kings 11:29-32,12:19
One day when Jeroboam had gone out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh accosted him on the road. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak; the two of them were in the open country by themselves. Ahijah took the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve strips, saying to Jeroboam, ‘Take ten strips for yourself, for thus the Lord speaks, the God of Israel, “I am going to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and give ten tribes to you. He shall keep one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.’ And Israel has been separated from the House of David until the present day.
Psalm 80(81): 10-15
R/ I am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
1. Let there be no foreign god among you, no worship of an alien god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt.
2. But my people did not heed my voice and Israel would not obey, so I left them in their stubbornness of heart to follow their own designs.
3. O that my people would heed me, that Israel would walk in my ways! At once I would subdue their foes, turn my hand against their enemies.
Gospel Acclamation : cf.Jn6:63,68
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
How often do we hear Jesus say to us, ‘“Ephphatha”, be opened’? How often do we hear him speak with authority? Did Jesus say this only because this man was physically deaf and he wanted to physically cure him? Or is there a deeper significance? By healing this man Jesus revealed something he wants to do for us. Jesus’ words “be open” are not an invitation or optional words but a definitive instruction and a command. It is the revelation of the truth that Jesus has made up his mind to act and he is not hesitant in the least in his choice. This understanding should give us great comfort because Jesus is ready and willing to exercise his power on our behalf. He wants to exercise his authority for our good In his presence therefore we must acknowledge this. This is why in his presence we have relief and we believe that his presence is balm and under his authority we are safe.
