by L'équipe de publication | May 22, 2024 | Agenda Biblique
Saint Didier
VERT
A cause d’une fausse accusation de viol portée contre lui par la Reine Brunehaut, il fut déposé de sa charge d’évêque de Vienne par ses pairs, les évêques de la Province de Lyon. Cette même Reine le tuera plus tard en 607
Antienne d’ouverture : PS 12, 6
Seigneur, je suis sûr de ton amour: mon cœur est dans la joie, car tu me sauves ; je veux chanter au Seigneur tout le bien qu’il m’a fait.
Prière d’ouverture
Accorde-nous, Dieu tout-puissant, de conformer à ta volonté nos paroles et nos actes dans une inlassable recherche des biens spirituels. Par Jésus Christ.
1ère lecture : Jc 5,1-6
Vous autres, maintenant, les riches! Pleurez, lamentez-vous sur les malheurs qui vous attendent. Vos richesses sont pourries, vos vêtements sont mangés des mites, votre or et votre argent sont rouillés. Cette rouille sera un témoignage contre vous, elle dévorera votre chair comme un feu. Vous avez amassé des richesses, alors que nous sommes dans les derniers jours ! Le salaire dont vous avez frustré les ouvriers qui ont moissonné vos champs, le voici qui crie, et les clameurs des moissonneurs sont parvenues aux oreilles du Seigneur de l’univers. Vous avez mené sur terre une vie de luxe et de délices, et vous vous êtes rassasiés au jour du massacre. Vous avez condamné le juste et vous l’avez tué, sans qu’il vous oppose de résistance.
Psaume : 48,14-20
R/ Heureux les pauvres de cœur, car le royaume des Cieux est à eux!
Voici le destin des insensés et l’avenir de qui aime les entendre : troupeau parqué pour les enfers et que la mort mène paître.
Dans la mort, s’effaceront leurs visages : pour eux, plus de palais ! Mais Dieu rachètera ma vie aux griffes de la mort : c’est lui qui me prendra.
Ne crains pas l’homme qui s’enrichit, qui accroît le luxe de sa maison : aux enfers il n’emporte rien ; sa gloire ne descend pas avec lui.
De son vivant, il s’est béni lui-même : « On t’applaudit car tout va bien pour toi ! » Mais il rejoint la lignée de ses ancêtres qui ne verront jamais plus la lumière.
Acclamation
Alléluia, alléluia ! Accueillez la parole de Dieu : pour ce qu’elle est réellement : non pas une parole d’hommes, mais la parole de Dieu. Alléluia. (cf. 1 Th 2, 13)
Évangile : Mc 9, 41-50
En ce temps-là, Jésus disait à ses disciples : « Celui qui vous donnera un verre d’eau au nom de votre appartenance au Christ, amen, je vous le dis, il ne restera pas sans récompense. Celui qui est un scandale, une occasion de chute, pour un seul de ces petits qui croient en moi, mieux vaudrait pour lui qu’on lui attache au cou une de ces meules que tournent les ânes, et qu’on le jette à la mer. Et si ta main est pour toi une occasion de chute, coupe-la. Mieux vaut pour toi entrer manchot dans la vie éternelle que de t’en aller dans la géhenne avec tes deux mains, là où le feu ne s’éteint pas. Si ton pied est pour toi une occasion de chute, coupe-le. Mieux vaut pour toi entrer estropié dans la vie éternelle que de t’en aller dans la géhenne avec tes deux pieds. Si ton œil est pour toi une occasion de chute, arrache-le. Mieux vaut pour toi entrer borgne dans le royaume de Dieu que de t’en aller dans la géhenne avec tes deux yeux, là où le ver ne meurt pas et où le feu ne s’éteint pas. Chacun sera salé au feu. C’est une bonne chose que le sel; mais s’il cesse d’être du sel, avec quoi allez-vous lui rendre de la saveur? Ayez du sel en vous-mêmes, et vivez en paix entre vous. »
Prière sur les offrandes
En célébrant avec respect tes mystères, Seigneur, nous te supplions humblement : que les dons offerts pour te glorifier servent à notre salut. Par Jésus.
Antienne de la communion : Ps 9, 2-3
De toute mon âme, Seigneur, je rendrai grâce en proclamant tes innombrables merveilles ; j’exulterai, je danserai auprès de toi, je fêterai ton nom, Dieu très-haut.
Prière après la communion
Nous t’en prions, Dieu tout-puissant, donne-nous de recueillir tous les fruits de salut dont ces mystères sont déjà la promesse et le gage. Par Jésus.
Méditation
L’on serait tenté de penser que le passage de ce jour nous invite à une radicalité extrême allant jusqu’à l’abnégation de soi. L’orientation que veut inculquer le Christ à ses disciples est tout autre à savoir l’acquitter dans la recherche des vertus, le dynamisme dans la vie spirituelle. Ainsi il ne s’agit pas dans ce récit d’une amputation d’un membre de son corps ou d’un organe. La parole si dure donnée par le Seigneur révèle à la fois l’insistance et l’importance de la recherche de la sainteté. Seigneur que je ne sois pas pour mes frères et sœurs une occasion de chute. Amen !
by L'équipe de publication | May 22, 2024 | Evangelium
Saint John Baptist de Rossi
Green
He became a priest in the 1720s and worked tirelessly in Rome on behalf of homeless women, the sick, prisoners and workers, becoming a very popular confessor. Owing to his selfless desire to assist the needy and downtrodden, he eventually succumbed to illness and died on May 23, 1764.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 12: 6
O Lord, I trust in your merciful love. My heart will rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord who has been bountiful with me.
Collect
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, always pondering spiritual things, we may carry out in both word and deed that which is 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 James: 5:1-6
An answer for the rich. Start crying, weep for the miseries that are coming to you. Your wealth is all rotting, your clothes are all eaten up by moths. All your gold and your silver are corroding away, and the same corrosion will be your own sentence, and eat into your body. It was a burning fire that you stored up as your treasure for the last days. Labourers mowed your fields, and you cheated them – listen to the wages that you kept back, calling out; realise that the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. On earth you have had a life of comfort and luxury; in the time of slaughter you went on eating to your heart’s content. It was you who condemned the innocent and killed them; they offered you no resistance.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
48(49):14-20
R/ How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
This is the lot of those who trust in themselves, who have others at their beck and call. Like sheep they are driven to the grave, where death shall be their shepherd and the just shall become their rulers.
With the morning their outward show vanishes and the grave becomes their home. But God will ransom me from death and take my soul to himself.
Then do not fear when a man grows rich, when the glory of his house increases. He takes nothing with him when he dies, his glory does not follow him below.
Though he flattered himself while he lived: ‘Men will praise me for all my success, yet he will go to join his fathers, who will never see the light any more.
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: Mark 9:41-50
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward. ‘But anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his neck. And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life crippled, than to have two hands and go to hell, into the fire that cannot be put out. And if your foot should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life lame, than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it out; it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell where their worm does not die nor their fire go out. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is a good thing, but if salt has become insipid, how can you season it again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.’
Prayer over the Offerings
As we celebrate your mysteries, O Lord, with the observance that is your due, we humbly ask you, that what we offer to the honour of your majesty may profit us for salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 9: 2-3
I will recount all your wonders, I will rejoice in you and be glad, and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we may experience the effects of the salvation which is pledged to us by these mysteries. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
In today’s society, the worth of something is determined by how it compares to other goods of the same kind: stocks, food, clothing, and even music and films. However, certain things have absolute worth: the value of a soul. Nothing comes close! Jesus depicts this utter lack of comparison by cutting off whatever becomes an impediment. You are so precious that you must be willing to refuse, submit, mute, and even sacrifice your own body or any of its members to save your soul. Do I cherish my immortal soul, my call to everlasting life? If so, do I demonstrate this by the self-denial I exercise in managing what causes me (and, eventually, others through me) to stumble? How often do I prefer my «things» over the loved ones who rely on my Christian example? How daring is my faith?
by L'équipe de publication | May 21, 2024 | Agenda Biblique
Saint EMILE
VERT
Avec saint Caste, ils ont repris courage après la torture à Carthage pour affirmer leur foi devant le juge. Pour cette raison, ils furent brûlés.
Antienne d’ouverture : PS 12, 6
Seigneur, je suis sûr de ton amour: mon cœur est dans la joie, car tu me sauves ; je veux chanter au Seigneur tout le bien qu’il m’a fait.
Prière d’ouverture
Accorde-nous, Dieu tout-puissant, de conformer à ta volonté nos paroles et nos actes dans une inlassable recherche des biens spirituels. Par Jésus Christ.
1ère lecture : Jc 4,13-17
Bien-aimés, vous autres, maintenant, vous dites : « Aujourd’hui ou demain nous irons dans telle ou telle ville, nous y passerons l’année, nous ferons du commerce et nous gagnerons de l’argent », alors que vous ne savez même pas ce que sera votre vie demain! Vous n’êtes qu’un peu de brume, qui paraît un instant puis disparaît. Vous devriez dire au contraire : « Si le Seigneur le veut bien, nous serons en vie et nous ferons ceci ou cela. » Et voilà que vous mettez votre fierté dans vos vantardises. Toute fierté de ce genre est mauvaise ! Être en mesure de faire le bien et ne pas le faire, c’est un péché.
Psaume : 48, 2-3.6-11
R/ Heureux les pauvres de cœur, car le royaume des Cieux est à eux! (Mt 5, 3)
Écoutez ceci, tous les peuples, entendez bien, habitants de l’univers, gens illustres, gens obscurs, riches et pauvres, tous ensemble.
Pourquoi craindre aux jours de malheur ces fourbes qui me talonnent pour m’encercler, ceux qui s’appuient sur leur fortune et se vantent de leurs grandes richesses ?
Nul ne peut racheter son frère ni payer à Dieu sa rançon : aussi cher qu’il puisse payer, toute vie doit finir.
Peut-on vivre indéfiniment sans jamais voir la fosse ? Vous voyez les sages mourir : comme le fou et l’insensé ils périssent, laissant à d’autres leur fortune.
Acclamation
Alléluia, alléluia ! Moi, je suis le Chemin, la Vérité et la Vie, dit le Seigneur. Personne ne va vers le Père sans passer par moi. Alléluia. (2 Tm 1, 10)
Évangile : Mc 9, 38-40
En ce temps-là, Jean, l’un des Douze, disait à Jésus : « Maître, nous avons vu quelqu’un expulser les démons en ton nom ; nous l’en avons empêché, car il n’est pas de ceux qui nous suivent. » Jésus répondit : « Ne l’en empêchez pas, car celui qui fait un miracle en mon nom ne peut pas, aussitôt après, mal parler de moi ; celui qui n’est pas contre nous est pour nous. »
Prière sur les offrandes
En célébrant avec respect tes mystères, Seigneur, nous te supplions humblement : que les dons offerts pour te glorifier servent à notre salut. Par Jésus.
Antienne de la communion : Ps 9, 2-3
De toute mon âme, Seigneur, je rendrai grâce en proclamant tes innombrables merveilles ; j’exulterai, je danserai auprès de toi, je fêterai ton nom, Dieu très-haut.
Prière après la communion
Nous t’en prions, Dieu tout-puissant, donne-nous de recueillir tous les fruits de salut dont ces mystères sont déjà la promesse et le gage. Par Jésus.
Méditation
La plus grande forme de vie à la suite du Christ puise son essence dans la vertu d’humilité qui seul élève le disciple vers des compréhensions plus grandes du mystère de Dieu et de ses actions. C’est par le regard d’amour humble en effet que le disciple parvient à saisir la volonté de son maître. Le ton est donné par Jésus dans l’évangile de ce jour aux apôtres et par extension à tout fidèle du Seigneur, de se garder de tout plein estime de soi qui pourrait constituer un obstacle à la volonté de Dieu. Ne l’en empêchez pas dit Jésus, celui qui n’est pas contre nous est avec nous. O Seigneur donne-moi de te reconnaitre aussi dans l’action du frère. Amen !
by L'équipe de publication | May 21, 2024 | Evangelium
Saint Rita of Cascia
(1377 – 1447)
Green/Red
She was born in Italy. She was married at the age of 12 but became a nun at the dead of her husband. She is widely honoured as a patron saint of impossible or lost causes.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 12: 6
O Lord, I trust in your merciful love. My heart will rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord who has been bountiful with me.
Collect
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, always pondering spiritual things, we may carry out in both word and deed that which is 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: James 4:13-17
Here is the answer for those of you who talk like this: ‘Today or tomorrow, we are off to this or that town; we are going to spend a year there, trading, and make some money.’ You never know what will happen tomorrow: you are no more than a mist that is here for a little while and then disappears. The most you should ever say is: ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we shall still be alive to do this or that.’ But how proud and sure of yourselves you are now! Pride of this kind is always wicked. Everyone who knows what is the right thing to do and doesn’t do it commits a sin.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
48(49):2-3,6-11
R/ How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Hear this, all you peoples, give heed, all who dwell in the world, men both low and high, rich and poor alike!
Why should I fear in evil days the malice of the foes who surround me, men who trust in their wealth, and boast of the vastness of their riches?
For no man can buy his own ransom, or pay a price to God for his life. The ransom of his soul is beyond him. He cannot buy life without end, nor avoid coming to the grave.
He knows that wise men and fools must both perish and leave their wealth to others.
Gospel Acclamation: Jn14:6
Alleluia, alleluia! I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord; No one can come to the Father except through me. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 9:38-40
John said to Jesus, ‘Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.’ But Jesus said, ‘You must not stop him: no one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.’
Prayer over the Offerings
As we celebrate your mysteries, O Lord, with the observance that is your due, we humbly ask you, that what we offer to the honour of your majesty may profit us for salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 9: 2-3
I will recount all your wonders, I will rejoice in you and be glad, and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we may experience the effects of the salvation which is pledged to us by these mysteries. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Jesus tells us, everyone who performs miracles in his name, including demon exorcism, acknowledges Christ’s authority. In effect, Lumen Gentium teaches that «many elements of sanctification» unique to the Catholic Church operate «outside of its visible structure» and «towards Catholic unity». Such a person’s attitudes and beliefs may be flawed, yet his miracles are a testament to Christ and his message. Unlike the Scribes and Pharisees, who appeared implacable in their hostility, he joined forces with the disciples. As a result, we collaborate with other Christians and people of goodwill whenever feasible, and we hope that one day we shall all be one, as Jesus and the Father are (John 17:20-23). While the Church fosters ecumenism, we must seek the spirit of discernment and consult our spiritual leaders to help us clear any doubts. Therefore, membership in a specific community is not a criterion. There can be a strong temptation for exclusivity among us. Many Christian groups can lapse into this trap. The litmus test is whether the actions of others are consistent with our objectives of truth, love, justice, compassion, freedom, peace, nonviolence, etc.
by L'équipe de publication | May 20, 2024 | Evangelium
Saint Christopher Magallanes
and his Companions, Martyrs
Green/Red
He was born in Mexico in 1869. He took a special interest in the evangelization of the local indigenous Huichol. Falsely accused, he was arrested and executed without a trial in 1927.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 12: 6
O Lord, I trust in your merciful love. My heart will rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord who has been bountiful with me.
Collect
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, always pondering spiritual things,
we may carry out in both word and deed that which is 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: James 4:1-10
Where do these wars and battles between yourselves first start? Isn’t it precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves? You want something and you haven’t got it; so you are prepared to kill. You have an ambition that you cannot satisfy; so you fight to get your way by force. Why you don’t have what you want is because you don’t pray for it; when you do pray and don’t get it, it is because you have not prayed properly, you have prayed for something to indulge your own desires. You are as unfaithful as adulterous wives; don’t you realise that making the world your friend is making God your enemy? Anyone who chooses the world for his friend turns himself into God’s enemy. Surely you don’t think scripture is wrong when it says: the spirit which he sent to live in us wants us for himself alone? But he has been even more generous to us, as scripture says: God opposes the proud but he gives generously to the humble. Give in to God, then; resist the devil, and he will run away from you. The nearer you go to God, the nearer he will come to you. Clean your hands, you sinners, and clear your minds, you waverers. Look at your wretched condition, and weep for it in misery; be miserable instead of laughing, gloomy instead of happy. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
54(55):7-11,23
R/ Entrust your cares to the Lord and he will support you.
O that I had wings like a dove to fly away and be at rest. So I would escape far away and take refuge in the desert.
I would hasten to find a shelter from the raging wind, from the destructive storm, O Lord, and from their plotting tongues.
For I can see nothing but violence and strife in the city. Night and day they patrol high on the city walls.
Entrust your cares to the Lord and he will support you. He will never allow the just man to stumble.
Gospel Acclamation: Jn14:23
Alleluia, alleluia! If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 9:30-37
Jesus and his disciples made their way through Galilee; and he did not want anyone to know, because he was instructing his disciples; he was telling them, ‘The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men; they will put him to death; and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again.’ But they did not understand what he said and were afraid to ask him. They came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ They said nothing because they had been arguing which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.’ He then took a little child, set him in front of them, put his arms round him, and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’
Prayer over the Offerings
As we celebrate your mysteries, O Lord, with the observance that is your due, we humbly ask you, that what we offer to the honour of your majesty may profit us for salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 9: 2-3
I will recount all your wonders, I will rejoice in you and be glad, and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we may experience the effects of the salvation which is pledged to us by these mysteries. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
The disciples argued about who was the greatest among them, demonstrating that they were full of foolish desire like the rest of the world. Such arrogant aim breeds unending squabbling and conflict. In effect, this not only distracts individuals from their primary job in life, which is to be helpful and supportive to one another, but it also defeats that objective because we are now pulling down our brothers and sisters who we are supposed to support. We don’t even get what we want when we fight. In humble prayer, we should ask for anything we require. We should ask for whatever is necessary for our salvation without jeopardising our neighbour’s growth. God only responds to those types of prayers. We discipline our lives and pay attention to the voice of Christ as he challenges us with the facts of life, just as he did the apostles. We must be courageous enough to face life’s challenges with faith, humility, and compassion toward others. This is the only way to be certain of the victory that Christ’s resurrection has in store for us.
