by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Jan 8, 2021 | Evangelium
St. Adrian of Canterbury (d. 710)
Feeling called to the monastic life, Adrian left his native North Africa and joined the Benedictines in Italy. Renowned for his scholarship and holiness, he was elected abbot of his monastery and later nominated as archbishop of Canterbury. Out of humility he declined the appointment to archbishop, but volunteered to go to England as a missionary. He endured various trials and even imprisonment on his journey to Canterbury, since he was taken for a spy. Once in England, he was appointed abbot of the monastery of Sts Peter and Paul where he lived for 39 years, actively involved in preaching and education. He died in 710.
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Entrance Antiphon : Gal 4: 4-5
God sent his Son, born of a woman, so that we might receive adoption as children.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, who through your Only Begotten Son have made us a new creation for yourself, grant, we pray, that by your grace we may be found in the likeness of him, in whom our nature is united to you. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : 1 John 5:14-21
We are quite confident that if we ask the Son of God for anything, and it is in accordance with his will,
he will hear us; and, knowing that whatever we may ask, he hears us, we know that we have already been granted what we asked of him. If anybody sees his brother commit a sin that is not a deadly sin, he has only to pray, and God will give life to the sinner – not those who commit a deadly sin; for there is a sin that is death, and I will not say that you must pray about that. Every kind of wrong-doing is sin, but not all sin is deadly. We know that anyone who has been begotten by God does not sin, because the begotten Son of God protects him, and the Evil One does not touch him. We know that we belong to God, but the whole world lies in the power of the Evil One. We know, too, that the Son of God has come, and has given us the power to know the true God.
We are in the true God, as we are in his Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God, this is eternal life. Children, be on your guard against false gods.
Psalm 149:1-6,9
R/ The Lord takes delight in his people.
- Sing a new song to the Lord, his praise in the assembly of the faithful. Let Israel rejoice in its Maker, let Zion’s sons exult in their king.
- Let them praise his name with dancing and make music with timbrel and harp. For the Lord takes delight in his people. He crowns the poor with salvation.
- Let the faithful rejoice in their glory, shout for joy and take their rest. Let the praise of God be on their lips: this honour is for all his faithful.
Gospel Acclamation Lk7:16
Alleluia, alleluia! A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people. Alleluia!
Gospel : John 3:22-30
Jesus went with his disciples into the Judaean countryside and stayed with them there and baptised. At the same time John was baptising at Aenon near Salim, where there was plenty of water, and people were going there to be baptised. This was before John had been put in prison. Now some of John’s disciples had opened a discussion with a Jew about purification, so they went to John and said, ‘Rabbi, the man who was with you on the far side of the Jordan, the man to whom you bore witness, is baptising now; and everyone is going to him.’ John replied: ‘A man can lay claim only to what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can bear me out: I said: I myself am not the Christ; I am the one who has been sent in front of him. The bride is only for the bridegroom; and yet the bridegroom’s friend, who stands there and listens, is glad when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This same joy I feel, and now it is complete. He must grow greater, I must grow smaller.’
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 : Jn 1: 16
From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
Prayer after Communion
May your people, O Lord, whom you guide and sustain in many ways, experience, both now and in the future, the remedies which you bestow, that, with the needed solace of things that pass away, they may strive with ever deepened trust for things eternal. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
The disciples of John bring a case against Jesus to him. For them, Jesus was becoming a rival, operating just as John did. In his humility, John reminds them of his testimony of the Christ, and tells of how he (John) must grow smaller, while Christ grows bigger. How humble are we when we hand over to others, be it in the public service or in the Church? Do we allow those who have taken over from us a free hand to do their work to the best of their ability? How humble are we when we take over from our predecessors? The humble words of John should be ours, “He must grow greater, I must grow smaller.”
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Jan 8, 2021 | Agenda Biblique
Bienheureuse Alix Le Clerc
Avant de devenir une religieuse sous le nom de Mère Thérèse de Jésus, elle connut une jeunesse dans le divertissement et l’insouciance. C’est après une maladie grave qu’elle commença à s’interroger sur sa vie sans toutefois laisser complètement sa vie de plaisir. Elle prit conscience de sa vocation lors d’une vision de la Vierge Marie qu’elle reçut durant une Messe à l’église Notre-Dame. Éducatrice créatrice d’écoles, elle est la fondatrice d’un ordre religieux d’enseignante, la congrégation Notre-Dame-Chanoinesse de St Augustin. Elle fut béatifiée par Pie XII le 04 mai 1947.
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Antienne d’ouverture : Galates 4, 4-5
Dieu a envoyé son Fils, né d’une femme, pour faire de nous ses fils.
Dieu éternel et tout-puissant, tu as voulu que, dans ton Fils unique, nous devenions pour toi de nouvelles créatures ; que ta grâce nous modèle à l’image du Christ en qui notre nature est unie à la tienne. Lui qui.
Première lecture : 1 Jean 5, 14-21
Bien-aimés, voici l’assurance que nous avons auprès de Dieu : si nous faisons une demande selon sa volonté, il nous écoute. Et, puisque nous savons qu’il nous écoute en toutes nos demandes, nous savons aussi que nous obtenons ce que nous lui avons demandé. Si quelqu’un voit son frère commettre un péché qui n’entraîne pas la mort, il demandera, et Dieu lui donnera la vie, – cela vaut pour ceux dont le péché n’entraîne pas la mort. Il y a un péché qui entraîne la mort, ce n’est pas pour celui-là que je dis de prier. Toute conduite injuste est péché, mais tout péché n’entraîne pas la mort. Nous le savons : ceux qui sont nés de Dieu ne commettent pas de péché ; le Fils engendré par Dieu les protège et le Mauvais ne peut pas les atteindre. Nous savons que nous sommes de Dieu, alors que le monde entier est au pouvoir du Mauvais. Nous savons aussi que le Fils de Dieu est venu nous donner l’intelligence pour que nous connaissions Celui qui est vrai ; et nous sommes en Celui qui est vrai, en son Fils Jésus Christ. C’est lui qui est le Dieu vrai, et la vie éternelle. Petits enfants, gardez-vous des idoles.
Psaume : 149, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6a.9b
R/ Le Seigneur aime son peuple. ou: Alléluia. (149, 4a)
1. Chantez au Seigneur un chant nouveau, louez-le dans l’assemblée de ses fidèles! En Israël, joie pour son créateur ; dans Sion, allégresse pour son Roi!
2. Dansez à la louange de son nom, jouez pour lui, tambourins et cithares ! Car le Seigneur aime son peuple, il donne aux humbles l’éclat de la victoire.
3. Que les fidèles exultent, glorieux, criant leur joie à l’heure du triomphe. Qu’ils proclament les éloges de Dieu, c’est la fierté de ses fidèles.
Alléluia, Alléluia. Le peuple qui habitait dans les ténèbres a vu une grande lumière. Sur ceux qui habitaient le pays et l’ombre de la mort, une lumière s’est levée. Alléluia. (Mt 4, 16)
En ce temps-là, Jésus se rendit en Judée, ainsi que ses disciples; il y séjourna avec eux, et il baptisait. Jean, quant à lui, baptisait à Aïnone, près de Salim, où l’eau était abondante. On venait là pour se faire baptiser. En effet, Jean n’avait pas encore été mis en prison. Or, il y eut une discussion entre les disciples de Jean et un Juif au sujet des bains de purification. Ils allèrent trouver Jean et lui dirent: « Rabbi, celui qui était avec toi de l’autre côté du Jourdain, celui à qui tu as rendu témoignage, le voilà qui baptise, et tous vont à lui!» Jean répondit: «Un homme ne peut rien s’attribuer, sinon ce qui lui est donné du Ciel. Vous-mêmes pouvez témoigner que j’ai dit : Moi, je ne suis pas le Christ, mais j’ai été envoyé devant lui. Celui à qui l’épouse appartient, c’est l’époux ; quant à l’ami de l’époux, il se tient là, il entend la voix de l’époux, et il en est tout joyeux. Telle est ma joie: elle est parfaite. Lui, il faut qu’il grandisse; et moi, que je diminue. »
Dieu qui donnes la grâce de te servir avec droiture et de chercher la paix, fais que cette offrande puisse te glorifier, et que notre participation à l’Eucharistie renforce les liens de notre unité. Par Jésus.
Tous nous avons eu part à la plénitude du Christ : nous avons reçu grâce après grâce.
Ton peuple, Seigneur, a besoin de multiples secours pour sa traversée d’ici-bas, que ta bonté les lui donne aujourd’hui et demain: trouvant alors la force nécessaire dans les biens qui passent, il recherchera les biens éternels avec plus de confiance. Par Jésus.
La vie chrétienne a sans doute, dans la finale de cet évangile, l’une de ses définitions les plus classiques : faire grandir le Christ en nous pour que diminue notre moi. Oui ce fameux moi qui tend de plus en plus à se constituer en obstacle de la vérité sur nous-mêmes et les autres. À en croire les propos de Jean le Baptiste, il s’agit d’une nécessité de croissance. Il faut en effet que le Christ grandisse et que notre moi diminue. Il y a ici comme une forme de dialectique sans cesse renouvelée entre une tendance en nous à vouloir nous imposer à tout prix et une présence plus forte, mais discrète, qui exalte le vrai sens de la justice : donner à Dieu ce qui lui revient dans l’existence.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Jan 7, 2021 | Agenda Biblique
Saint Lucien de Beauvais
Originaire d’une famille romaine il s’appelait Lucius qu’il changea en Lucien. Prédicateur itinérant il parcourt l’Italie. Il fut victime d’une persécution à Parme où il fut emprisonné et s’évade le soir même. Il fut ordonné évêque vers 250. Il sillonna la France et s’installa à Caesaromagus, l’actuel Beauvais.
Une lumière s’est levée dans les ténèbres pour les hommes au cœur droit : c’est le Seigneur miséricordieux, juste et plein de pitié.
Dieu tout-puissant, tu as signifié par une étoile qu’un Sauveur était né pour le monde ; maintiens ta lumière en nos cœurs pour que nous entrions plus avant dans ce mystère. Par Jésus Christ.
Première lecture: 1 Jean 5, 5-13
Bien-aimés qui donc est vainqueur du monde ? N’est-ce pas celui qui croit que Jésus est le Fils de Dieu ? C’est lui, Jésus Christ, qui est venu par l’eau et par le sang : non pas seulement avec l’eau, mais avec l’eau et avec le sang. Et celui qui rend témoignage, c’est l’Esprit, car l’Esprit est la vérité. En effet, ils sont trois qui rendent témoignage, l’Esprit, l’eau et le sang, et les trois n’en font qu’un. Nous acceptons bien le témoignage des hommes ; or, le témoignage de Dieu a plus de valeur, puisque le témoignage de Dieu, c’est celui qu’il rend à son Fils. Celui qui met sa foi dans le Fils de Dieu, possède en lui-même ce témoignage. Celui qui ne croit pas Dieu, celui-là fait de Dieu un menteur, puisqu’il n’a pas mis sa foi dans le témoignage que Dieu rend à son Fils. Et ce témoignage, le voici: Dieu nous a donné la vie éternelle, et cette vie est dans son Fils. Celui qui a le Fils possède la vie; celui qui n’a pas le Fils de Dieu ne possède pas la vie. Je vous ai écrit cela pour que vous sachiez que vous avez la vie éternelle, vous qui mettez votre foi dans le nom du Fils de Dieu.
Psaume : 147 (147b), 12-13, 14-15, 19-20
R/ Glorifie le Seigneur, Jérusalem! Célèbre ton Dieu, ô Sion ! ou: Alléluia. (Ps 147, 12)
1. Glorifie le Seigneur, Jérusalem! Célèbre ton Dieu, ô Sion ! Il a consolidé les barres de tes portes, dans tes murs il a béni tes enfants.
2. Il fait régner la paix à tes frontières, et d’un pain de froment te rassasie. Il envoie sa parole sur la terre : rapide, son verbe la parcourt.
3. Il révèle sa parole à Jacob, ses volontés et ses lois à Israël. Pas un peuple qu’il ait ainsi traité ; nul autre n’a connu ses volontés.
Alléluia, Alléluia. Jésus proclamait l’Évangile du Royaume, et guérissait toute maladie dans le peuple. Alléluia. (cf. Mt 4, 23)
Jésus était dans une ville quand survint un homme couvert de lèpre; voyant Jésus, il tomba face contre terre et le supplia : « Seigneur, si tu le veux, tu peux me purifier. » Jésus étendit la main et le toucha en disant : « Je le veux, sois purifié. » À l’instant même, la lèpre le quitta. Alors Jésus lui ordonna de ne le dire à personne : « Va plutôt te montrer au prêtre et donne pour ta purification ce que Moïse a prescrit ; ce sera pour tous un témoignage. » De plus en plus, on parlait de Jésus. De grandes foules accouraient pour l’entendre et se faire guérir de leurs maladies. Mais lui se retirait dans les endroits déserts, et il priait.
Reçois favorablement, Seigneur, les offrandes de ton peuple, pour qu’il obtienne dans le mystère eucharistique les biens auxquels il croit de tout son cœur. Par Jésus.
Voici comment Dieu a manifesté son amour pour nous : Dieu a envoyé son fils unique dans le monde afin que nous vivions par lui.
Prière après la communion
Quand nous allons communier, Seigneur, tu viens à notre rencontre ; produis en nos cœurs le fruit de ce sacrement, car seule ta grâce peut nous préparer à recevoir tes grâces. Par Jésus.
« Seigneur, si tu le veux, tu peux me purifier ». Telle est la prière du lépreux à Jésus. Elle peut aussi être la nôtre. Orienter nos supplications dans le sens de la volonté de Dieu constitue, à n’en point douter, le gage d’une sérénité dans l’existence. Il est important pour nous d’entrer dans cette forme de décentrement au niveau de l’acte de piété. Prier c’est aussi se référer à Dieu dans nos différents choix de vie. C’est apprendre à s’abandonner à lui, se laisser façonner par ses choix plutôt que les nôtres. Une telle prière est certainement libératrice et thérapeutique.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Jan 7, 2021 | Evangelium
St. Peter Thomas (1305-1366)
Peter Thomas was born into a poor peasant family in the southern Périgord region in France. His piety and skill as a teacher attracted the attention of the Carmelite Prior of Bergérac, who invited him to join the Carmelite community there at age twenty-one. He taught in various houses of study until he was sent to a university in Paris for advanced scholarship. While his studies were still in progress, he was elected by the Order as its procurator general to the Papal Court at Avignon in 1345.
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Entrance Antiphon : Ps 111: 4
A light has risen in the darkness for the upright of heart; the Lord is generous, merciful and just.
Collect
Grant, we ask, almighty God, that the Nativity of the Saviour of the world, made known by the guidance of a star, may be revealed ever more fully to our minds. 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 John 5:5-13
Who can overcome the world? Only the man who believes that Jesus is the Son of God: Jesus Christ who came by water and blood, not with water only, but with water and blood; with the Spirit as another witness – since the Spirit is the truth – so that there are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water and the blood, and all three of them agree. We accept the testimony of human witnesses, but God’s testimony is much greater, and this is God’s testimony, given as evidence for his Son. Everybody who believes in the Son of God has this testimony inside him; and anyone who will not believe God is making God out to be a liar, because he has not trusted the testimony God has given about his Son. This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life and this life is in his Son; anyone who has the Son has life, anyone who does not have the Son does not have life. I have written all this to you so that you who believe in the name of the Son of God may be sure that you have eternal life.
Psalm 147:12-15,19-20
R/ praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
- O praise the Lord, Jerusalem! Zion, praise your God! He has strengthened the bars of your gates he has blessed the children within you.
- He established peace on your borders, he feeds you with finest wheat. He sends out his word to the earth and swiftly runs his command.
- He makes his word known to Jacob, to Israel his laws and decrees. He has not dealt thus with other nations; he has not taught them his decrees.
Gospel Acclamation : 1Tim3:16
Alleluia, alleluia! Glory to you, O Christ, proclaimed to the pagans; glory to you, O Christ, believed in by the world. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 5:12-16
Jesus was in one of the towns when a man appeared, covered with leprosy. Seeing Jesus he fell on his face and implored him. ‘Sir,’ he said, ‘if you want to, you can cure me.’ Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’ And the leprosy left him at once. He ordered him to tell no one. ‘But go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering for your healing as Moses prescribed it, as evidence for them.’
His reputation continued to grow, and large crowds would gather to hear him and to have their sickness cured, but he would always go off to some place where he could be alone and pray.
Prayer over the Offerings
Receive with favour, O Lord, we pray, the offerings of your people, that what they profess with devotion and faith may be theirs through these heavenly mysteries. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : 1 Jn 4: 9
By this the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his Only Begotten Son into the world, so that we might have life through him.
Prayer after Communion
O God, who touch us through our partaking of your Sacrament, work, we pray, the effects of its power in our hearts, that we may be made fit to receive your gift through this very gift itself. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
The leper in today’s Gospel demonstrates courage and faith. His request must be seen in connection with his gesture of courage and faith. It is on account of his faith that Jesus says, “Of course I want to! Be cured!” Jesus’ words and touch bring healing to the leper. We may not have lepers in our community, but we definitely have people whose status is similar to that of lepers at the time of Jesus. What attitude and approach do we adopt towards such people? Like Jesus, we need to adopt an attitude of compassion and healing.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Jan 6, 2021 | Agenda Biblique
St. Raymond of Penyafort, Priest
St. Raymond of Peñafort (c.1175 – 1275) was a Spanish Dominican friar in the 13th-century, who compiled a collection of canon laws that remained a major part of Church law until the 20th century. He is the patron saint of lawyers, especially canon lawyers.
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Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Jn 1: 1
In the beginning and before all ages, the Word was God and he humbled himself to be born the Saviour of the world.
Collect
O God, who through your Son raised up your eternal light for all nations, grant that your people may come to acknowledge the full splendour of their Redeemer, that, bathed ever more in his radiance, they may reach everlasting glory. 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 John 4:19-5:4
We are to love, because God loved us first. Anyone who says, ‘I love God’, and hates his brother, is a liar, since a man who does not love the brother that he can see cannot love God, whom he has never seen. So this is the commandment that he has given us, that anyone who loves God must also love his brother. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten by God; and whoever loves the Father that begot him loves the child whom he begets. We can be sure that we love God’s children if we love God himself and do what he has commanded us; this is what loving God is – keeping his commandments; and his commandments are not difficult, because anyone who has been begotten by God has already overcome the world; this is the victory over the world – our faith.
Psalm 71(72):1-2,14-15,17
R/ All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
- O God, give your judgement to the king, to a king’s son your justice, that he may judge your people in justice and your poor in right judgement.
- From oppression he will rescue their lives, to him their blood is dear. (Long may he live, may the gold of Sheba be given him.) They shall pray for him without ceasing and bless him all the day.
- May his name be blessed for ever and endure like the sun. Every tribe shall be blessed in him, all nations bless his name.
Gospel Acclamation : Lk7:16
Alleluia, alleluia! A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 4:14-22
Jesus, with the power of the Spirit in him, returned to Galilee; and his reputation spread throughout the countryside. He taught in their synagogues and everyone praised him. He came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written: The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour. He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, ‘This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.’ And he won the approval of all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from his lips.
Prayer over the Offerings
Receive our oblation, O Lord, by which is brought about a glorious exchange, that, by offering what you have given, we may merit to receive your very self. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Jn 3: 16
God so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son, so that all who believe in him may not perish, but may have eternal life.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, by the power of these holy mysteries, our life may be constantly sustained. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Just as Jesus was anointed Priest, Prophet and King, we too were anointed at the time of our baptism. With this anointing, God also sends us out to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to free the downtrodden, and to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour. Do we recognise this mission that has been entrusted to us by God Himself? How have we been faithful to this mission?
