by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Aug 29, 2020 | Evangelium
sunday 30 August 2020
TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, PS III
St Margaret Clitherow, née Middleton (1556 – 1586)
Green
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: Jeremiah 20:7-9
You have seduced me, Lord, and I have let myself be seduced; you have overpowered me: you were the stronger. I am a daily laughing-stock, everybody’s butt. Each time I speak the word, I have to howl and proclaim: ‘Violence and ruin!’ The word of the Lord has meant for me insult, derision, all day long. I used to say, ‘I will not think about him, I will not speak in his name any more.’ Then there seemed to be a fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones. The effort to restrain it wearied me, I could not bear it.
Psalm 62(63):2-6, 8-9
R/ For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.
- O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water.
- So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory. For your love is better than life, my lips will speak your praise.
- So I will bless you all my life, in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul shall be filled as with a banquet, my mouth shall praise you with joy.
- For you have been my help; in the shadow of your wings I rejoice. My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast.
Second reading: Romans 12:1-2
Think of God’s mercy, my brothers, and worship him, I beg you, in a way that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God. Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.
Gospel Acclamation: Ep 1:17, 18
Alleluia, alleluia! May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our mind, so that we can see what hope his call holds for us. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 16:21-27
Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord;’ he said ‘this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’ Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life? ‘For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour.’
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
Jesus once more tells his disciples of his journey to Jerusalem and how he is to suffer and die. The disciples at this moment are naturally not happy because their Lord and master, their guide, is going to die and no longer be with them. They already have a projective feeling of insecurity and abandonment. Peter tries to stop Jesus but Jesus in his turn rebukes him: “get behind me Satan”. This is not an insult, rather Jesus is teaching us that everything that is worth it, comes at a higher price (death for our sins) and to such, we must not pose an obstacle (this must not happen to you). Peter was an obstacle but Jesus surmounted it. What are those things or even people who stand on our way to attainment of the kingdom? We must learn to remove all obstacles in our lives (greed, materialism, stealing, malice, all forms of corruption, our families and friends, etc.) for a higher gain (eternal life). This is part of the cross we must carry if we want to be followers of Jesus Christ.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Aug 29, 2020 | Agenda Biblique
VERT
Saint Fiacre
Il aurait été le fils d’un roi d’Ecosse ou d’Irlande. On lui prêta beaucoup de vertus de guérison après sa mort. La reine Anne d’Autriche lui rendait grâce de la naissance de son enfant qui devint Louis XIV.
Antienne d’ouverture : Ps 85, 3. 5
Prends pitié de moi, Seigneur, toi que je supplie tout le jour, toi, tu es bon, tu pardonnes, tu es plein d’amour pour tous ceux qui t’appellent.
Prière d’ouverture
Dieu puissant, de qui vient tout don parfait enracine en nos coeurs l’amour de ton nom. Resserre nos liens avec toi, pour développer ce qui est bon en nous, veille sur nous avec sollicitude, pour protéger ce que tu as fait grandir. Par Jésus Christ.
Lectures de la messe
Première lecture (Jr 20, 7-9)
Seigneur, tu m’as séduit, et j’ai été séduit ; tu m’as saisi, et tu as réussi. À longueur de journée je suis exposé à la raillerie, tout le monde se moque de moi. Chaque fois que j’ai à dire la parole, je dois crier, je dois proclamer : « Violence et dévastation ! » À longueur de journée, la parole du Seigneur attire sur moi l’insulte et la moquerie. Je me disais : « Je ne penserai plus à lui, je ne parlerai plus en son nom. » Mais elle était comme un feu brûlant dans mon cœur, elle était enfermée dans mes os. Je m’épuisais à la maîtriser, sans y réussir. – Parole du Seigneur.
Psaume (Ps 62 (63), 2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9)
R/ Mon âme a soif de toi, Seigneur, mon Dieu ! (cf. Ps 62, 2b)
Dieu, tu es mon Dieu, je te cherche dès l’aube : mon âme a soif de toi ; après toi languit ma chair, terre aride, altérée, sans eau.
Je t’ai contemplé au sanctuaire, j’ai vu ta force et ta gloire. Ton amour vaut mieux que la vie : tu seras la louange de mes lèvres !
Toute ma vie je vais te bénir, lever les mains en invoquant ton nom. Comme par un festin je serai rassasié ; la joie sur les lèvres, je dirai ta louange.
Oui, tu es venu à mon secours : je crie de joie à l’ombre de tes ailes. Mon âme s’attache à toi, ta main droite me soutient.
Deuxième lecture (Rm 12, 1-2)
Je vous exhorte, frères, par la tendresse de Dieu, à lui présenter votre corps – votre personne tout entière –, en sacrifice vivant, saint, capable de plaire à Dieu : c’est là, pour vous, la juste manière de lui rendre un culte. Ne prenez pas pour modèle le monde présent, mais transformez-vous en renouvelant votre façon de penser pour discerner quelle est la volonté de Dieu : ce qui est bon, ce qui est capable de lui plaire, ce qui est parfait. – Parole du Seigneur.
Alléluia. Alléluia.
Que le Père de notre Seigneur Jésus Christ ouvre à sa lumière les yeux de notre cœur,
pour que nous percevions l’espérance que donne son appel.
Alléluia. (cf. Ep 1, 17-18)
Évangile (Mt 16, 21-27)
En ce temps-là, Jésus commença à montrer à ses disciples qu’il lui fallait partir pour Jérusalem, souffrir beaucoup de la part des anciens, des grands prêtres et des scribes, être tué, et le troisième jour ressusciter. Pierre, le prenant à part, se mit à lui faire de vifs reproches : « Dieu t’en garde, Seigneur ! cela ne t’arrivera pas. » Mais lui, se retournant, dit à Pierre : « Passe derrière moi, Satan ! Tu es pour moi une occasion de chute : tes pensées ne sont pas celles de Dieu, mais celles des hommes. » Alors Jésus dit à ses disciples : « Si quelqu’un veut marcher à ma suite, qu’il renonce à lui-même, qu’il prenne sa croix et qu’il me suive. Car celui qui veut sauver sa vie la perdra, mais qui perd sa vie à cause de moi la trouvera. Quel avantage, en effet, un homme aura-t-il à gagner le monde entier, si c’est au prix de sa vie ? Et que pourra-t-il donner en échange de sa vie ? Car le Fils de l’homme va venir avec ses anges dans la gloire de son Père ; alors il rendra à chacun selon sa conduite. » – Acclamons la Parole de Dieu.
Prière sur les offrandes :
Que l’offrande eucharistique, Seigneur, nous apporte toujours la grâce du salut. Que ta puissance accomplisse elle-même ce que nous célébrons dans cette liturgie. Par Jésus.
Antienne de communion : Ps 30, 20
Qu’elle est grande, Seigneur, ta bonté envers ceux qui t’adorent!
Prière après la communion :
Rassasiés par le pain de la vie, nous te prions, Seigneur : Que cette nourriture fortifie l’amour en nos cœurs , et nous incite à te servir dans nos frères. Par Jésus.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Aug 28, 2020 | Evangelium
saturday 29 August 2020
The Beheading of St John the Baptist
John the Baptist is the only saint in the calendar (apart from St Joseph) who has two feasts to himself. One, in August, celebrates his death, and one, in June, celebrates his birth. And this is as it should be, for as Christ himself said, John was the greatest of the sons of men.
Red
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 118: 46-47
I spoke, O Lord, of your decrees before kings, and was not confounded; I pondered your commands and loved them greatly.
Collect
O God, who willed that Saint John the Baptist should go ahead of your Son both in his birth and in his death, grant that, as he died a Martyr for truth and justice, we, too, may fight hard for the confession of what you teach. 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 Corinthians 1:26-31
Take yourselves for instance, brothers, at the time when you were called: how many of you were wise in the ordinary sense of the word, how many were influential people, or came from noble families? No, it was to shame the wise that God chose what is foolish by human reckoning, and to shame what is strong that he chose what is weak by human reckoning; those whom the world thinks common and contemptible are the ones that God has chosen – those who are nothing at all to show up those who are everything. The human race has nothing to boast about to God, but you, God has made members of Christ Jesus and by God’s doing he has become our wisdom, and our virtue, and our holiness, and our freedom. As scripture says: if anyone wants to boast, let him boast about the Lord.
Psalm 32(33):12-13, 18-21
R/ Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
- They are happy, whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen as his own. From the heavens the Lord looks forth, he sees all the children of men.
- The Lord looks on those who revere him, on those who hope in his love, to rescue their souls from death, to keep them alive in famine.
- Our soul is waiting for the Lord. The Lord is our help and our shield. In him do our hearts find joy. We trust in his holy name.
Gospel Acclamation: Mt 5
Alleluia, alleluia! Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 6:17-29
Herod sent to have John arrested, and had him chained up in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife whom he had married. For John had told Herod, ‘It is against the law for you to have your brother’s wife.’ As for Herodias, she was furious with him and wanted to kill him; but she was not able to, because Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him. An opportunity came on Herod’s birthday when he gave a banquet for the nobles of his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures in Galilee. When the daughter of this same Herodias came in and danced, she delighted Herod and his guests; so the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me anything you like and I will give it you.’ And he swore her an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ The girl hurried straight back to the king and made her request, ‘I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head, here and now, on a dish.’ The king was deeply distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he was reluctant to break his word to her. So the king at once sent one of the bodyguard with orders to bring John’s head. The man went off and beheaded him in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Prayer over the Offerings
Through these offerings which we bring you, O Lord, grant that we may make straight your paths, as taught by that voice crying in the desert, Saint John the Baptist, who powerfully sealed his teaching by the shedding of his blood. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Jn 3: 27, 30
John answered and said: He must increase; but I must decrease.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, O Lord, as we celebrate the heavenly birth of Saint John the Baptist, that we may revere, for what it signifies, the saving Sacrament we have received and, even more, may rejoice at its clear effects in us. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
We gain inspiration from the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, the Messiah’s Precursor. All his life moves around Jesus, to the extent that without Him, the very existence and aim of the Messiah’s Precursor would have been meaningless. Towards the end of his life, when preaching the messianic freedom, John is thrown into prison: «For John had told Herod, ‘It is not right for you to live with your brother’s wife’». Herod was hard-hearted to the point of wasting precious life to satisfy a common promise. We have to be careful what kind of promises we make and at what expense. It could simply veil our eyes to the sanctity of life which we cannot create. May we always gain zeal for the truth.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Aug 28, 2020 | Agenda Biblique
ROUGE
Martyre de saint Jean Baptiste
Toute la vie de Jean Baptiste est un témoignage rendu à Celui qu’il précède, qu’il a mission de montrer, et devant qui il veut s’effacer. C’est le témoignage vigoureux d’un prophète qui ne cherche pas à plaire au monde, mais à le convertir par son exemple et sa parole. Or la vérité déchaîne la haine de ceux qui la refusent et qu’elle blesse ; le prophète qui dit la vérité en face à un roi adultère doit donc s’attendre à devenir un martyr ; le sang de Jean décapité donne encore plus de vigueur à son témoignage.
Antienne d’ouverture :Ps 85, 1-3
Écoute, Seigneur, réponds-moi. Sauve, ô mon Dieu, ton serviteur qui compte sur toi. Prends pitié de moi, Seigneur, toi que j’appelle tout le jour.
Prière d’ouverture
Dieu qui peux mettre au cœur de tes fidèles un unique désir, donne à ton peuple d’aimer ce que tu commandes et d’attendre ce que tu promets. Pour qu’au milieu des changements de ce monde, nos coeurs s’établissent fermement là où se trouvent les vraies joies. Par Jésus Christ.
1ère lecture :1 Co 1, 26-31
Frères, vous qui avez été appelés par Dieu, regardez bien : parmi vous, il n’y a pas beaucoup de sages aux yeux des hommes, ni de gens puissants ou de haute naissance. Au contraire, ce qu’il y a de fou dans le monde, voilà ce que Dieu a choisi, pour couvrir de confusion les sages ; ce qu’il y a de faible dans le monde, voilà ce que Dieu a choisi, pour couvrir de confusion ce qui est fort ; ce qui est d’origine modeste, méprisé dans le monde, ce qui n’est pas, voilà ce que Dieu a choisi, pour réduire à rien ce qui est ; ainsi aucun être de chair ne pourra s’enorgueillir devant Dieu. C’est grâce à Dieu, en effet, que vous êtes dans le Christ Jésus, lui qui est devenu pour nous sagesse venant de Dieu, justice, sanctification, rédemption. Ainsi, comme il est écrit : Celui qui veut être fier, qu’il mette sa fierté dans le Seigneur.
Psaume : 32 (33), 12-13, 18-19, 20-21
R/ Heureux le peuple que le Seigneur s’est choisi pour domaine.
- Heureux le peuple dont le Seigneur est le Dieu, heureuse la nation qu’il s’est choisie pour domaine ! Du haut des cieux, le Seigneur regarde : il voit la race des hommes.
- Dieu veille sur ceux qui le craignent, qui mettent leur espoir en son amour, pour les délivrer de la mort, les garder en vie aux jours de famine.
- Nous attendons notre vie du Seigneur : il est pour nous un appui, un bouclier. La joie de notre cœur vient de lui, notre confiance est dans son nom très saint.
Acclamation :
Alléluia. Alléluia. Je vous donne un commandement nouveau, dit le Seigneur : « Aimez-vous les uns les autres, comme je vous ai aimés. » Alléluia. (cf. Jn 13, 34)
Evangile : Mt 25, 14-30
En ce temps-là, Jésus disait à ses disciples cette parabole : « Un homme qui partait en voyage appela ses serviteurs et leur confia ses biens. À l’un il remit une somme de cinq talents, à un autre deux talents, au troisième un seul talent, à chacun selon ses capacités. Puis il partit. Aussitôt, celui qui avait reçu les cinq talents s’en alla pour les faire valoir et en gagna cinq autres. De même, celui qui avait reçu deux talents en gagna deux autres. Mais celui qui n’en avait reçu qu’un alla creuser la terre et cacha l’argent de son maître. Longtemps après, le maître de ces serviteurs revint et il leur demanda des comptes. Celui qui avait reçu cinq talents s’approcha, présenta cinq autres talents et dit : “Seigneur, tu m’as confié cinq talents ; voilà, j’en ai gagné cinq autres.” Son maître lui déclara : “Très bien, serviteur bon et fidèle, tu as été fidèle pour peu de choses, je t’en confierai beaucoup ; entre dans la joie de ton seigneur.” Celui qui avait reçu deux talents s’approcha aussi et dit : “Seigneur, tu m’as confié deux talents ; voilà, j’en ai gagné deux autres.” Son maître lui déclara : “Très bien, serviteur bon et fidèle, tu as été fidèle pour peu de choses, je t’en confierai beaucoup ; entre dans la joie de ton seigneur.” Celui qui avait reçu un seul talent s’approcha aussi et dit : “Seigneur, je savais que tu es un homme dur : tu moissonnes là où tu n’as pas semé, tu ramasses là où tu n’as pas répandu le grain. J’ai eu peur, et je suis allé cacher ton talent dans la terre. Le voici. Tu as ce qui t’appartient.” Son maître lui répliqua : “Serviteur mauvais et paresseux, tu savais que je moissonne là où je n’ai pas semé, que je ramasse le grain là où je ne l’ai pas répandu. Alors, il fallait placer mon argent à la banque ; et, à mon retour, je l’aurais retrouvé avec les intérêts. Enlevez-lui donc son talent et donnez-le à celui qui en a dix. À celui qui a, on donnera encore, et il sera dans l’abondance ; mais celui qui n’a rien se verra enlever même ce qu’il a. Quant à ce serviteur bon à rien, jetez-le dans les ténèbres extérieures ; là, il y aura des pleurs et des grincements de dents !” »
Prière sur les offrandes :
Par l’unique sacrifice de la Croix, tu t’es donné, Père très bon, un peuple de fils. Accorde-nous, dans ton Église, la grâce de l’unité et de la paix. Par Jésus.
Antienne de communion : Ps 103, 13-15
Seigneur, tu as créé de quoi rassasier le monde entier, tu fais produire à la terre le pain, et le vin qui réjouit le cœur des hommes.
Prière après la communion :
Que ta miséricorde, Seigneur, agisse en nous et nous guérisse entièrement. Transforme-nous, par ta grâce, et rends-nous si généreux que nous puissions te plaire en toute chose. Par Jésus.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Aug 27, 2020 | Evangelium
friday 28 August 2020
St Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430)
He was born in Thagaste in Africa of a Berber family. He had a brilliant legal and academic career. At length, through the prayers of his mother, and the teaching of St Ambrose of Milan, he was converted back to Christianity. He wrote an enormous number of works. He was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Boniface VIII in 1308.
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White
Entrance Antiphon: Sir 15: 5
In the midst of the Church he opened his mouth, and the Lord filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding and clothed him in a robe of glory.
Collect
Renew in your Church, we pray, O Lord, the spirit with which you endowed your Bishop Saint Augustine that, filled with the same spirit, we may thirst for you, the sole fount of true wisdom, and seek you, the author of heavenly love. 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 Corinthians 1:17-25
Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the Good News, and not to preach that in the terms of philosophy in which the crucifixion of Christ cannot be expressed. The language of the cross may be illogical to those who are not on the way to salvation, but those of us who are on the way see it as God’s power to save. As scripture says: I shall destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing all the learning of the learned. Where are the philosophers now? Where are the scribes? Where are any of our thinkers today? Do you see now how God has shown up the foolishness of human wisdom? If it was God’s wisdom that human wisdom should not know God, it was because God wanted to save those who have faith through the foolishness of the message that we preach. And so, while the Jews demand miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom, here are we preaching a crucified Christ; to the Jews an obstacle that they cannot get over, to the pagans madness, but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
Psalm 32(33):1-2, 4-5, 10-11
R/ The Lord fills the earth with his love.
- Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; for praise is fitting for loyal hearts. Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp, with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
- For the word of the Lord is faithful and all his works to be trusted. The Lord loves justice and right and fills the earth with his love.
- He frustrates the designs of the nations, he defeats the plans of the peoples. His own designs shall stand for ever, the plans of his heart from age to age.
Gospel Acclamation: Ps 129:5
Alleluia, alleluia! My soul is waiting for the Lord, I count on his word. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 25:1-13
Jesus told this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven will be like this: Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible: the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps. The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry, “The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him.” At this, all those bridesmaids woke up and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, “Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out.” But they replied, “There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves.” They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed. The other bridesmaids arrived later. “Lord, Lord,” they said “open the door for us.” But he replied, “I tell you solemnly, I do not know you.” So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Celebrating the memorial of our salvation, we humbly beseech your mercy, O Lord, that this Sacrament of your loving kindness may be for us the sign of unity and the bond of charity. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Mt 23: 10, 8
Thus says the Lord: You have but one teacher, the Christ, and you are all brothers.
Prayer after Communion
May partaking of Christ’s table sanctify us, we pray, O Lord, that, being made members of his Body, we may become what we have received. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Wedding ceremonies in the days of Jesus, took a longer period of celebration. It could even last for several days. It was also customary that the brides-maids waited for the groom. Sometimes too he would keep them waiting for longer hours, all in a bid to take the brides-maids by surprise. And so, Jesus uses this parable to tell us the shortness of our lives and how ready we should always be. Jesus’ coming will be in like manner. If the foolish virgins had known, they would have prepared whatever they needed for the groom’s coming and entered to enjoy the wedding with him. But see how they were taken unawares. Are we ready to meet the Christ now? What are we waiting to get prepared? Keep your ways and heats pure, so that death will not take us unawares and be not ready to enter the kingdom of God.
