by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Aug 13, 2020 | Evangelium
friday 14 August 2020
St Maximilian Kolbe (1894 – 1941)
He was born on 8 January 1894 in occupied Poland: he joined the Franciscans in Lwów in 1910. In 1941 he was arrested and sent to Auschwitz. A prisoner escaped, and in reprisal the authorities were choosing ten people to die by starvation. One of the men had a family, and Maximilian Kolbe offered to take his place. He died in the man’s place.
Red
Entrance Antiphon: Mt 25: 34, 40
Come, you blessed of my Father, says the Lord. Amen I say to you: Whatever you did for one of the least of my brethren, you did it for me.
Collect
O God, who filled the Priest and Martyr Saint Maximilian Kolbe with a burning love for the Immaculate Virgin Mary and with zeal for souls and love of neighbour, graciously grant, through his intercession, that, striving for your glory by eagerly serving others, we may be conformed, even until death, to your Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Ezekiel 16:1-15,60,63
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her filthy crimes. Say, “The Lord says this: By origin and birth you belong to the land of Canaan. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. At birth, the very day you were born, there was no one to cut your navel-string, or wash you in cleansing water, or rub you with salt, or wrap you in napkins. No one leaned kindly over you to do anything like that for you. You were exposed in the open fields; you were as unloved as that on the day you were born. ‘“I saw you struggling in your blood as I was passing, and I said to you as you lay in your blood: Live, and grow like the grass of the fields. You developed, you grew, you reached marriageable age. Your breasts and your hair both grew, but you were quite naked. Then I saw you as I was passing. Your time had come, the time for love. I spread part of my cloak over you and covered your nakedness; I bound myself by oath, I made a covenant with you – it is the Lord who speaks – and you became mine. I bathed you in water, I washed the blood off you, I anointed you with oil. I gave you embroidered dresses, fine leather shoes, a linen headband and a cloak of silk. I loaded you with jewels, gave you bracelets for your wrists and a necklace for your throat. I gave you nose-ring and earrings; I put a beautiful diadem on your head. You were loaded with gold and silver, and dressed in fine linen and embroidered silks. Your food was the finest flour, honey and oil. You grew more and more beautiful; and you rose to be queen. The fame of your beauty spread through the nations, since it was perfect, because I had clothed you with my own splendour – it is the Lord who speaks. ‘“You have become infatuated with your own beauty; you have used your fame to make yourself a prostitute; you have offered your services to all comers. But I will remember the covenant that I made with you when you were a girl, and I will conclude a covenant with you that shall last for ever. And so remember and be covered with shame, and in your confusion be reduced to silence, when I have pardoned you for all that you have done – it is the Lord who speaks.”’
Canticle: Isaiah 12
R/ Your anger has passed, O Lord, and you give me comfort.
- Truly, God is my salvation, I trust, I shall not fear. For the Lord is my strength, my song, he became my saviour. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
- Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name! Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples! Declare the greatness of his name.
- Sing a psalm to the Lord for he has done glorious deeds; make them known to all the earth! People of Zion, sing and shout for joy, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Gospel Acclamation: Ps110:7,8
Alleluia, alleluia! Your precepts, O Lord, are all of them sure; they stand firm for ever and ever. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 19:3-12
Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and to test him they said, ‘Is it against the Law for a man to divorce his wife on any pretext whatever?’ He answered, ‘Have you not read that the creator from the beginning made them male and female and that he said: This is why a man must leave father and mother, and cling to his wife, and the two become one body? They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’ They said to him, ‘Then why did Moses command that a writ of dismissal should be given in cases of divorce?’ ‘It was because you were so unteachable’ he said ‘that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning. Now I say this to you: the man who divorces his wife – I am not speaking of fornication – and marries another, is guilty of adultery.’ The disciples said to him, ‘If that is how things are between husband and wife, it is not advisable to marry.’ But he replied, ‘It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted. There are eunuchs born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs made so by men and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.’
Prayer over the Offerings
We present our oblations to you, O Lord, humbly praying that we may learn from the example of Saint Maximilian to offer our very lives to you. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Jn 15: 13
Greater love has no one than to lay down his life for his friends, says the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
We pray, O Lord, that, renewed by the Body and Blood of your Son, we may be inflamed with the same fire of charity that Saint Maximilian received from this holy banquet. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
The first reading is compared to an adult on the run. But we also know that God is always willing to forgive and welcome us whenever we run away, whenever we go astray. But this must be on the condition that we return, as to show remorse for our misdeeds and faults. But let us equally think how we handle problems when we face them, especially family issues which sounds frustrating? Do we leave them to remedy themselves or do we try to find solutions to these issues that affect us and even those around us? In the gospel Jesus also urges us to cherish our relationships with our spouses and be ready to do everything possible to keep them, for God himself does not abandon us, but cherishes the bond that exists between Himself and us. Spouses must seek to be one as the Father and the Son are one.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Aug 12, 2020 | Evangelium
thursday 13 August 2020
St Fachtna or Fachanan of Ross
Sts Pontian, Pope, and Hippolytus, Priest, Martyrs
He is patron saint of the diocese of Ross, of which he was probably the first bishop. He established the monastic school of Ross, at what is now Rosscarbery, in county Cork, one of the most famous schools of Ireland, which flourished for three hundred years.
Green/Red
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 73: 20, 19, 22, 23
Look to your covenant, O Lord, and forget not the life of your poor ones for ever. Arise, O God, and defend your cause, and forget not the cries of those who seek you.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, whom, taught by the Holy Spirit, we dare to call our Father, bring, we pray, to perfection in our hearts the spirit of adoption as your sons and daughters, that we may merit to enter into the inheritance which you have promised. 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: Ezekiel 12:1-12
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, you are living with that set of rebels who have eyes and never see, ears and never hear, for they are a set of rebels. You, son of man, pack an exile’s bundle and emigrate by daylight when they can see you, emigrate from where you are to somewhere else while they watch. Perhaps they will admit then that they are a set of rebels. You will pack your baggage like an exile’s bundle, by daylight, for them to see, and leave like an exile in the evening, making sure that they are looking. As they watch, make a hole in the wall, and go out through it. As they watch, you will shoulder your pack and go out into the dark; you will cover your face so that you cannot see the country, since I have made you a symbol for the House of Israel.’ I did as I had been told. I packed my baggage like an exile’s bundle, by daylight; and in the evening I made a hole through the wall with my hand. I went out into the dark and shouldered my pack as they watched. The next morning the word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, did not the House of Israel, did not that set of rebels, ask you what you were doing? Say, “The Lord says this: This oracle is directed against Jerusalem and the whole House of Israel wherever they are living.” Say, “I am a symbol for you; the thing I have done will be done to them; they will go into exile, into banishment.” Their ruler will shoulder his pack in the dark and go out through the wall; a hole will be made to let him out; he will cover his face rather than see the country.’
Psalm 77(78):56-59, 61-62
R/ Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
- They put God to the proof and defied him; they refused to obey the Most High. They strayed, as faithless as their fathers, like a bow on which the archer cannot count.
- With their mountain shrines they angered him; made him jealous with the idols they served. God saw this and was filled with fury: he utterly rejected Israel.
- He gave his ark into captivity, his glorious ark into the hands of the foe. He gave up his people to the sword, in his anger against his chosen ones.
Gospel Acclamation: Ps 118:88
Alleluia, alleluia! Because of your love give me life, and I will do your will. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 18:21-19:1
Peter went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times. ‘And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet. “Give me time” he said “and I will pay the whole sum.” And the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. “Pay what you owe me” he said. His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him, saying, “Give me time and I will pay you.” But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for him. “You wicked servant,” he said “I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?” And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.’ Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and he left Galilee and came into the part of Judaea which is on the far side of the Jordan.
Prayer over the Offerings
Be pleased, O Lord, to accept the offerings of your Church, for in your mercy you have given them to be offered and by your power you transform them into the mystery of our salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 147: 12, 14
O Jerusalem, glorify the Lord, who gives you your fill of finest wheat.
Prayer after Communion
May the communion in your Sacrament that we have consumed, save us, O Lord, and confirm us in the light of your truth. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Each one of us also has his/her little fault and idiosyncrasies that Bother, the other; so, what do we do then when these faults appear before us? Jesus answers with the lesson of patience. In fact, the difference between the two servants is actually patience, and this is where our forgiveness comes in. just as God is patient with us whenever we fall into sin. He waits for us to return and even then, he receives us with open hands. If God, who is not our equal, can forgive us uncountable times, why can we, who are equal, not forgive one another? The Psalms remind us: «If you O Lord should mark our guilt, who would survive? But you are willing to forgive, so that you might be honoured» (Ps 130:4).
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Aug 12, 2020 | Agenda Biblique
VERT / ROUGE
Saints Pontien, pape, et Hippolyte, prêtre, martyrs
Hippolyte est le type du théologien intransigeant qui, se voulant plus fidèle à la tradition que le pape lui-même, finit par sortir de l’Eglise. Fort de sa science théologique, il attaquait violemment tous les hérétiques ou tous ceux qu’il croyait tels. C’est ainsi qu’il s’en prit au pape Zéphyrin auquel il reprochait une trop grande indulgence, et surtout à son secrétaire Calliste. Lorsqu’en 217 celui-ci fut élu évêque de Rome, Hippolyte fit schisme et devint ‘’le premier antipape’’. La persécution de 235 apaisa le conflit. Voulant décapiter l’Eglise, les persécuteurs exilèrent le pape Pontien, successeur légitime de Calliste, et son adversaire Hippolyte. Pontien démissionna ; Hippolyte l’imita et exhorta ses partisans à réintégrer la grande Eglise. Déportés ensemble en Sardaigne, Pontien et Hippolyte furent réunis dans le martyre et dans le culte de l’Eglise.
Antienne d’ouverture : Ps 73, 20. 19, 22. 23
Souviens-toi, Seigneur, de ton alliance, n’oublie pas plus longtemps les pauvres de ton peuple. Lève-toi, Seigneur, défends ta cause, n’oublie pas le cri de ceux qui te cherchent.
Prière d’ouverture :
Dieu éternel et tout-puissant, toi que nous pouvons déjà appeler notre Père, Fais grandir en nos coeurs l’esprit filial, afin que nous soyons capables d’entrer un jour dans l’héritage qui nous est promis. Par Jésus Christ.
1ère lecture :Ez 12, 1-12
La parole du Seigneur me fut adressée : « Fils d’homme, tu habites au milieu d’une engeance de rebelles ; ils ont des yeux pour voir, et ne voient pas ; des oreilles pour entendre, et n’entendent pas, car c’est une engeance de rebelles. Toi, fils d’homme, prépare-toi un sac d’exilé ; sous leurs yeux, pars en plein jour, comme un exilé ; sous leurs yeux, pars de ta maison vers un autre lieu ; peut-être verront-ils qu’ils sont une engeance de rebelles. Tu sortiras ton sac, comme un sac d’exilé, en plein jour, sous leurs yeux. Toi-même, tu sortiras le soir, sous leurs yeux, comme s’en vont les exilés. Sous leurs yeux, tu feras un trou dans le mur, et tu sortiras par là. Sous leurs yeux, tu chargeras ton sac sur ton épaule, et tu le sortiras dans l’obscurité ; tu voileras ton visage, et tu ne verras plus le pays : j’ai fait de toi un signe pour la maison d’Israël. » Je fis ce qui m’avait été ordonné : en plein jour, je sortis mon sac, comme un sac d’exilé ; puis le soir, je fis un trou dans le mur, à la main ; je sortis mon sac dans l’obscurité, et sous leurs yeux je le chargeai sur mon épaule. Au matin, la parole du Seigneur me fut adressée : « Fils d’homme, la maison d’Israël, cette engeance de rebelles, t’a bien demandé : “Qu’est-ce que tu fais là ?” Réponds : “Ainsi parle le Seigneur Dieu : Cet oracle concerne le prince qui est à Jérusalem et toute la maison d’Israël qui s’y trouve.” Tu diras : “Je suis pour vous un signe. Ce que j’ai fait, c’est cela même qui leur sera fait : ils partiront en exil, en captivité ; le prince qui est au milieu d’eux chargera son sac sur son épaule, il sortira dans l’obscurité ; on percera le mur pour le faire sortir ; il voilera son visage, si bien qu’il ne verra plus de ses yeux le pays.” »
Psaume : 77 (78), 56-57, 58-59, 61-62
R/N’oubliez pas les exploits du Seigneur !
- Nos pères ont tenté le Dieu Très-Haut, ils refusaient d’observer ses lois ; ils déviaient comme leurs pères, ils désertaient, trahissaient comme un arc infidèle.
- Leurs hauts lieux le provoquaient, leurs idoles excitaient sa jalousie. Dieu a entendu, il s’emporte, il écarte tout à fait Israël.
- Il laisse capturer sa gloire, et sa puissance par des mains ennemies. Il livre son peuple à l’épée, contre son héritage, il s’emporte.
Acclamation :
Alléluia. Alléluia. Pour ton serviteur, que ton visage s’illumine : apprends-moi tes commandements. Alléluia. (Ps 118, 135)
Evangile : Mt 18, 21 – 19, 1
En ce temps-là, Pierre s’approcha de Jésus pour lui demander : « Seigneur, lorsque mon frère commettra des fautes contre moi, combien de fois dois-je lui pardonner ? Jusqu’à sept fois ? » Jésus lui répondit : « Je ne te dis pas jusqu’à sept fois, mais jusqu’à 70 fois sept fois. Ainsi, le royaume des Cieux est comparable à un roi qui voulut régler ses comptes avec ses serviteurs. Il commençait, quand on lui amena quelqu’un qui lui devait dix mille talents (c’est-à-dire soixante millions de pièces d’argent). Comme cet homme n’avait pas de quoi rembourser, le maître ordonna de le vendre, avec sa femme, ses enfants et tous ses biens, en remboursement de sa dette. Alors, tombant à ses pieds, le serviteur demeurait prosterné et disait : “Prends patience envers moi, et je te rembourserai tout.” Saisi de compassion, le maître de ce serviteur le laissa partir et lui remit sa dette. Mais, en sortant, ce serviteur trouva un de ses compagnons qui lui devait cent pièces d’argent. Il se jeta sur lui pour l’étrangler, en disant : “Rembourse ta dette !” Alors, tombant à ses pieds, son compagnon le suppliait : “Prends patience envers moi, et je te rembourserai.” Mais l’autre refusa et le fit jeter en prison jusqu’à ce qu’il ait remboursé ce qu’il devait. Ses compagnons, voyant cela, furent profondément attristés et allèrent raconter à leur maître tout ce qui s’était passé. Alors celui-ci le fit appeler et lui dit : “Serviteur mauvais ! je t’avais remis toute cette dette parce que tu m’avais supplié. Ne devais-tu pas, à ton tour, avoir pitié de ton compagnon, comme moi-même j’avais eu pitié de toi ?” Dans sa colère, son maître le livra aux bourreaux jusqu’à ce qu’il eût remboursé tout ce qu’il devait. C’est ainsi que mon Père du ciel vous traitera, si chacun de vous ne pardonne pas à son frère du fond du cœur. » Lorsque Jésus eut terminé ce discours, il s’éloigna de la Galilée et se rendit dans le territoire de la Judée, au-delà du Jourdain.
Prière sur les offrandes :
Seigneur, tu as donné ces présents à ton Église pour qu’elle puisse te les offrir. Daigne les accueillir favorablement, qu’ils deviennent, par ta puissance, le sacrement de notre salut. Par Jésus.
Antienne de communion : Ps 147, 12. 14
Glorifie le Seigneur, Jérusalem, il te nourrit de la fleur du froment.
Prière après la communion :
Que cette communion à ton sacrement, Seigneur, soit notre délivrance et nous enracine dans ta vérité. Par Jésus.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Aug 11, 2020 | Evangelium
wednesday 12 August 2020
St Jane Frances de Chantal (1572 – 1641)
She was born in Dijon, in France, in 1572. She married a nobleman called de Chantal, by whom she had six children whom she brought up in the faith. She founded the Order of the Visitation and guided it wisely. She died in 1641.
Green
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 73: 20, 19, 22, 23
Look to your covenant, O Lord, and forget not the life of your poor ones for ever. Arise, O God, and defend your cause, and forget not the cries of those who seek you.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, whom, taught by the Holy Spirit, we dare to call our Father, bring, we pray, to perfection in our hearts the spirit of adoption as your sons and daughters, that we may merit to enter into the inheritance which you have promised. 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: Ezekiel 9:1-7, 10:18-22
As I, Ezekiel, listened, God shouted, ‘Come here, you scourges of the city, and bring your weapons of destruction.’ Immediately six men advanced from the upper north gate, each holding a deadly weapon. In the middle of them was a man in white, with a scribe’s ink horn in his belt. They came in and halted in front of the bronze altar. The glory of the God of Israel rose off the cherubs where it had been and went up to the threshold of the Temple. He called the man in white with a scribe’s ink horn in his belt and said, ‘Go all through the city, all through Jerusalem, and mark a cross on the foreheads of all who deplore and disapprove of all the filth practised in it.’ I heard him say to the others, ‘Follow him through the city, and strike. Show neither pity nor mercy; old men, young men, virgins, children, women, kill and exterminate them all. But do not touch anyone with a cross on his forehead. Begin at my sanctuary.’ So they began with the old men in front of the Temple. He said to them, ‘Defile the Temple; fill the courts with corpses, and go.’ They went out and hacked their way through the city. The glory of the Lord came out from the Temple threshold and paused over the cherubs. The cherubs spread their wings and rose from the ground to leave, and as I watched the wheels rose with them. They paused at the entrance to the east gate of the Temple of the Lord, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them. This was the creature that I had seen supporting the God of Israel beside the river Chebar, and I was now certain that these were cherubs. Each had four faces and four wings and what seemed to be human hands under their wings. Their faces were just as I had seen them beside the river Chebar. Each moved straight forward.
Psalm 112(113):1-6
R/ Above the heavens is the glory of the Lord.
- Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord! May the name of the Lord be blessed both now and for evermore!
- From the rising of the sun to its setting praised be the name of the Lord! High above all nations is the Lord, above the heavens his glory.
- Who is like the Lord, our God, who has risen on high to his throne yet stoops from the heights to look down,to look down upon heaven and earth?
Gospel Acclamation: Ps 110:7, 8
Alleluia, alleluia! Your precepts, O Lord, are all of them sure; they stand firm for ever and ever. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector. ‘I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven. ‘I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Be pleased, O Lord, to accept the offerings of your Church, for in your mercy you have given them to be offered and by your power you transform them into the mystery of our salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 147: 12, 14
O Jerusalem, glorify the Lord, who gives you your fill of finest wheat.
Prayer after Communion
May the communion in your Sacrament that we have consumed, save us, O Lord, and confirm us in the light of your truth. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
We cannot live without disagreements as humans. But if we have any squabbles with anyone, these practical steps may help us. The first thing we can do is Understanding and advice for the friend or colleague. To point out in a very discreet and private way, his faulty attitude so that he can change for the better, for every human deserves his dignity and must be treated as such. If this does not work out, we could employ a second method which is to get a friend’s collaboration. There could be a third step should this fail, especially when it gets to the level of a public scandal, we may take him to higher and appropriate authorities. If we don’t shun evil, then «the same punishment awaits evildoers than the complacent who tolerate them» (St. Bernard).
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh Basebang | Aug 11, 2020 | Agenda Biblique
VERT / BLANC
Bienheureux Isidore Bakanja
Béatifié le 24 avril 1994 pendant le premier Synode des évêques pour l’Afrique, Isidore Bakanja était catéchumène chez les pères Trappistes, à Mbandaka, au Zaïre, actuel Congo démocratique. Répugnant sa dévotion profonde au Christ le patron dont il était le domestique le fit battre à mort. Agé de 29 ans, il rendit l’âme le 12 août 1909.
Antienne d’ouverture : Ps 73, 20. 19, 22. 23
Souviens-toi, Seigneur, de ton alliance, n’oublie pas plus longtemps les pauvres de ton peuple. Lève-toi, Seigneur, défends ta cause, n’oublie pas le cri de ceux qui te cherchent.
Prière d’ouverture :
Dieu éternel et tout-puissant, toi que nous pouvons déjà appeler notre Père, Fais grandir en nos coeurs l’esprit filial, afin que nous soyons capables d’entrer un jour dans l’héritage qui nous est promis. Par Jésus Christ.
Première lecture (Ez 9 : 1-7 ; 10 : 18-22)
J’entendis le Seigneur Dieu me crier d’une voix forte : « Ils sont tout proches, les châtiments de Jérusalem, et chacun tient à la main son arme de mort. » Alors six hommes s’avancèrent, venant de la porte supérieure, celle qui est du côté nord. Chacun tenait à la main son arme de destruction. Au milieu d’eux, un homme, vêtu de lin, portant à la ceinture une écritoire de scribe. Ils s’avancèrent, et s’arrêtèrent près de l’autel de bronze. La gloire du Dieu d’Israël s’éleva au-d essus des Kéroubim où elle reposait, et se dirigea vers le seuil de la maison du Seigneur. Alors le Seigneur appela l’homme vêtu de lin, portant à la ceinture une écritoire de scribe. Il lui dit : « Passe à travers la ville, à travers Jérusalem, et marque d’une croix au front ceux qui gémissent et qui se lamentent sur toutes les abominations qu’on y commet. »
Puis j’entendis le Seigneur dire aux autres : « Passez derrière lui à travers la ville, et frappez. N’ayez pas un regard de pitié, n’épargnez personne : vieillards et jeunes gens, jeunes filles, enfants, femmes, tuez- les, exterminez- les. Mais tous ceux qui sont marqués au front, ne les touchez pas. Commencez l’extermination par mon sanctuaire. » Ils commencèrent donc par les vieillards qui adoraient les idoles à l’entrée de la maison du Seigneur. Le Seigneur ajouta : « Rendez impure cette Maison, emplissez les cours de cadavres, puis sortez ! » Ils sortirent donc et frappèrent à travers la ville. La gloire du Seigneur quitta le seuil de la Maison et s’arrêta au- dessus des Kéroubim. Ceux- ci déployèrent leurs ailes ; je les vis partir en s’élevant de terre, et les roues avec eux. Ils s’arrêtèrent à l’entrée de la porte orientale de la maison du Seigneur ; la gloire du Dieu d’Israël était au- dessus d’eux. C’étaient les Vivants que j’avais vus au- dessous du Dieu d’Israël, près du fleuve Kebar, et je reconnus que c’étaient des Kéroubim. Chacun avait quatre faces et quatre ailes, et une forme de mains humaines sous ses ailes. Leurs faces étaient semblables aux faces que j’avais vues près du fleuve Kebar ; tel était leur aspect. Chacun allait droit devant lui.
Psaume : 113 : 1-2. 3-4. 5-6
R/ La gloire du Seigneur domine les cieux ou : Alléluia !
Louez, serviteurs du Seigneur, louez le nom du Seigneur ! Béni soit le nom du Seigneur, maintenant et pour les siècles des siècles !
Du levant au couchant du soleil, loué soit le nom du Seigneur ! Le Seigneur domine tous les peuples, sa gloire domine les cieux.
Qui est semblable au Seigneur notre Dieu ? Lui, il siège là- haut. Mais il abaisse son regard vers le ciel et vers la terre.
Acclamation :
Alléluia. Alléluia. Dans le Christ, Dieu réconciliait le monde avec lui : il a mis dans notre bouche la parole de la réconciliation. Alléluia.
Évangile (Mt 18 : 15-20)
En ce temps- là, Jésus disait à ses disciples : « Si ton frère a commis un péché contre toi, va lui faire des reproches seul à seul. S’il t’écoute, tu as gagné ton frère. S’il ne t’écoute pas, prends en plus avec toi une ou deux personnes afin que toute l’affaire soit réglée sur la parole de deux ou trois témoins. S’il refuse de les écouter, dis- le à l’assemblée de l’Église ; s’il refuse encore d’écouter l’Église, considère- le comme un païen et un publicain. Amen, je vous le dis : tout ce que vous aurez lié sur la terre sera lié dans le ciel, et tout ce que vous aurez délié sur la terre sera délié dans le ciel. Et pareillement, amen, je vous le dis, si deux d’entre vous sur la terre se mettent d’accord pour demander quoi que ce soit, ils l’obtiendront de mon Père qui est aux cieux. En effet, quand deux ou trois sont réunis en mon nom, je suis là, au milieu d’eux. »
Prière sur les offrandes :
Seigneur, tu as donné ces présents à ton Église pour qu’elle puisse te les offrir. Daigne les accueillir favorablement, qu’ils deviennent, par ta puissance, le sacrement de notre salut. Par Jésus.
Antienne de communion : Ps 147, 12. 14
Glorifie le Seigneur, Jérusalem, il te nourrit de la fleur du froment.
Prière après la communion :
Que cette communion à ton sacrement, Seigneur, soit notre délivrance et nous enracine dans ta vérité. Par Jésus
