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JAN SAT MARY, MOTHER OF GOD Solemnity (Octave of Christmas)
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Numbers 6: 22-27 The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘Say this to Aaron and his sons: “This is how you are to bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord uncover his face and bring you peace.” This is how they are to call down my name on the sons of Israel, and I will bless them.’ Psalm 66: 2-3, 5, 6, 8. R. v. 2 May God bless us in his mercy. Galatians 4: 4-7 When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons. The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’, and it is this that makes you a son, you are not a slave anymore; and if God has made you son, then he has made you heir. Luke 2: 16-21 The shepherds hurried away to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; it was exactly as they had been told. When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception. Reflection It is fitting that the new year commences with the solemnity of Mary, the great Mother of God, the virgin Queen of Heaven, and the immaculate paradigm of all virtue and sanctity. Through Mary’s motherhood a new and glorious epoch dawned. Of all mortals, Mary alone was holy enough to bear in her womb and in her arms the supreme and only God. She nursed him, comforted him, wiped away his infant tears, and kissed away his pain. She taught him how to pray and how to believe. She taught him how to be brave, how to be kind and good, and how to love. And she will surely do the same for us, if we but let her, if we but call upon the name of this most sweet and gentle of maidens: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
4th Week in Ordinary Time St Agatha, virgin, martyr, Memorial | Red 1 Kings 3: 4-13 King Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, since that was the greatest of the high places – he offered a thousand holocausts on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared in a dream to Solomon during the night. God said, ‘Ask FEB SAT what you would like me to give you.’ Solomon replied, ‘You showed great kindness to your servant David, my father, when he lived his life before you in faithfulness and justice and integrity of heart; you have continued this great kindness to him by allowing a son of his to sit on his throne today. Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in succession to David my father. But I am a very young man, unskilled in leadership. Your servant finds himself in the midst of this people of yours that you have chosen, a people so many its number cannot be counted or reckoned. Give your servant a heart to understand how to discern between good and evil, for who could govern this people of yours that is so great?’ It pleased the Lord that Solomon should have asked for this. ‘Since you have asked for this’ the Lord said ‘and not asked for long life for yourself or riches or the lives of your enemies, but have asked for a discerning judgement for yourself, here and now I do what you ask. I give you a heart wise and shrewd as none before you has had and none will have after you. What you have not asked I shall give you too: such riches and glory as no other king ever had.’
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Psalm 118: 9-14. R. v. 12 Lord, teach me your decrees. Mark 6: 30-34 The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. So they went off in a boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But people saw them going, and many could guess where; and from every town they all hurried to the place on foot and reached it before them. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length. Reflection ‘Come away to a lonely place … and rest for a while.’ Whenever I read this passage, I’m reminded of an exhausted mother of young children, who ducks away to a quiet spot in the house (often the bathroom) just to rest for a few moments and regain her strength. But we all know how the story ends. She isn’t in there for two minutes before little hands start tapping at the door and seeking her presence. It was like that for Jesus and the apostles. As the message of Jesus spread, more and more people sought him out to be in his presence and hear him speak. This passage shows us that Jesus clearly understood the need to rest and re-charge. And it also shows his extraordinary compassion for people, a compassion which moved his heart to put aside his own tiredness just for now and be a loving shepherd to his flock.
1st Week of Lent Violet
Ezekiel 18: 21-28 Thus says the Lord God: ‘If the wicked man renounces all the sins he has committed, respects my laws and is lawabiding and honest, he will certainly live; he will not die. All the sins he committed will be forgotten from then on; he MAR FRI shall live because of the integrity he has practised. What! Am I likely to take pleasure in the death of a wicked man – it is the Lord who speaks – and not prefer to see him renounce his wickedness and live? ‘But if the upright man renounces his integrity, commits sin, copies the wicked man and practises every kind of filth, is he to live? All the integrity he has practised shall be forgotten from then on; but this is because he himself has broken faith and committed sin, and for this he shall die. But you object, “What the Lord does is unjust.” Listen, you House of Israel: is what I do unjust? Is it not what you do that is unjust? When the upright man renounces his integrity to commit sin and dies because of this, he dies because of the evil that he himself has committed. When the sinner renounces sin to become law-abiding and honest, he deserves to live. He has chosen to renounce all his previous sins, he shall certainly live; he shall not die.’
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Psalm 129. R. v. 3 If you, O Lord, laid bare our guilt, who could endure it? Matthew 5: 20-26 Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. ‘You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill, and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother “Fool” he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin, and if a man calls him “Renegade” he will answer for it in hell fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.’ Reflection Where the Old Testament prophet readily admits that he is only the mouthpiece of God (‘It is the Lord who speaks’), Jesus presumes to speak in his own voice (‘But I say unto you’). No wonder that the crowd listening to the discourse from which today’s Gospel reading is taken were astounded at his teaching, ‘because he taught them with authority, and not like their own scribes’ (Matthew 7:28-29). In speaking thus Jesus does not set aside the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17). Indeed he affirms them; but at the same time he stresses that outward observance of the letter of the Law counts for little if, unsupported by the right inner attitudes, it does do not proceed from a pure heart. Mindful of what Jesus said immediately before his ascension—‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’ (Matthew 28:18)—let us always attend to his words; for they are ‘spirit and life’ (John 6:63).
1st Week of Lent Violet
Deuteronomy 26: 16-19 Moses said to the people: ‘The Lord your God today commands you to observe these laws and customs; you must keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. ‘You have today made this declaration about the Lord; that he will be your God, but only if you follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and listen to his voice. And the Lord has today made this declaration about you: that you will be his very own people as he promised you, but only if you keep all his commandments; then for praise and renown and honour he will set you high above all the nations he has made, and you will be a people consecrated to the Lord, as he promised.’
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Psalm 118: 1-2, 4-5, 7-8. R. v. 1 Happy are they who follow the law of the Lord! Matthew 5: 43-48 Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’
Reflection Scripture scholars refer to the ‘hard sayings’ of Jesus—aspects of his teaching which may, at first glance, seem unduly demanding, even unreasonable, to his would-be disciples. In today’s Gospel reading we meet one such saying: ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ This is the lesson that Jesus taught a rich young man who claimed to live by the commandment, ‘You must love … your neighbour as yourself’ (Luke 10:27). By means of a parable concerning a traveller who was robbed en route to Jericho, Jesus pointed out that even enemies of the Jewish people, like the Samaritan who tended the man set upon by robbers, were included in the concept of ‘neighbour’. Though authentic love worthy of a Christian does not necessarily require emotional attachment, it is allinclusive and unconditional—without strings attached and not presuming on a positive response of benefit for oneself. This is the love that great saints embodied and of which Jesus himself is the prime exemplar.
21st Week in Ordinary Time | Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Memorial | White
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21st Week in Ordinary Time | Green or St Rose of Lima, virgin (Optional, White)
2 Thessalonians 1: 1-5, 11-12 From Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika which is in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; wishing you grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We feel we must be continually thanking God for you, brothers; quite rightly, because your faith is growing so wonderfully and the love that you have for one another never stops increasing; and among the churches of God we can take special pride in you for your constancy and faith under all the persecutions and troubles you have to bear. It all shows that God’s judgement is just, and the purpose of it is that you may be found worthy of the kingdom of God; it is for the sake of this that you are suffering now. We pray continually that our God will make you worthy of his call, and by his power fulfil all your desires for goodness and complete all that you have been doing through faith; because in this way the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you and you in him, by the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2: 1-3, 14-17 To turn, brothers, to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we shall all be gathered round him: please do not get excited too soon or alarmed by any prediction or rumour or any letter claiming to come from us, implying that the Day of the Lord has already arrived. Never let anyone deceive you in this way.
Psalm 95: 1-5. R. v. 3 Proclaim his marvellous deeds to all the nations.
Matthew 23: 23-26 Jesus said, ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who pay your tithe of mint and dill and cummin and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law – justice, mercy, good faith! These you should have practised, without neglecting the others. You blind guides! Straining out gnats and swallowing camels!
Matthew 23: 13-22 Jesus said: ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who shut up the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces, neither going in yourselves nor allowing others to go in who want to. ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when you have him you make him twice as fit for hell as you are. Alas for you, blind guides! You who say, “If a man swears by the Temple, it has no force; but if a man swears by the gold of the Temple, he is bound.” Fools and blind! For which is of greater worth, the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? Or else, “If a man swears by the altar it has no force; but if a man swears by the offering that is on the altar, he is bound.” You blind men! For which is of greater worth, the offering or the altar that makes the offering sacred? Therefore, when a man swears by the altar he is swearing by that and by everything on it. And when a man swears by the Temple he is swearing by that and by the One who dwells in it. And when a man swears by heaven he is swearing by the throne of God and by the One who is seated there.’ Reflection In his second letter to the Thessalonians, which we begin to hear today, St Paul offers words of thanksgiving and encouragement to the community. The comforting tone of this letter is so different to the tone of Jesus in the Gospels we will hear this week in which he vehemently attacks the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy. (We should note that in other passages of the New Testament we find Jesus offering words of comfort and Paul expressing anger.) We need to recognise that both comfort and righteous anger can be expressions of love. There is a time for every purpose under heaven. Sometimes love demands that we speak strongly to someone and sometimes it demands that we are gentle and comforting towards them. Let us pray for the wisdom to know how best to act in love on every occasion.
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Through the Good News that we brought God called you so that you should share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Stand firm, then, brothers, and keep the traditions that we taught you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who has given us his love and, through his grace, such inexhaustible comfort and such sure hope, comfort you and strengthen you in everything good that you do or say. Psalm 95: 10-13. R. v. 13 The Lord comes to judge the earth.
‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who clean the outside of cup and dish and leave the inside full of extortion and intemperance. Blind Pharisee! Clean the inside of cup and dish first so that the outside may become clean as well.’
Reflection In today’s first reading St Paul tells the Christians of Thessalonika not to get excited or to be alarmed by rumors that the Day of the Lord is imminent or has already arrived. He prays instead that the Lord will bestow on them inexhaustible comfort and sure hope. Today very few people get excited or alarmed that the world is coming to an end. But there are many other things that can trouble and alarm us greatly such as the COVID-19 pandemic and a whole range of national, international and personal matters. In every one of these situations the prayer of comfort Paul uttered for the Thessalonians is still relevant: ‘May our Lord Jesus Christ, and God our Father who has given us his love and, through his grace, such inexhaustible comfort and sure hope, comfort you and strengthen you in everything good that you do or say.’
Wisdom 11: 22—12: 2
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OCT SUN THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Psalter Week 3 Green
In your sight, Lord, the whole world is like a grain of dust that tips the scales, like a drop of morning dew falling on the ground. Yet you are merciful to all, because you can do all things and overlook men’s sins so that they can repent. Yes, you love all that exists, you hold nothing of what you have made in abhorrence, for had you hated anything, you would not have formed it. And how, had you not willed it, could a thing persist, how be conserved if not called forth by you? You spare all things because all things are yours, Lord, lover of life, you whose imperishable spirit is in all. Little by little, therefore, you correct those who offend, you admonish and remind them of how they have sinned, so that they may abstain from evil and trust in you, Lord. Psalm 144: 1-2, 8-11, 13-14. R. cf. v. 1 I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God. 2 Thessalonians 1: 11—2: 2 We pray continually that our God will make you worthy of his call, and by his power fulfil all your desires for goodness and complete all that you have been doing through faith; because in this way the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you and you in him, by the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. To turn now, brothers, to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we shall all be gathered round him: please do not get excited too soon or alarmed by any prediction or rumour or any letter claiming to come from us, implying that the Day of the Lord has already arrived. Luke 19: 1-10 Jesus entered Jericho and was going through the town when a man whose name was Zacchaeus made his appearance; he was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy man. He was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd; so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way. When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke to him: ‘Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.’ And he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully. They all complained when they saw what was happening. ‘He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house’ they said. But Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, ‘Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount.’ And
Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost.’ Reflection Zacchaeus wanted to ‘see’ Jesus, while Jesus wanted to ‘meet and stay’ with Zacchaeus. The subtle difference in intent between Jesus and Zacchaeus has implications for our relationship with God. God wants to be engaged in our lives, to meet and stay with us where we are, sharing his forgiving love and presence. If we let him into our lives, we will go through a Zacchaeus-experience: everything I have, I am willing to share, to give up everything to receive the giver of all things into my life! From a mere desire to see, Zacchaeus takes Jesus home, regardless of what others think. Without being asked, he declares that he will share his wealth with the poor, not out of selfish motives but obviously moved by Jesus’ love. His life’s priorities straightened out, money was no longer the driving force. All he cared about was to follow Jesus. We can learn much from Zacchaeus in our daily life. An effort to catch a glimpse of Jesus will have him waiting for us, inviting himself into our hearts. When we take one step towards God, he takes several towards us. Do we still only want to ‘see’ Jesus or to ‘meet’ and be transformed by him forever? Lord, I leave the doors of my heart open, please enter in.