Saturday, January 7, 2012

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Prayer of Petition in the Holy Name of Jesus

O Divine Jesus,
Thou hast promised that anything we ask of the Eternal Father in Thy name shall be granted.

O Eternal Father.
In the name of Jesus,
for the love of Jesus,
in fulfillment of this promise,
and because Jesus has said it,
grant us our petitions for the sake of Jesus,
Thy Divine Son.

Amen.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Christmas Weekday

Reading
1 Jn 5:14-21

Beloved:

We have this confidence in God,
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,
we know that what we have asked him for is ours.
If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,
he should pray to God and he will give him life.
This is only for those whose sin is not deadly.
There is such a thing as deadly sin,
about which I do not say that you should pray.
All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.

We know that no one begotten by God sins;
but the one begotten by God he protects,
and the Evil One cannot touch him.
We know that we belong to God,
and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One.
We also know that the Son of God has come
and has given us discernment to know the one who is true.
And we are in the one who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ.
He is the true God and eternal life.
Children, be on your guard against idols.


Responsorial Psalm
Ps 149:1-2, 3-4, 5 And 6a And 9b

R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.

R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.

R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.

R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.


Gospel
Jn 2:1-11

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee,
and the mother of Jesus was there.
Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.
When the wine ran short,
the mother of Jesus said to him,
"They have no wine."
And Jesus said to her,

"Woman, how does your concern affect me?
My hour has not yet come."

His mother said to the servers,
"Do whatever he tells you."
Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings,
each holding twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus told them,

"Fill the jars with water."

So they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them,

"Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter."

So they took it.
And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine,
without knowing where it came from
(although the servers who had drawn the water knew),
the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him,
"Everyone serves good wine first,
and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one;
but you have kept the good wine until now."
Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee
and so revealed his glory,
and his disciples began to believe in him.

SAINT OF THE DAY

January 7

Blessed Angela of Foligno (1248-1309)

Some saints show marks of holiness very early. Not Angela! Born of a leading family in Foligno, Italy, she became immersed in the quest for wealth and social position. As a wife and mother, she continued this life of distraction.

Around the age of 40 she recognized the emptiness of her life and sought God’s help in the Sacrament of Penance. Her Franciscan confessor helped Angela to seek God’s pardon for her previous life and to dedicate herself to prayer and the works of charity.

Shortly after her conversion, her husband and children died. Selling most of her possessions, she entered the Secular Franciscan Order. She was alternately absorbed by meditating on the crucified Christ and by serving the poor of Foligno as a nurse and beggar for their needs. Other women joined her in a religious community.

At her confessor’s advice, Angela wrote her Book of Visions and Instructions. In it she recalls some of the temptations she suffered after her conversion; she also expresses her thanks to God for the Incarnation of Jesus. This book and her life earned for Angela the title "Teacher of Theologians." She was beatified in 1693.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will proclaim your praise.


Invitatory Psalm
Psalm 99 (100)

Come, let us worship Christ, who has appeared to us.

– Come, let us worship Christ, who has appeared to us.

Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth,
and serve him with joy.
Exult as you enter his presence.

– Come, let us worship Christ, who has appeared to us.

Know that the Lord is God.
He made us and we are his
– his people, the sheep of his flock.

– Come, let us worship Christ, who has appeared to us.

Cry out his praises as you enter his gates,
fill his courtyards with songs.
Proclaim him and bless his name;
for the Lord is our delight.
His mercy lasts for ever,
his faithfulness through all the ages.

– Come, let us worship Christ, who has appeared to us.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

– Come, let us worship Christ, who has appeared to us.


Hymn

Why, impious Herod, vainly fear
That Christ the Saviour cometh here?
He takes not earthly thrones away
Who gives the crown that lasts for aye.
To greet his birth the wise men went,
Led by the star before them sent;
Called on by light, towards Light they pressed,
And by their gifts their God confessed.
In holy Jordan’s purest wave
The heavenly Lamb vouchsafed to lave;
That he, to whom was sin unknown,
Might cleanse his people from their own.
New miracle of power divine,
The Water reddens into wine;
He spoke the word, and poured the wave
In other streams than nature gave.
All glory, Lord, to thee we pay
For thine Epiphany today;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete.


Psalm 105 (106)

The Lord's goodness and his people's infidelity

O Lord, remember us: come to us with your help
Give praise to the Lord, for he is good,
for his kindness is for ever.
Who shall tell of his powerful deeds?
Who shall proclaim the praises of the Lord?
Blessed are they who keep his decrees,
who do right at all times.
Remember us, Lord, in your love for your people,
and bring us your salvation,
so that we may see the good things you have kept for your chosen ones,
that we may rejoice in the joys of your people,
that we may glory with those whom you have made your heirs.
Like our fathers, we too have sinned:
we have done wrong, we have transgressed.
Our fathers, in Egypt, did not understand your miracles;
they did not remember the abundance of your mercies,
but rebelled as they approached the Red Sea.
Still he saved them, for his own name’s sake,
and to make known his mighty power.
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up.
He led them through its depths as if through a desert.
He saved them from the hands of those who hated them,
he set them free from slavery at the hands of their enemies.
The water covered their oppressors:
not one was left alive.
Then they believed his word,
and they sang his praises.
But soon they forgot what he had done,
and refused to submit to his direction.
They embraced desire in the desert
and put God to the test in the waterless places.
He gave them all they requested,
he filled their hearts with his abundance.
But in the camp, they grew jealous of Moses
and Aaron, consecrated to the Lord.
The earth opened and swallowed Dathan,
covered the party of Abiram.
Fire broke out against them,
flames burnt up the sinners.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

O Lord, remember us: come to us with your help


Psalm 105 (106)

Take care you do not forget the covenant the Lord your God has made with you.

At Horeb they made a calf
and worshipped a statue.
They exchanged the glory of their people
for the likeness of a bull, that eats grass.
They forgot their God, who had saved them,
who had done great miracles for them in Egypt,
wonders in the land of Ham,
terrors at the Red Sea.
Then he said that he would destroy them,
but Moses, his chosen one, was there:
he stood in the breach before him
to turn aside his wrath,
to prevent the destruction.
To them, the Promised Land meant nothing,
they did not believe the Lord’s word.
They stayed muttering in their tents,
they were deaf to the voice of the Lord.
So he raised his hand against them
to crush them in the desert,
to scatter their seed among the nations,
to disperse them in foreign lands.
They made themselves followers of Baal-Peor,
they ate the sacrifices of the dead.
They angered the Lord by their actions,
and a plague broke out among them.
Then Phinehas stood up and gave judgement,
and the plague was stopped.
For this, he is revered as one of the just,
from generation to generation,
for all eternity.
At the waters of Meribah they so angered the Lord
that Moses suffered on their account:
they so embittered his spirit
that his lips spoke rash words.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Take care you do not forget the covenant the Lord your God has made with you.


Psalm 105 (106)

O Lord, save us; gather us from among the nations.

They did not destroy the peoples
as the Lord had told them they must.
They mingled themselves with the peoples,
and learned to do as they did.
They served the same idols
until it became their undoing.
They sacrificed their own sons
and their daughters to demons.
They poured out innocent blood.
The blood of their own sons and daughters
was sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.
Their blood polluted the land,
and their actions defiled them.
They devoted themselves to whoring.
The Lord blazed out in anger against his own people,
he detested his own chosen race.
He gave them into the hands of foreigners,
they were conquered by those who hated them.
Their enemies persecuted them
and humbled them beneath their hands.
Many times he freed them,
but they turned him against themselves
by falling back into wickedness.
Still he looked upon their distress
when he heard their cries.
He remembered his covenant,
and in his infinite kindness he repented.
He made them an object of pity
and kindness to all their captors.
Save us, O Lord, our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
so that we may proclaim your holy name,
and rejoice as we praise you.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from the beginning and for all time.
And all the people shall cry, “Amen!”

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

O Lord, save us; gather us from among the nations.


The heavens have proclaimed his justice,
– and all peoples have seen his glory.


Reading
Isaiah 61:1-11

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,
for the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring good news to the poor,
to bind up hearts that are broken;
to proclaim liberty to captives,
freedom to those in prison;
to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord,
a day of vengeance for our God,
to comfort all those who mourn and to give them
for ashes a garland;
for mourning robe the oil of gladness,
for despondency, praise.
They are to be called ‘terebinths of integrity’,
planted by the Lord to glorify him.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins,
they will raise what has long lain waste,
they will restore the ruined cities,
all that has lain waste for ages past.
Strangers will be there to feed your flocks,
foreigners as your ploughmen and vinedressers;
but you, you will be named ‘priests of the Lord’,
they will call you ‘ministers of our God.’
You will feed on the wealth of nations
and array yourselves in their magnificence.
For their shame was twofold,
disgrace and spitting their lot.
Twofold therefore shall they possess in their land,
everlasting joy is theirs.
For I, the Lord, love justice,
I hate robbery and all that is wrong.
I reward them faithfully
and make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their race will be famous throughout the nations,
their descendants throughout the peoples.
All who see them will admit
that they are a race whom the Lord has blessed.
‘I exult for joy in the Lord,
my soul rejoices in my God,
for he has clothed me in the garments of salvation,
he has wrapped me in the cloak of integrity,
like a bridegroom wearing his wreath,
like a bride adorned in her jewels.
‘For as the earth makes fresh things grow,
as a garden makes seeds spring up,
so will the Lord make both integrity and praise
spring up in the sight of the nations.’


Responsory

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken, to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison.

I have come from God; yes, I have come from him; not that I came because I chose, no, I was sent by him, to bind up hearts that are broken, to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison.


Reading
A sermon by St Peter Chrysologus

In choosing to be born for us, God chose to be known by us

In the mystery of our Lord’s incarnation there were clear indications of his eternal Godhead. Yet the great events we celebrate today disclose and reveal in different ways the fact that God himself took a human body. Mortal man, enshrouded always in darkness, must not be left in ignorance, and so be deprived of what he can understand and retain only by grace.

In choosing to be born for us, God chose to be known by us. He therefore reveals himself in this way, in order that this great sacrament of his love may not be an occasion for us of great misunderstanding.

Today the Magi find, crying in a manger, the one they have followed as he shone in the sky. Today the Magi see clearly, in swaddling clothes, the one they have long awaited as he lay hidden among the stars.

Today the Magi gaze in deep wonder at what they see: heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, one whom the whole universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body. As they look, they believe and do not question, as their symbolic gifts bear witness: incense for God, gold for a king, myrrh for one who is to die.

So the Gentiles, who were the last, become the first: the faith of the Magi is the first fruits of the belief of the Gentiles.

Today Christ enters the Jordan to wash away the sin of the world. John himself testifies that this is why he has come: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Today a servant lays his hand on the Lord, a man lays his hand on God, John lays his hand on Christ, not to forgive but to receive forgiveness.

Today, as the psalmist prophesied: The voice of the Lord is heard above the waters. What does the voice say? This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.

Today the Holy Spirit hovers over the waters in the likeness of a dove. A dove announced to Noah that the flood had disappeared from the earth; so now a dove is to reveal that the world’s shipwreck is at an end for ever. The sign is no longer an olive-shoot of the old stock: instead, the Spirit pours out on Christ’s head the full richness of a new anointing by the Father, to fulfil what the psalmist had prophesied: Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.

Today Christ works the first of his signs from heaven by turning water into wine. But water has still to be changed into the sacrament of his blood, so that Christ may offer spiritual drink from the chalice of his body, to fulfil the psalmist’s prophecy: How excellent is my chalice, warming my spirit.


Responsory

On that day the Magi presented to the Lord three precious gifts, signifying divine mysteries: gold, acknowledging his regal power; incense, his role of High Priest; and myrrh, his burial.

The Magi paid homage to the author of our salvation as he lay in a manger, and from their treasures they offered him mystic gifts: gold, acknowledging his regal power; incense, his role of High Priest; and myrrh, his burial.

Let us pray.

Lord, may the radiance of your glory light up our hearts
and bring us through the shadows of this world
until we reach our homeland of everlasting light.
We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.