Saturday, July 7, 2012

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Prayer to the Eternal Father

Eternal Father,
I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ in atonement for my sins,
and in supplication for the holy souls in purgatory and for the needs of holy Church.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading
Am 9:11-15

Thus says the LORD:

On that day I will raise up
the fallen hut of David;
I will wall up its breaches,
raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
That they may conquer what is left of Edom
and all the nations that shall bear my name,
say I, the LORD, who will do this.
Yes, days are coming,
says the LORD,
When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
and the vintager, him who sows the seed;
The juice of grapes shall drip down the mountains,
and all the hills shall run with it.
I will bring about the restoration of my people Israel;
they shall rebuild and inhabit their ruined cities,
Plant vineyards and drink the wine,
set out gardens and eat the fruits.
I will plant them upon their own ground;
never again shall they be plucked
From the land I have given them,
say I, the LORD, your God.


Responsorial Psalm
Ps 85:9ab And 10, 11-12, 13-14

R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.

I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD--for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.

R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.

Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.

R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.

The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.

R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.


Gospel
Mt 9:14-17

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
"Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?"

Jesus answered them,

"Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom 
is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.
No one patches an old cloak with 
a piece of unshrunken cloth,
for its fullness pulls away from the 
cloak and the tear gets worse.
People do not put new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, 
and the skins are ruined.
Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, 
and both are preserved."

SAINT OF THE DAY

July 7

Sts. Cyril and Methodius  (c. 885)

Cyril and Methodius were brothers, sons of a high senatorial family of Thessalonica. Methodius, the elder of the two brothers, became governor of a Slavic colony in Macedonia. A scholar, philosopher and linguist, Cyril became a monk in Bithynia. In 861 the Byzantine Emperor sent Cyril on a mission into the Dneiper-Volga regions of Russia to convert the Jewish Khazars, barbarians of south Russia. His brother Methodius accompanied him and they returned to their monastery after a successful mission.

St. Methodius, right, holds up a parchment of the Last Judgement. St. Cyril (left) holds the Bible they translated to the Slavonic language
At about the same time, the Prince of Moravia asked the Emperor to send missionaries to convert his people. Since both brothers knew the Slavonic tongue, Emperor Michael III sent Cyril and Methodius there in 863. They taught the Moravians how to write, and they composed a new alphabet for them called Cyrillic, which marked the beginning of Slavonic literature. The alphabet is still used among the Russians.

Then the brothers translated the Bible and liturgical books into Slavonic, the common language of the peoples of the area and organized numerous Catholic communities in Bohemia and Hungary. In 868 they arrived in Rome and were warmly received by Pope Adrian II, who made them Bishops and allowed them to say the Mass in Slavonic. Cyril died while he was in Rome at age 42, and he was buried in the Church of St. Clement.

Methodius returned alone to Great Moravia, and was named Archbishop of Cyrinium in Serbia. He found many enemies in the Hierarchy who persecuted him and placed obstacles to his work because they opposed the Mass being said in Slavonic. Accusing him of heresy, they imprisoned him and held him captive for three years. Pope John VII came to his defense, and finally St. Methodius triumphed over his adversaries. He died in 885 with great manifestations of love by the people. His funeral was celebrated in Greek, Latin, and Slavonic. Cyril and Methodius received the title Apostles of the Slavs. Their feast day was extended to the universal Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1880.

OFFICE OF READINGS

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

Invitatory Psalm
Psalm 66 (67)

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness: come, let us worship.

– The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness: 
come, let us worship.

O God, take pity on us and bless us,
and let your face shine upon us,
so that your ways may be known across the world,
and all nations learn of your salvation.

– The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness: 
come, let us worship.

Let the peoples praise you, O God,
let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and rejoice,
for you judge the peoples with fairness
and you guide the nations of the earth.

– The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness: 
come, let us worship.

Let the peoples praise you, O God,
let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has produced its harvest:
may God, our God, bless us.
May God bless us,
may the whole world revere him.

– The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness: 
come, let us worship.

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.

– The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness: 
come, let us worship.


Hymn

How great the tale, that there should be,
In God’s Son’s heart, a place for me!
That on a sinner’s lips like mine
The cross of Jesus Christ should shine!
Christ Jesus, bend me to thy will,
My feet to urge, my griefs to still;
That e’en my flesh and blood may be
A temple sanctified to Thee.
No rest, no calm my soul may win,
Because my body craves to sin;
Till thou, dear Lord, thyself impart
Peace on my head, light in my heart.
May consecration come from far,
Soft shining like the evening star.
My toilsome path make plain to me,
Until I come to rest in thee.


Psalm 130 (131)
Childlike trust in God

Whoever humbles himself like a little child will be greater in the kingdom of heaven.

Lord, I do not puff myself up or stare about,
or walk among the great or seek wonders beyond me.
Truly calm and quiet I have made my spirit:
quiet as a weaned child in its mother’s arms –
like an infant is my soul.
Let Israel hope in the Lord, now and for all time.

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.

Whoever humbles himself like a little child will be greater in the kingdom of heaven.


Psalm 131 (132)
God's promise to the house of David

With an honest heart I have offered up all things joyfully, 
O my God.

Lord, remember David
and how he served you.
He swore to the Lord,
vowed a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
“I will not go into my tent, my home,
nor go up to my bed of rest;
I will not let my eyes sleep
or my eyelids grow heavy
until I have found a place for the Lord,
a dwelling-place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
We heard that it was in Ephratha,
we found it in the plains of Jaar.
So let us go into his dwelling-place
and let us worship before his footstool.
Rise up, Lord, and come to your place of rest.
Come with the Ark of your power.
Let your priests be robed in your justice,
and let your chosen ones rejoice.
Remember what David did for you,
and do not turn your face from your Anointed.

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.

With an honest heart I have offered up all things joyfully, 
O my God.


Psalm 131 (132)

The Lord swore an oath to David and he will not go back on his word; he made his kingdom firm for ever.

The Lord swore David a true oath,
he will not go back on his word:
“The fruit of your body
I will place on your throne.
If your children keep my covenant 
and the commands I teach them,
their children’s children will occupy your throne for ever.”
For the Lord has chosen Zion,
taken it for his dwelling-place:
“Here will I take my rest for all time:
here will I live, such is my desire.
I will bless its crops with my blessing,
I will fill its poor with bread.
I will clothe its priests with righteousness.
Its chosen ones will exult with joy.
There will I plant the sign of David,
and prepare a lamp for my anointed one.
I will wrap his enemies in confusion,
but over his head my crown will shine.

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.

The Lord swore an oath to David and he will not go back on his word; he made his kingdom firm for ever.


Come and see the works of the Lord,
– who has done wonders on the earth.


Reading
2 Samuel 11:1-17,26-27

At the turn of the year, the time when kings go campaigning, David sent Joab and with him his own guards and the whole of Israel. They massacred the Ammonites and laid siege to Rabbah. David, however, remained in Jerusalem.

It happened towards evening when David had risen from his couch and was strolling on the palace roof, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David made inquiries about this.woman and was told, ‘Why, that is Bathsheba, Eliam’s daughter, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’ Then David sent messengers and had her brought. She came to him, and he slept with her; now she had just purified herself from her courses. She then went home again. The woman conceived and sent word to David; 
‘I am with child.’

Then David sent Joab a message, ‘Send me Uriah the Hittite’, whereupon Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came into his presence, David asked after Joab and the army and how the war was going. David then said to Uriah, ‘Go down to your house and enjoy yourself. Uriah left the palace, and was followed by a present from the king’s table. Uriah however slept by the palace door with his master’s bodyguard and did not go down to his house.

This was reported to David; ‘Uriah’ they said ‘did not go down to his house.’ So David asked Uriah, ‘Have you not just arrived from a journey? Why do you not go to your home?’ But Uriah answered, ‘Are not the ark and the men of Israel and Judah lodged in tents; and my master Joab and the bodyguard of my lord, are they not in the open fields? Am I to go to my house, then, and eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will do no such thing!’ Then David said to Uriah, ‘Stay on here today; tomorrow I shall send you back.’ So Uriah stayed that day in Jerusalem. The next day David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk. In the evening Uriah went out and lay on his couch with his master’s bodyguard, but he did not go down to his house.

Next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah. In the letter he wrote, ‘Station Uriah in the thick of the fight and then fall back behind him so that he may be struck down and die.’ Joab, then besieging the town, posted Uriah in a place where he knew there were fierce fighters. The men of the town sallied out and engaged Joab; the army suffered casualties, including some of David’s bodyguard; and Uriah the Hittite was killed too.

When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for her husband. When the period of mourning was over, David sent to have her brought to his house; she became his wife and bore him a son. But what David had done displeased the Lord.


Responsory

You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your own. Why have you despised the word of the Lord and done what is evil in his sight?

I am the Lord God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. Why have you despised the word of the Lord and done what is evil in his sight?


Reading
From the Instructions to Catechumens 
by St Cyril of Jerusalem

Confess your sins at the acceptable time

If anyone here is a slave to sin then let him make himself ready through faith for the new birth into the freedom of God’s adopted children. Let him put aside his wretched servitude of sin and take on the blessed service of the Lord; so that he may be counted as a worthy sharer in the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. Through confession, strip yourself naked of your old human nature, which is being torn apart by deceitful desires, and clothe yourself in the new nature, which is being mended and made whole by knowledge of the One who created you. By faith receive the guarantee of the Holy Spirit, so that you will be received into your eternal home. Come before the mystical Seal of God’s kingdom so that you may be easily recognised by the Master.

Be counted as part of the holy and spiritual flock of Christ, to be set apart on his right hand and receive the inheritance that has been prepared for you. Those who still wear the rough garment of their sins are on his left hand because they have not come to the grace of God which is given through Christ in the baptism of rebirth. It is not a new physical birth I mean, but a spiritual second birth of the soul. Bodies are born of visible parents but souls are reborn through faith, for the Spirit blows where it wills.

If you are found worthy, you will hear the words Well done, good and faithful servant – when your conscience has been examined and found to be free of all taint of hypocrisy.

If anyone here thinks of putting God’s grace to the test, he is deceiving himself and ignorant of the power of things. Keep your soul sincere and free of hypocrisy because God searches the mind and the heart.

The present time is the time for confession. Confess what you have done, whether by words or by actions, whether by day or by night. If you confess at the acceptable time, you will receive the heavenly treasure on the Day of salvation.

Make yourself pure so that you may be a vessel of more abundant grace. Remission of sins is given equally to everyone but the sharing of the Holy Spirit is given differently to each man, according to the faith of each. If you have expended little labour, you will receive little in the way of reward; if, on the other hand, you have laboured greatly, great will be the reward you receive. It is for your own benefit that you are running this race: run hard, 
in your own interest.

If you are holding anything against anyone, forget it, let it go. You have come here to receive forgiveness of sins, so you must first forgive whoever has sinned against you.


Responsory

He who conceals his faults will not prosper; he who confesses and renounces them will find mercy.

If we acknowledge our sins, then God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins; he who confesses and renounces them will find mercy.

Let us pray.

Lord God,
since by the adoption of grace
you have made us children of light,
do not let false doctrine darken our minds,
but grant that your light may shine within us
and we may always live in the brightness of truth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

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