PRAYER OF THE DAY

Invocation to the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary

Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us!

DAILY MASS READINGS

Saturday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading

Jb 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17

Job answered the LORD and said:

I know that you can do all things,

and that no purpose of yours can be hindered.

I have dealt with great things that I do not understand;

things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.

I had heard of you by word of mouth,

but now my eye has seen you.

Therefore I disown what I have said,

and repent in dust and ashes.

Thus the LORD blessed the latter days of Job

more than his earlier ones.

For he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels,

a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.

And he had seven sons and three daughters,

of whom he called the first Jemimah,

the second Keziah, and the third Kerenhappuch.

In all the land no other women were as beautiful

as the daughters of Job;

and their father gave them an inheritance

along with their brothers.

After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years;

and he saw his children, his grandchildren,

and even his great-grandchildren.

Then Job died, old and full of years.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 119:66, 71, 75, 91, 125, 130

R. Lord, let your face shine on me.

Teach me wisdom and knowledge,

for in your commands I trust.

R. Lord, let your face shine on me.

It is good for me that I have been afflicted,

that I may learn your statutes.

R. Lord, let your face shine on me.

I know, O LORD, that your ordinances are just,

and in your faithfulness you have afflicted me.

R. Lord, let your face shine on me.

According to your ordinances they still stand firm:

all things serve you.

R. Lord, let your face shine on me.

I am your servant; give me discernment

that I may know your decrees.

R. Lord, let your face shine on me.

The revelation of your words sheds light,

giving understanding to the simple.

R. Lord, let your face shine on me.

Gospel

Lk 10:17-24

The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,

"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."

Jesus said,

"I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.

Behold, I have given you the power

'to tread upon serpents' and scorpions

and upon the full force of the enemy

and nothing will harm you.

Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,

but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,

"I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,

for although you have hidden these things

from the wise and the learned

you have revealed them to the childlike.

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father.

No one knows who the Son is except the Father,

and who the Father is except the Son

and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."

Turning to the disciples in private he said,

"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.

For I say to you,

many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,

but did not see it,

and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."

SAINT OF THE DAY

October 6

St. Bruno (1030?-1101)

This saint has the honor of having founded a religious order which, as the saying goes, has never had to be reformed because it was never deformed. No doubt both the founder and the members would reject such high praise, 
but it is an indication of the saint's intense love of a penitential life in solitude.

Bruno was born in Cologne, Germany, became a famous teacher at Rheims and was appointed chancellor of the archdiocese at the age of 45. He supported Pope Gregory VII (May 25) in his fight against the decadence of the clergy and took part in the removal of his own scandalous archbishop, Manasses. 
Bruno suffered the plundering of his house for his pains.

He had a dream of living in solitude and prayer, and persuaded a few friends to join him in a hermitage. After a while he felt the place unsuitable and, through a friend, was given some land which was to become famous for his foundation "in the Chartreuse" (from which comes the word Carthusians). The climate, desert, 
mountainous terrain and inaccessibility guaranteed silence, poverty and small numbers.

Bruno and his friends built an oratory with small individual cells at a distance from each other. They met for Matins and Vespers each day and spent the rest of the time in solitude, eating together only on great feasts. 
Their chief work was copying manuscripts.

The pope, hearing of Bruno's holiness, called for his assistance in Rome. When the pope had to flee Rome, Bruno pulled up stakes again, 
and spent his last years (after refusing a bishopric) in the wilderness of Calabria.

He was never formally canonized, because the Carthusians were averse to all occasions of publicity. 
Pope Clement extended his feast to the whole Church in 1674.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips.

And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 94 (95)

Let us listen for the Lord’s voice, 

so that we can reach his place of rest.

– Let us listen for the Lord’s voice, 

so that we can reach his place of rest.

Come, let us rejoice in the Lord,

let us acclaim God our salvation.

Let us come before him proclaiming our thanks,

let us acclaim him with songs.

– Let us listen for the Lord’s voice, 

so that we can reach his place of rest.

For the Lord is a great God,

a king above all gods.

For he holds the depths of the earth in his hands,

and the peaks of the mountains are his.

For the sea is his: he made it;

and his hands formed the dry land.

– Let us listen for the Lord’s voice, 

so that we can reach his place of rest.

Come, let us worship and bow down,

bend the knee before the Lord who made us;

for he himself is our God and we are his flock,

the sheep that follow his hand.

– Let us listen for the Lord’s voice, 

so that we can reach his place of rest.

If only, today, you would listen to his voice:

“Do not harden your hearts

as you did at Meribah,

on the day of Massah in the desert,

when your fathers tested me –

they put me to the test,

although they had seen my works.”

– Let us listen for the Lord’s voice, 

so that we can reach his place of rest.

“For forty years they wearied me,

that generation.

I said: their hearts are wandering,

they do not know my paths.

I swore in my anger:

they will never enter my place of rest.”

– Let us listen for the Lord’s voice, 

so that we can reach his place of rest.

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.

– Let us listen for the Lord’s voice, 

so that we can reach his place of rest.

Hymn

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,

In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,

Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,

Almighty, victorious, thy great Name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,

Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;

Thy justice like mountains high soaring above

Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all life thou givest, to both great and small;

In all life thou livest, the true life of all;

We blossom and flourish, like leaves on the tree,

Then wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,

Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;

All laud we would render: O help us to see

‘Tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.

Psalm 135 (136)

A paschal hymn

The Lord alone has wrought marvellous works,

for his love endures for ever.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his love is for ever.

Give thanks to the God of gods,

for his love is for ever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords,

for his love is for ever.

He alone works wonders,

for his love is for ever.

In his wisdom he made the heavens,

for his love is for ever.

He set the Earth upon the waters,

for his love is for ever.

He created the great lights,

for his love is for ever.

The sun, to rule over the day,

for his love is for ever.

The moon and stars, to rule over the night,

for his love is for ever.

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 alone has wrought marvellous works,

for his love endures for ever.

Psalm 135 (136)

He brought Israel out from Egypt, 

with arm outstretched,

with power in his hand.

He struck down the first-born of Egypt,

for his love is for ever.

He led Israel out from their midst,

for his love is for ever.

With a strong hand and an outstretched arm,

for his love is for ever.

He divided the Red Sea in two,

for his love is for ever.

He led Israel out through the sea,

for his love is for ever.

He overthrew Pharaoh and his army,

for his love is for ever.

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.

He brought Israel out from Egypt, 

with arm outstretched,

with power in his hand.

Psalm 135 (136)

To the Lord of heaven give thanks:

he set us free from our foes.

He led his people through the wilderness,

for his love is for ever.

He struck down great kings,

for his love is for ever.

Sihon, king of the Amorites,

for his love is for ever.

And Og, the king of Bashan,

for his love is for ever.

He gave their land to his people,

for his love is for ever.

A heritage for Israel his servant,

for his love is for ever.

He remembered us in our affliction,

for his love is for ever.

He rescued us from our enemies,

for his love is for ever.

He gives food to all creatures that live,

for his love is for ever.

Give thanks to the God of heaven,

for his love is for ever.

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.

To the Lord of heaven give thanks:

he set us free from our foes.

Lord, show me your ways,

– and teach me your paths.

Reading

Philippians 4:10-23

It is a great joy to me, in the Lord, that at last you have shown some concern for me again; though of course you were concerned before, and only lacked an opportunity. I am not talking about shortage of money: I have learnt to manage on whatever I have, I know how to be poor and I know how to be rich too. I have been through my initiation and now I am ready for anything anywhere: full stomach or empty stomach, poverty or plenty. There is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me strength. All the same, it was good of you to share with me in my hardships. In the early days of the Good News, as you people of Philippi well know, when I left Macedonia, no other church helped me with gifts of money. You were the only ones; and twice since my stay in Thessalonika you have sent me what I needed. It is not your gift that I value; what is valuable to me is the interest that is mounting up in your account. Now for the time being I have everything that I need and more: I am fully provided now that I have received from Epaphroditus the offering that you sent, a sweet fragrance – the sacrifice that God accepts and finds pleasing. In return my God will fulfil all your needs, in Christ Jesus, as lavishly as only God can. Glory to God, our Father, for ever and ever. Amen.

My greetings to every one of the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send their greetings. All the saints send their greetings, especially those of the imperial household. 
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Responsory

I know what it is to be in need, and what it is to have more than enough.

I am content whether I am poor or hungry, whether I have too much or too little.

I have the strength to face anything through the power that Christ gives me.

I am quite content with weakness and hardship, for the sake of Christ.

I have the strength to face anything through the power that Christ gives me.

Reading

A book on Christian life by St Gregory of Nyssa

Fight the good fight of faith

Whoever is in Christ is a new creation; the old has passed away. Now by the “new creation” Paul means the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a heart that is pure and blameless, free of all malice, wickedness or shamefulness. For when a soul has come to hate sin and has delivered itself as far as it can to the power of virtue, it undergoes a transformation by receiving the grace of the Spirit. Then it is healed, restored and made wholly new. Indeed the two texts: Purge out the old leaven that you may be a new one, and: Let us celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, support those passages which speak about the new creation.

Yet the tempter spreads many a snare to trap the soul, and of itself human nature is too weak to defeat him. This is why the Apostle bids us to arm ourselves with heavenly weapons, when he says: Put on the breastplate of righteousness and have your feet shod with the gospel of peace and have truth around your waist as a belt. Can you not see how many forms of salvation the Apostle indicates, all leading to the same path and the same goal? Following them to the heights of God’s commandments, we easily complete the race of life. For elsewhere the Apostle says: Let us run with fidelity the race that has been set before us, with our eyes on Jesus, the origin and the goal of our faith.

So a man who openly despises the accolades of this world and rejects all earthly glory must also practice self-denial. Such self-denial means that you never seek your own will but God’s, using God’s will as a sure guide; it also means possessing nothing apart from what is held in common. In this way it will be easier for you to carry out your superior’s commands promptly, in joy and in hope; this is required of Christ’s servants who are redeemed for service to the brethren. For this is what the Lord wants when he says: Whoever wishes to be first and great among you must be the last of all and a servant to all.

Our service of mankind must be given freely. One who is in such a position must be subject to everyone and serve his brothers as if he were paying off a debt. Moreover, those who are in charge should work harder than the others and conduct themselves with greater submission than their own subjects. Their lives should serve as a visible example of what service means, and they should remember that those who are committed to their trust are held in trust from God.

Those, then, who are in a position of authority must look after their brothers as conscientious teachers look after the young children who have been handed over to them by their parents. If both disciples and masters have this loving relationship, then subjects will be happy to obey whatever is commanded, while superiors will be delighted to lead their brothers to perfection. 
If you try to outdo one another in showing respect, your life on earth will be like that of the angels.

Responsory

You were called to be free,

but be careful not to let this freedom provide an opening for self-indulgence.

Instead, serve one another with loving kindness.

Give no offence to Jews or Greeks, or to the church of God.

Instead, serve one another with loving kindness.

Let us pray.

Lord,

you reveal your mighty power

most of all by your forgiveness and compassion:

fill us constantly with your grace

as we hasten to share the joys you have promised us in heaven.

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.