PRAYER OF THE DAY

In Honor of the Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

O most holy and afflicted Virgin!

Queen of Martyrs!

thou who didst stand motionless beneath the Cross,

witnessing the agony of thy expiring Son--

through the unceasing sufferings of thy life of sorrow,

and the bliss which now more than amply repays thee for thy past trials,

look down with a mother's tenderness and pity on me,

who kneel before thee to venerate thy dolors,

and place my requests, with filial confidence,

in the sanctuary of thy wounded heart;

present them, I beseech thee, on my behalf,

to Jesus Christ,

through the merits of His own most sacred death and passion,

together with thy sufferings at the foot of the cross,

and through the united efficacy of both obtain the grant of my present petition.

To whom shall I resort in my wants and miseries if not to thee,

O Mother of Mercy,

who, having so deeply drunk of the chalice of thy Son,

canst compassionate the woes of those who still sigh in the land of exile?

Offer for me to my Savior one drop of the Blood which flowed from His sacred veins,

one of the tears which trickled from His divine eyes,

one of the sighs which rent His adorable Heart.

O refuge of the universe and hope of the whole world,

do not reject my humble prayer,

but graciously obtain the grant of my petition.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

Reading

1 THES 4:13-18

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,

about those who have fallen asleep,

so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose,

so too will God, through Jesus,

bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord,

that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,

will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.

For the Lord himself, with a word of command,

with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God,

will come down from heaven,

and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive, who are left,

will be caught up together with them in the clouds

to meet the Lord in the air.

Thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Therefore, console one another with these words.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 96:1 AND 3, 4-5, 11-12, 13

R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Sing to the LORD a new song;

sing to the LORD, all you lands.

Tell his glory among the nations;

among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.

R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.

For great is the LORD and highly to be praised;

awesome is he, beyond all gods.

For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,

but the LORD made the heavens.

R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;

let the sea and what fills it resound;

let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!

Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.

R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Before the LORD, for he comes;

for he comes to rule the earth.

He shall rule the world with justice

and the peoples with his constancy.

R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Gospel

LK 4:16-30

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,

and went according to his custom

into the synagogue on the sabbath day.

He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring glad tidings to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Rolling up the scroll,

he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,

and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.

He said to them,

“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

And all spoke highly of him

and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.

They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”

He said to them,

“Surely you will quote me this proverb,

‘Physician, cure yourself,’

and say,

‘Do here in your native place

the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”

And he said,

“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.

Indeed, I tell you,

there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah

when the sky was closed for three and a half years

and a severe famine spread over the entire land.

It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,

but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.

Again, there were many lepers in Israel

during the time of Elisha the prophet;

yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

When the people in the synagogue heard this,

they were all filled with fury.

They rose up, drove him out of the town,

and led him to the brow of the hill

on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.

But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

SAINT OF THE DAY

September 2

Blessed John Francis Burté and Companions

(d. 1792; d. 1794)

These priests were victims of the French Revolution. Though their martyrdom spans a period of several years, they stand together in the Church’s memory because they all gave their lives for the same principle. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1791) required all priests to take an oath which amounted to a denial of the faith. 

Each of these men refused and was executed.

John Francis Burté became a Franciscan at 16 and after ordination taught theology to the young friars. Later he was guardian of the large Conventual friary in Paris until he was arrested and held in the convent of the Carmelites.

Appolinaris of Posat was born in 1739 in Switzerland. He joined the Capuchins and acquired a reputation as an excellent preacher, confessor and instructor of clerics. Sent to the East as a missionary, he was in Paris studying Oriental languages when the French Revolution began. 

Refusing the oath, he was swiftly arrested and detained in the Carmelite convent.

Severin Girault, a member of the Third Order Regular, was a chaplain for a group of sisters in Paris. 

Imprisoned with the others, he was the first to die in the slaughter at the convent.

These three plus 182 others—including several bishops and many religious and diocesan priests—

were massacred at the Carmelite house in Paris on September 2, 1792. They were beatified in 1926.

John Baptist Triquerie, born in 1737, entered the Conventual Franciscans. 

He was chaplain and confessor of Poor Clare monasteries in three cities 
before he was arrested for refusing to take the oath. 

He and 13 diocesan priests were guillotined in Laval on January 21, 1794. 

He was beatified in 1955.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open our lips.

And we shall praise your name.

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 66 (67)

Let us rejoice in the Lord,

with songs let us praise him.

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.

Let us rejoice in the Lord,

with songs let us praise him.

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.

Let us rejoice in the Lord,

with songs let us praise him.

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.

Let us rejoice in the Lord,

with songs let us praise him.

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 rejoice in the Lord,

with songs let us praise him.

Hymn

Come, Spirit blest, with God the Son

and God the Father, ever one:

shed forth your grace within our breast

and live in us, a ready guest.

By every power, by heart and tongue,

by act and deed, your praise be sung.

Inflame with perfect love each sense,

that others’ souls may kindle thence.

Psalm 30 (31)

Trustful prayer in time of adversity

Hear me, Lord, and come to rescue me.

In you, Lord, I put my trust: 

may I never be put to shame.

In your justice, set me free,

Turn your ear to me,

make haste to rescue me.

Be my rampart, my fortification;

keep me safe.

For you are my strength and my refuge:

you will lead me out to the pastures,

for your own name’s sake.

You will lead me out of the trap that they laid for me –

for you are my strength.

Into your hands I commend my spirit:

you have redeemed me, Lord God of truth.

You hate those who run after vain nothings;

but I put my trust in the Lord.

I will rejoice and be glad in your kindness,

for you have looked on me, lowly as I am.

You saw when my soul was in need:

you did not leave me locked in the grip of the enemy,

but set my feet on free and open ground.

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.

Hear me, Lord, and come to rescue me.

Psalm 30 (31)

Lord, let your face shine on your servant.

Take pity on me, Lord, for I am troubled:

my eyes grow weak with sorrow,

the very centre of my being is disturbed.

For my life is worn out with distress,

my years with groaning;

my strength becomes weakness,

my bones melt away.

I am a scandal and a disgrace,

so many are my enemies;

to my friends and neighbours,

I am a thing to fear.

When they see me in the street,

they run from me.

I have vanished from their minds as though I were dead,

or like a pot that is broken.

I know this – for I have heard the scolding of the crowd.

There is terror all around,

for when they come together against me

it is my life they are resolved to take.

But I put my trust in you, Lord;

I say: “You are my God,

my fate is in your hands.”

Tear me from the grip of my enemies,

from those who hound me;

let your face shine upon your servant,

in your kindness, save me.

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.

Lord, let your face shine on your servant.

Psalm 30 (31)

Blessed be the Lord,

who has shown me the wonders of his love.

How very many are the pleasures, Lord,

that you have stored up for those who fear you.

You have made these things ready for those who trust in you,

to give them in the sight of all men.

Far away from the plottings of men

you hide them in your secret place.

You keep them safe in your dwelling-place

far from lying tongues.

Blessed be the Lord,

for he has shown me his wonderful kindness

within the fortified city.

In my terror, I said

“I am cut off from your sight”;

but you heard the voice of my prayer

when I called to you.

Love the Lord, all his chosen ones.

The Lord keeps his faithful ones safe,

heaps rich revenge on the arrogant.

Be brave, let your hearts be strong,

all who trust in the Lord.

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.

Blessed be the Lord,

who has shown me the wonders of his love.

Guide me in your truth, Lord, and teach me;

– for you are my God and my salvation.

First Reading

Jeremiah 19:1-5,10-20:6

Then the Lord said to Jeremiah, ‘Go and buy an earthenware jug. Take some of the elders of the people and some priests with you. Go out towards the Valley of Ben-hinnom, as far as the entry of the Gate of the Potsherds. There proclaim the words I shall speak to you. You are to say, “Kings of Judah, citizens of Jerusalem! Listen to the word of the Lord! the Lord Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this: I am bringing down such a disaster on this place that the ears of every one who hears of it will ring. This is because they have abandoned me, have profaned this place, have offered incense here to alien gods which neither they, nor their ancestors, nor the kings of Judah, ever knew before. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. They have built high places for Baal to burn their sons there, 

which I had never ordered or decreed, which had never entered my thoughts.”

‘You are to break this jug in front of the men who are with you, and say to them, “The Lord Sabaoth says this: I am going to break this people and this city just as one breaks a potter’s pot, irreparably. Topheth will become a burial ground, for lack of other space. That is how I will treat this place – it is the Lord who speaks. And I mean to make this city like Topheth; the houses of Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be unclean like this place Topheth: all these houses on the roofs of which they offered incense to the whole array of heaven and poured their libations to alien gods.”’

When Jeremiah came back from Topheth where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, he went and stood in the court of the Temple of the Lord and addressed all the people. ‘The Lord Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this, “Yes, I am going to bring down every disaster I have threatened on this city and on all its outlying towns, 

since they have grown so stubborn and refused to listen to my words.”’

Now the priest Pashhur son of Immer, who was in charge of the police in the Temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah making this prophecy. Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and then put in the stocks at the Gate of Benjamin, the upper gate leading into the Temple of the Lord. Next day, Pashhur had Jeremiah taken out of the stocks; Jeremiah said to him, ‘Not Pashhur but Terror is the Lord’s name for you. For the Lord says this, “I am going to hand you over to terror, you and all your friends; they shall fall by the sword of their enemies; your own eyes shall see it. The whole of Judah, too, I will hand over to the king of Babylon; he will carry them off captives to Babylon and put them to the sword. And all the wealth of this city, all its stores, all its valuables, all the treasures of the kings of Judah, I will hand over to their enemies who will plunder them, round them up and carry them off to Babylon. As for you, Pashhur, and your whole household, you shall go into captivity; you shall go to Babylon; there you will die, and there be buried, 

you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.”’

Responsory

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you!

How often have I longed to gather your children,

as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you refused!

You have grown stubborn and refused to listen to my words.

How often have I longed to gather your children,

as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you refused!

Second Reading

The Imitation of Christ

I taught my prophets

My son, says the Lord, listen to my words, the most delightful of all words, surpassing all the knowledge of the philosophers and wise men of this world. My words are spirit and life and cannot be comprehended by human senses alone. They are not to be interpreted according to the vain pleasure of the listener, 

but they must be listened to in silence and received with all humility and great affection.

And I said: Blessed is the man whom you teach, Lord, and whom you instruct in your law; 

for him you soften the blow of the evil day, and you do not desert him on the earth.

The Lord says, I have instructed my prophets from the beginning. 

Even to the present time I have not stopped speaking to all men, but many are deaf and obstinate in response.

Many hear the world more easily than they hear God; they follow the desires of the flesh more readily than the pleasure of God. The world promises rewards that are temporal and insignificant, and these are pursued with great longing; I promise rewards that are eternal and unsurpassable, yet the hearts of mortals respond sluggishly.

Who serves and obeys me in all matters with as much care as the world and its princes are served?

Blush, then, you lazy, complaining servant, 

for men are better prepared for the works of death than you are for the works of life. 

They take more joy in vanity than you in truth.

Yet they are often deceived in their hope, while my promise deceives no one, and leaves empty-handed no one who confides in me. What I have promised I shall give; what I have said I will fulfill for any man who remains faithful in my love unto the very end. I am the rewarder of all good men, the one who rigorously tests the devoted.

Write my words in your heart and study them diligently, for they will be absolutely necessary in the time of temptation. Whatever you fail to understand in reading my words will become clear to you on the day of your visitation.

I visit my elect in a double fashion: that is, with temptation and with consolation. And I read to them two lessons each day: one to rebuke them for their faults; the other to exhort them to increase their virtue.

He who possesses my words, yet spurns them, earns his own judgement on the last day.

Responsory

My son, mark my words, and accept guidance with a will,

for there is a garland of grace on your head.

My son, attend to my wisdom and listen to my good counsel,

for there is a garland of grace on your head.

Let us pray.

Father of might and power,

every good and perfect gift

comes down to us from you.

Implant in our hearts the love of your name,

increase our zeal for your service,

nourish what is good in us

and tend it with watchful care.

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 praise the Lord.

– Thanks be to God.