PRAYER OF THE DAY

PRAYER TO SAINT ALBERT THE GREAT

O Divine Creator,

Saint Albert was a bishop

who introduced Greek and Arabic science to medieval Europe,

raising understanding of botany,

biology, physics, and other studies of nature.

A scientist himself,

he wrote many books on these subjects.

I ask him to pray for all scientists today,

for their talents to be used

to promote life rather than to destroy it,

for elusive cures to be found,

and for the moral use of the discoveries

that they have already made.

O Lord, fill them with Your Holy Spirit

to guide them into understanding

and respecting that You are the Author

and Master of all creation.

Saint Albert,

pray for us.

Amen.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Friday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

Reading

WIS 13:1-9

All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God,

and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is,

and from studying the works did not discern the artisan;

But either fire, or wind, or the swift air,

or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water,

or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods.

Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods,

let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these;

for the original source of beauty fashioned them.

Or if they were struck by their might and energy,

let them from these things realize how much more powerful is he who made them.

For from the greatness and the beauty of created things

their original author, by analogy, is seen.

But yet, for these the blame is less;

For they indeed have gone astray perhaps,

though they seek God and wish to find him.

For they search busily among his works,

but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair.

But again, not even these are pardonable.

For if they so far succeeded in knowledge

that they could speculate about the world,

how did they not more quickly find its Lord?

Responsorial Psalm

PS 19:2-3, 4-5AB

R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

Day pours out the word to day,

and night to night imparts knowledge.

R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

Not a word nor a discourse

whose voice is not heard;

Through all the earth their voice resounds,

and to the ends of the world, their message.

R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

Gospel

LK 17:26-37

Jesus said to his disciples:

“As it was in the days of Noah,

so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;

they were eating and drinking,

marrying and giving in marriage up to the day

that Noah entered the ark,

and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot:

they were eating, drinking, buying,

selling, planting, building;

on the day when Lot left Sodom,

fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.

So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

On that day, someone who is on the housetop

and whose belongings are in the house

must not go down to get them,

and likewise one in the field

must not return to what was left behind.

Remember the wife of Lot.

Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,

but whoever loses it will save it.

I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed;

one will be taken, the other left.

And there will be two women grinding meal together;

one will be taken, the other left.”

They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?”

He said to them, “Where the body is,

there also the vultures will gather.”

SAINT OF THE DAY

November 15

St. Albert the Great (1206-1280)

Albert the Great was a 13th-century German Dominican who influenced decisively the Church's stance toward Aristotelian philosophy brought to Europe by the spread of Islam.

Students of philosophy know him as the master of Thomas Aquinas. Albert’s attempt to understand Aristotle’s writings established the climate in which Thomas Aquinas developed his synthesis of Greek wisdom and Christian theology. 

But Albert deserves recognition on his own merits as a curious, honest and diligent scholar.

He was the eldest son of a powerful and wealthy German lord of military rank. He was educated in the liberal arts. Despite fierce family opposition, he entered the Dominican novitiate.

His boundless interests prompted him to write a compendium of all knowledge: natural science, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, astronomy, ethics, economics, politics and metaphysics. His explanation of learning took 20 years to complete. "Our intention," he said, "is to make all the aforesaid parts of knowledge intelligible to the Latins."

He achieved his goal while serving as an educator at Paris and Cologne, as Dominican provincial and even as bishop of Regensburg for a short time. He defended the mendicant orders and preached the Crusade in Germany and Bohemia.

Albert, a Doctor of the Church, is the patron of scientists and philosophers.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 99 (100)

Indeed, how good is the Lord:

bless his holy name.

Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth,

and serve him with joy.

Exult as you enter his presence.

Indeed, how good is the Lord:

bless his holy name.

Know that the Lord is God.

He made us and we are his

– his people, the sheep of his flock.

Indeed, how good is the Lord:

bless his holy name.

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.

Indeed, how good is the Lord:

bless his holy name.

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.

Indeed, how good is the Lord:

bless his holy name.

Hymn

God has spoken by his prophets,

Spoken his unchanging word,

Each from age to age proclaiming

God the One, the righteous Lord.

Mid the world’s despair and turmoil,

one firm anchor holdeth fast:

God is King, his throne eternal,

God the first and God the last.

God has spoken by Christ Jesus,

Christ, the everlasting Son,

Brightness of the Father’s glory,

With the Father ever one;

Spoken by the Word incarnate,

God of God, ere time began,

Light of Light, to earth descending,

Man, revealing God to man.

Psalm 54 (55)

Against a faithless friend

Do not reject my plea, O God,

for wicked men assail me.

Open your ears, O God, to my prayer,

and do not hide when I call on you:

turn to me and answer me.

My thoughts are distracted and I am disturbed

by the voice of my enemy and the oppression of the wicked.

They let loose their wickedness on me,

they persecute me in their anger.

My heart is tied in a knot

and the terrors of death lie upon me;

fear and trembling cover me;

terror holds me tight.

I said, “Will no-one give me wings like a dove?

I shall fly away and rest.

I shall flee far away

and remain all alone.

I shall wait for him who will save me

from the stormy wind and the tempest.”

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.

Do not reject my plea, O God,

for wicked men assail me.

Psalm 54 (55)

The Lord will free us from the hand of our enemies

and from those who wish us harm.

Scatter them, Lord, and separate their tongues,

for I see violence and conflict in the city.

By day and by night they circle it

high on its battlements.

Within it are oppression and trouble;

scheming and fraud fill its squares.

For if my enemy had slandered me,

I think I could have borne it.

And if the one who hated me had trampled me,

perhaps I could have hidden.

But you – a man just like me,

my companion and my friend!

We had happy times together,

we walked together in the house of God.

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 will free us from the hand of our enemies

and from those who wish us harm.

Psalm 54 (55)

Entrust your cares to the Lord and he will support you.

Let death break in upon them!

Let them go down alive to the underworld,

for wickedness shares their home.

As for me, I will call upon God,

and the Lord will rescue me.

Evening, morning, noon – I shall watch and groan,

and he will hear my voice.

He will redeem my soul

and give it peace from those who attack me –

for very many are my enemies.

God will hear and will bring them low,

God, the eternal.

They will never reform:

they do not fear God.

That man – he stretched out his hand against his allies:

he corrupted his own covenant.

His face was smoother than butter,

but his heart was at war;

his words were softer than oil,

but they were sharp as drawn swords.

Throw all your cares on the Lord

and he will give you sustenance.

He will not let the just be buffeted for ever.

No – but you, Lord, will lead the wicked

to the gaping mouth of destruction.

The men of blood and guile

will not live half their days.

But I, Lord, will put my trust in you.

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.

Entrust your cares to the Lord and he will support you.

My son, attend to my wisdom,

– and turn your ears to my words of prudence.

First Reading

Daniel 10:1-21

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a revelation was made to Daniel known as Belteshazzar, a true revelation of a great conflict. He grasped the meaning of the revelation; what it meant was disclosed to him in a vision.

At that time, I, Daniel, was doing a three-week penance; I ate no rich food, touched no meat or wine, and did not anoint myself, until these three weeks were over. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I stood on the bank of that great river, the Tigris, I raised my eyes to look about me, and this is what I saw:

A man dressed in linen, with a girdle of pure gold round his waist;

his body was like beryl,

his face shone like lightning,

his eyes were like fiery torches,

his arms and his legs had the gleam of burnished bronze,

the sound of his voice was like the noise of a crowd.

I, Daniel, alone saw the apparition; the men who were with me did not see the apparition, but so great a trembling overtook them that they fled to hide. I was left alone, gazing on this great apparition; I was powerless, 

my appearance altered out of all recognition, what strength I had deserted me.

I heard him speak, and at the sound of his voice I fell unconscious to the ground. I felt a hand touching me, setting my knees and my hands trembling. He said, ‘Daniel, you are a man specially chosen; listen carefully to the words that I am going to say; stand up; I have been sent to you and here I am.’ He said this, and I stood up trembling. He said then, ‘Daniel, do not be afraid: from that first day when you resolved to humble yourself before God, the better to understand, your words have been heard; and your words are the reason why I have come. The prince of the kingdom of Persia has been resisting me for twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the leading princes, came to my assistance. I have left him confronting the kings of Persia and have come to tell you what will happen to your people in the days to come. 

For here is a new vision about those days.’

When he had said these things to me I prostrated myself on the ground, without saying a word; then someone looking like a son of man came and touched my lips. I opened my mouth to speak, and I said to the person standing in front of me, ‘My lord, anguish overcomes me at this vision, and what strength I had deserts me. How can my lord’s servant speak to my lord now that I have no strength left and my breath fails me?’ Once again the person like a man touched me; he gave me strength. ‘Do not be afraid,’ he said ‘you are a man specially chosen; peace be with you; play the man, 

be strong!’ And as he spoke to me I felt strong again and said, ‘Let my lord speak, you have given me strength.’

He said then, ‘Do you know why I have come to you? It is to tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. I must go back to fight against the prince of Persia: when I have done with him, the prince of Javan will come next. And now I will tell you the truth about these things. In all this there is no one to lend me support except Michael your prince, 

on whom I rely to give me support and reinforce me.’

Responsory

From that first day when you resolved to humble yourself before God,

the better to understand,

your words have been heard:

this is why I have come.

Do not be afraid, Daniel,

I have come to tell you what is written in the Book of Truth:

this is why I have come.

Second Reading

A sermon of the second century

Let us turn to God, who has called us

The advice I have given about continence is by no means unimportant. If someone follow it he will not be sorry: he will save himself and me too, as the giver of this advice. It is no small reward, to take a lost and wandering soul and bring it to safety. For this is how we can pay God back for creating us, by making sure that whoever speaks or listens, 

speaks or listens in faith and love.

Let us keep firm in what we believe, in righteousness and holiness, so that we can trustingly pray to the God who told us Even while you are still speaking I will answer, Behold, I am here. This saying is a sign of a great promise, because it says that God is quicker to give than we are to ask. Since we all have a share in his generosity, let us not be envious of one another for receiving such great blessings. For just as these words bring happiness to those who follow them, 

so do they bring condemnation to those who do not.

So, brethren, this is no small opportunity for penitence that we have been given. Let us take advantage of it, let us turn to God who has called us, while we still have time, while we have someone who will receive us. If we renounce these desires and we conquer our souls and do not follow their evil impulses, we shall share in Jesus’s mercy. But be aware that the day of judgement is coming, a day like a blazing furnace, that a part of the heavens and the entire earth like lead melting in a fire, and all the deeds of men will be revealed, whether they were hidden or open. Therefore almsgiving is good, as penance for sin: fasting is better than prayer but almsgiving is better than both. Charity covers a multitude of sins, but prayer done with a good conscience liberates us from death. Blessed is anyone who is perfect in these ways: 

for almsgiving lifts the weight of sin.

So let us do penance wholeheartedly, lest any one of us perish. For if we have been commanded to draw people away from the worship of idols, and to teach them, how much more important it must be that a soul that already knows God should not perish. Let us help one another so that we lead even the weak to goodness, so that we may all be saved, 

may be converted together and guide each other.

Responsory

Keep yourselves in the love of God,

looking forward to the day when our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy will give eternal life.

We must renounce godless ways and worldly desires,

and live a life of temperance,

honesty and godliness in the present age,

looking forward to the day when our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy will give eternal life.

Let us pray.

Defend us, Lord, against every distress

so that, unencumbered in body and soul,

we may devote ourselves to your service in freedom and joy.

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.