PRAYER OF THE DAY

Prayer in Honor of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne

Gracious God,

you filled the heart of Philippine Duchesne with charity and missionary zeal,

and gave her the desire to make you known among all peoples.

Fill us who honor her memory today,

with that same love and zeal to extend your kingdom to the ends of the earth.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,

your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God for ever and ever.

Amen.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Reading

1 MC 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63

[From the descendants of Alexander’s officers]

there sprang a sinful offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes,

son of King Antiochus, once a hostage at Rome.

He became king in the year one hundred and thirty seven

of the kingdom of the Greeks.

In those days there appeared in Israel

men who were breakers of the law,

and they seduced many people, saying:

“Let us go and make an alliance with the Gentiles all around us;

since we separated from them, many evils have come upon us.”

The proposal was agreeable;

some from among the people promptly went to the king,

and he authorized them to introduce the way of living

of the Gentiles.

Thereupon they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem

according to the Gentile custom.

They covered over the mark of their circumcision

and abandoned the holy covenant;

they allied themselves with the Gentiles

and sold themselves to wrongdoing.

Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people,

each abandoning his particular customs.

All the Gentiles conformed to the command of the king,

and many children of Israel were in favor of his religion;

they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath.

On the fifteenth day of the month Chislev,

in the year one hundred and forty-five,

the king erected the horrible abomination

upon the altar of burnt offerings

and in the surrounding cities of Judah they built pagan altars.

They also burned incense at the doors of the houses and in the streets.

Any scrolls of the law which they found they tore up and burnt.

Whoever was found with a scroll of the covenant,

and whoever observed the law,

was condemned to death by royal decree.

But many in Israel were determined

and resolved in their hearts not to eat anything unclean;

they preferred to die rather than to be defiled with unclean food

or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die.

Terrible affliction was upon Israel.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 119:53, 61, 134, 150, 155, 158

R. Give me life, O Lord, 

and I will do your commands.

Indignation seizes me because of the wicked

who forsake your law.

R. Give me life, O Lord, 

and I will do your commands.

Though the snares of the wicked are twined about me,

your law I have not forgotten.

R. Give me life, O Lord, 

and I will do your commands.

Redeem me from the oppression of men,

that I may keep your precepts.

R. Give me life, O Lord, 

and I will do your commands.

I am attacked by malicious persecutors

who are far from your law.

R. Give me life, O Lord, 

and I will do your commands.

Far from sinners is salvation,

because they seek not your statutes.

R. Give me life, O Lord, 

and I will do your commands.

I beheld the apostates with loathing,

because they kept not to your promise.

R. Give me life, O Lord, 

and I will do your commands.

Gospel

LK 18:35-43

As Jesus approached Jericho

a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging,

and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening.

They told him,

“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!”

The people walking in front rebuked him,

telling him to be silent,

but he kept calling out all the more,

“Son of David, have pity on me!”

Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him;

and when he came near, Jesus asked him,

“What do you want me to do for you?”

He replied, “Lord, please let me see.”

Jesus told him,

“Have sight; your faith has saved you.”

He immediately received his sight

and followed him, giving glory to God.

When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.

SAINT OF THE DAY

November 18

St. Rose Philippine Duchesne (1769-1852)

Born in Grenoble, France, of a family that was among the new rich, Philippine learned political skills from her father and a love of the poor from her mother. The dominant feature of her temperament was a strong and dauntless will, which became the material—and the battlefield—of her holiness. She entered the convent at 19 and remained despite their opposition. As the French Revolution broke, the convent was closed, and she began taking care of the poor and sick, opened a school for homeless children and risked her life helping priests in the underground.

When the situation cooled, she personally rented her old convent, now a shambles, and tried to revive its religious life. The spirit was gone, and soon there were only four nuns left. They joined the infant Society of the Sacred Heart, whose young superior, St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, would be her lifelong friend. In a short time Philippine was a superior and supervisor of the novitiate and a school. But her ambition, since hearing tales of missionary work in Louisiana as a little girl, was to go to America and work among the Indians. At 49, she thought this would be her work. With four nuns, she spent 11 weeks at sea en route to New Orleans, and seven weeks more on the Mississippi to St. Louis. She then met one of the many disappointments of her life. The bishop had no place for them to live and work among Native Americans. Instead, he sent her to what she sadly called "the remotest village in the U.S.," St. Charles, Missouri. 

With characteristic drive and courage, she founded the first free school for girls west of the Mississippi.

It was a mistake. Though she was as hardy as any of the pioneer women in the wagons rolling west, cold and hunger drove them out—to Florissant, Missouri, where she founded the first Catholic Indian school, adding others in the territory. "In her first decade in America, Mother Duchesne suffered practically every hardship the frontier had to offer, except the threat of Indian massacre—poor lodging, shortages of food, drinking water, fuel and money, forest fires and blazing chimneys, the vagaries of the Missouri climate, cramped living quarters and the privation of all privacy, and the crude manners of children reared in rough surroundings and with only the slightest training in courtesy" 

(Louise Callan, R.S.C.J., Philippine Duchesne).

Finally, at 72, in poor health and retired, she got her lifelong wish. A mission was founded at Sugar Creek, Kansas, among the Potawatomi. She was taken along. Though she could not learn their language, they soon named her "Woman-Who-Prays-Always." While others taught, she prayed. Legend has it that Native American children sneaked behind her as she knelt and sprinkled bits of paper on her habit, and came back hours later to find them undisturbed. 

She died in 1852 at the age of 83 and was canonized in 1988.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 23 (24)

Let us come before the Lord,

giving thanks.

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,

the world and all who live in it.

He himself founded it upon the seas

and set it firm over the waters.

Let us come before the Lord,

giving thanks.

Who will climb the mountain of the Lord?

Who will stand in his holy place?

The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart,

who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely.

He will receive the blessing of the Lord

and be justified by God his savior.

This is the way of those who seek him,

seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Let us come before the Lord,

giving thanks.

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,

and let the king of glory enter.

Who is the king of glory?

The Lord of might and power.

The Lord, strong in battle.

Let us come before the Lord,

giving thanks.

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,

and let the king of glory enter.

Who is the king of glory?

The Lord of hosts

– he is the king of glory.

Let us come before the Lord,

giving thanks.

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 come before the Lord,

giving thanks.

Hymn

Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal

O God of truth, prepare our minds

To hear and heed your holy word;

Fill every heart that longs for you

With your mysterious presence, Lord.

Almighty Father, with your Son

And blessed Spirit, hear our prayer:

Teach us to love eternal truth

And seek its freedom everywhere.

Psalm 6

A prayer for relief from affliction

Lord, save me in your merciful love.

Lord, do not condemn me in your fury:

do not destroy me in your anger.

Take pity on me, Lord, for I am sick;

heal me, Lord, for my bones are in disarray.

My spirit is deeply disturbed,

and you, Lord – how long?

Turn to me, Lord, rescue my spirit:

in your pity, save me.

If I die, how can I praise you?

Can anyone in the underworld proclaim your name?

I struggle and groan,

soak my bed with weeping night after night;

my eyes are troubled with sadness:

I grow older as my enemies watch.

Leave me, all who do evil,

for the Lord has heard my voice as I wept.

The Lord listened to my prayer,

granted me what I asked.

Let my enemies be ashamed and confounded:

let shame and confusion overtake them soon.

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, save me in your merciful love.

Psalm 9A (9)

Thanksgiving for victory

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed in times of distress.

I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart;

I will tell of your wonders.

I will rejoice in you and triumph,

make music to your name, O Most High.

Because my enemies are in full retreat;

they stumble and perish at your presence.

For you have given judgement in my favour,

upheld my case,

taken your seat on the throne of judgement.

You have rebuked the nations,

condemned the wicked,

wiped out their name for ever and for ever.

My enemies are no more;

their land is a desert for ever.

You have demolished their cities,

their very memory is wiped away.

But the Lord will reign for ever:

he has made his throne his judgement-seat.

He himself will judge the whole world in justice,

judge the peoples impartially.

The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed,

a refuge in good times and in bad.

Let them put their hope in you, those who know your name;

for you, Lord, have never abandoned those who seek 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.

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed in times of distress.

Psalm 9A (9)

I will recount all your praise at the gates of the city of Sion.

Sing to the Lord who dwells in Zion,

proclaim to the nations his loving care.

For he has remembered the poor and avenged them with blood:

he has not forgotten the cry of the weak.

Take pity on me, Lord:

see how my enemies torment me.

You raise me up from the gates of death,

and I will proclaim your praise at the gates of the daughter of Zion;

I will rejoice in your salvation.

The nations have fallen into the pit that they made,

into the very trap that they set: their feet are caught fast.

The Lord’s justice shines forth:

the sinner is trapped by his very own action.

Sinners will go down to the underworld,

and all nations that forget God.

For the weak will not always be forgotten:

the hope of the weak will never perish.

Rise up, Lord, let men not be complacent:

let the nations come before you to be judged.

Put fear into them, Lord:

let them know that they are only men.

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.

I will recount all your praise at the gates of the city of Sion.

Give me understanding, and I will follow your law.

– I will keep it wholeheartedly.

First Reading

Joel 4:1-3,9-21

‘For in those days and at that time,

when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

I am going to gather all the nations

and take them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;

there I intend to put them on trial

for all they have done to Israel, my people and my heritage.

For they have scattered them among the nations

and have divided up my land among themselves.

They have cast lots for my people;

they have bartered the boys for prostitutes,

have sold the girls for wine and drunk it.

‘Proclaim this among the nations.

“Prepare for war!

Muster the champions!

Warriors, advance,

quick march!

Hammer your ploughshares into swords,

your sickles into spears,

let the weakling say, ‘I am a fighting man.’

Come quickly,

all you surrounding nations,

assemble there!”

Lord, send down your champions!

‘Let the nations rouse themselves, let them march

to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,

for I am going to sit in judgement there

on all the nations round.

Put the sickle in:

the harvest is ripe;

come and tread:

the winepress is full,

the vats are overflowing,

so great is their wickedness!’

Host on host

in the Valley of Decision!

For the day of the Lord is near

in the Valley of Decision!

Sun and moon grow dark,

the stars lose their brilliance.

The Lord roars from Zion,

makes his voice heard from Jerusalem;

heaven and earth tremble.

But the Lord will be a shelter for his people,

a stronghold for the sons of Israel.

‘You will learn then that I am the Lord your God,

dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain.

Jerusalem will be a holy place,

no alien will ever pass through it again.’

When that day comes,

the mountains will run with new wine

and the hills flow with milk,

and all the river beds of Judah

will run with water.

A fountain will spring from the house of the Lord

to water the wadi of Acacias.

Egypt will become a desolation,

Edom a desert waste

on account of the violence done to the sons of Judah

whose innocent blood they shed in their country.

But Judah will be inhabited for ever,

Jerusalem from age to age.

‘I will avenge their blood and let none go unpunished’,

and the Lord shall make his home in Zion.

Responsory

The mountains shall drip sweet wine,

and all the streams of Judah flow with water;

a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord.

Let him who is thirsty come,

let him who wishes take the water of life without price.

The angel showed me the river of the water of life,

bright as crystal,

flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Let him who is thirsty come,

let him who wishes take the water of life without price.

Second Reading

The treatise of St Fulgentius of Ruspe 

on the forgiveness of sins

Whoever conquers will not be harmed by the second death

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye as the final trumpet sounds, for the trumpet shall indeed sound, the dead shall rise incorruptible and we shall be changed. In saying “we,” Paul is indicating that the gift of that future change will also be given to those who during their time on earth are united to him and his companions by upright lives within the communion of the Church. He hints at the nature of the change when he says: This corruptible body must put on incorruptibility, this mortal body immortality. In order, then, that men may obtain the transformation which is the reward of the just, they must first undergo here on earth a change which is God’s free gift. 

Those who in this life have been changed from evil to good are promised that future change as a reward.

Through justification and the spiritual resurrection, grace now effects in them an initial change that is God’s gift. Later on, through the bodily resurrection, the transformation of the just will be brought to completion, and they will experience a perfect, abiding, unchangeable glorification. The purpose of this change wrought in them by the gifts of both justification and glorification is that they may abide in an eternal, changeless state of joy.

Here on earth they are changed by the first resurrection, in which they are enlightened and converted, thus passing from death to life, sinfulness to holiness, unbelief to faith, and evil actions to holy life. For this reason the second death has no power over them. It is of such men that the Book of Revelation says: Happy the man who shares in the first resurrection; over such as he the second death has no power. Elsewhere the same book says: He who overcomes shall not be harmed by the second death. As the first resurrection consists of the conversion of the heart, 

the second death consists of unending torment.

Let everyone, therefore, who does not wish to be condemned to the endless punishment of the second death now hasten to share in the first resurrection. For if any during this life are changed out of fear of God and pass from an evil life to a good one, they pass from death to life and later they shall be transformed from a shameful state to a glorious one.

Responsory

You have died,

and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Your real life is Christ,

and when he appears,

then you too will appear with him and share his glory.

You are to think of yourselves as dead to sin but alive to God in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.

Your real life is Christ,

and when he appears,

then you too will appear with him and share his glory.

Let us pray.

Lord our God,

give us grace to serve you always with joy,

because our full and lasting happiness

is to make of our lives

a constant service to the Author of all that is good.

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.