FRIDAY OF THE THIRTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

PRAYER OF THE DAY

An Act of Spiritual Communion

My Jesus,

I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.

I love You above all things,

and I desire to receive You into my soul.

Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,

come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You.

Never permit me to be separated from You.

Amen.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading

PHIL 1:1-11

Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus,

to all the holy ones in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,

with the bishops and deacons:

grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you,

praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you,

because of your partnership for the Gospel

from the first day until now.

I am confident of this,

that the one who began a good work in you

will continue to complete it

until the day of Christ Jesus.

It is right that I should think this way about all of you,

because I hold you in my heart,

you who are all partners with me in grace,

both in my imprisonment

and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel.

For God is my witness,

how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

And this is my prayer:

that your love may increase ever more and more

in knowledge and every kind of perception,

to discern what is of value,

so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

filled with the fruit of righteousness

that comes through Jesus Christ

for the glory and praise of God.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 111:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. How great are the works of the Lord!

or:

R. Alleluia.

I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart

in the company and assembly of the just.

Great are the works of the LORD,

exquisite in all their delights.

R. How great are the works of the Lord!

or:

R. Alleluia.

Majesty and glory are his work,

and his justice endures forever.

He has won renown for his wondrous deeds;

gracious and merciful is the LORD.

R. How great are the works of the Lord!

or:

R. Alleluia.

He has given food to those who fear him;

he will forever be mindful of his covenant.

He has made known to his people the power of his works,

giving them the inheritance of the nations.

R. How great are the works of the Lord!

or:

R. Alleluia.

Gospel

LK 14:1-6

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine

at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,

and the people there were observing him carefully.

In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy.

Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking,

“Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?”

But they kept silent; so he took the man and,

after he had healed him, dismissed him.

Then he said to them

“Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern,

would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?”

But they were unable to answer his question.

SAINT OF THE DAY

October 31

Blessed Thomas of Florence (d. 1447)

The son of a butcher in Florence, Thomas led such a wild life for a time that parents warned their sons to stay away from him. A rich man in town befriended him and led him deeper into depravity. Accused of a serious crime that he had not committed, Thomas went to his friend for protection. The man would not even see him and told him to stay away. Crushed, Thomas wandered the streets until he met a priest who listened to his story and took Thomas into his home. 

Ultimately, he was able to get Thomas declared innocent of the crime.

Thomas broke off his former associations and began to lead a life of prayer and penance. Filled with grace, he asked to be admitted to a Franciscan friary as a lay brother. He went on to become a model friar, fasting, keeping vigils, disciplining himself. He wore the cast-off clothes of his brothers. He was frequently wrapped in ecstasy. Though he was never ordained a priest and remained content to serve as a lay brother, Thomas was appointed novice master. 

Many young men followed in his path of holiness.

Thomas founded numerous convents of friars in southern Italy. And Pope Martin V called upon him to preach against the Fraticelli, a branch of heretical Franciscans. He was also asked to go to the Orient to promote the reunion of the Eastern and Western Churches. There he was imprisoned and expected to receive the crown of martyrdom. But the pope ransomed him for a large sum of money. Thomas returned to Italy and died on a journey to Rome, 

where he had hoped to receive permission to return to the Orient.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 94 (95)

Indeed, how good is the Lord:

bless his holy name.

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.

Indeed, how good is the Lord:

bless his holy name.

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.

Indeed, how good is the Lord:

bless his holy name.

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.

Indeed, how good is the Lord:

bless his holy name.

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.”

Indeed, how good is the Lord:

bless his holy name.

“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.”

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 37 (38)

The plea of a sinner in great peril

Do not punish me, Lord, in your rage.

Lord, do not rebuke me in your wrath,

do not ruin me in your anger:

for I am pierced by your arrows

and crushed beneath your hand.

In the face of your anger

there is no health in my body.

There is no peace for my bones,

no rest from my sins.

My transgressions rise higher than my head:

a heavy burden, they weigh me down.

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 punish me, Lord, in your rage.

Psalm 37 (38)

O Lord, you know all my longing.

My wounds are corruption and decay

because of my foolishness.

I am bowed down and bent,

bent under grief all day long.

For a fire burns up my loins,

and there is no health in my body.

I am afflicted, utterly cast down,

I cry out from the sadness of my heart.

Lord, all that I desire is known to you;

my sighs are not hidden from you.

My heart grows weak, my strength leaves me,

and the light of my eyes – even that has gone.

My friends and my neighbours

keep far from my wounds.

Those closest to me keep far away,

while those who would kill me set traps,

those who would harm me make their plots:

they plan mischief all through the day.

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.

O Lord, you know all my longing.

Psalm 37 (38)

I confess my guilt to you, Lord;

do not forsake me, my savior.

But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;

like one who is dumb, I do not open my mouth.

I am like someone who cannot hear,

in whose mouth there is no reply.

For in you, Lord, I put my trust:

you will listen to me, Lord, my God.

For I have said, “Let them never triumph over me:

if my feet stumble, they will gloat.”

For I am ready to fall:

my suffering is before me always.

For I shall proclaim my wrongdoing:

I am anxious because of my sins.

All the time my enemies live and grow stronger;

they are so many, those who hate me without cause.

Returning evil for good they dragged me down,

because I followed the way of goodness.

Do not abandon me, Lord:

my God, do not leave me.

Hurry to my aid,

O Lord, my savior.

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 confess my guilt to you, Lord;

do not forsake me, my savior.

My eyes are weary with longing for your salvation

– and for your words of justice.

First Reading

Wisdom 8:1-21

Wisdom deploys her strength from one end of the earth to the other,

ordering all things for good.

She it was I loved and searched for from my youth;

I resolved to have her as my bride,

I fell in love with her beauty.

Her closeness to God lends lustre to her noble birth,

since the Lord of All has loved her.

Yes, she is an initiate in the mysteries of God’s knowledge,

making choice of the works he is to do.

If in this life wealth be a desirable possession,

what is more wealthy than Wisdom whose work is everywhere?

Or if it be the intellect that is at work,

where is there a greater than Wisdom, designer of all?

Or if it be virtue you love,

why, virtues are the fruit of her labours,

since it is she who teaches temperance and prudence,

justice and fortitude;

nothing in life is more serviceable to men than these.

Or if you are eager for wide experience,

she knows the past, she forecasts the future;

she knows how to turn maxims, and solve riddles;

she has foreknowledge of signs and wonders,

of the unfolding of the ages and the times.

I therefore determined to take her to share my life,

knowing she would be my counsellor in prosperity,

my comfort in cares and sorrow.

Through her, I thought, I shall be acclaimed where people gather

and honoured, while still a youth, among the elders.

I shall be reckoned shrewd when I sit in judgement,

in presence of the great I shall be admired.

They will wait on my silences,

and pay attention when I speak;

if I speak at some length, they will lay their hand on their lips.

By means of her, immortality shall be mine,

I shall leave an everlasting memory to my successors.

I shall govern peoples and nations will be subject to me;

at the sound of my name fearsome despots will be afraid;

I shall show myself kind to my people and valiant in battle.

When I go home I shall take my ease with her,

for nothing is bitter in her company,

when life is shared with her there is no pain,

gladness only, and joy.

Inwardly revolving these thoughts,

and considering in my heart

that immortality is found in being kin to Wisdom

pure contentment in her friendship,

inexhaustible riches in what she does,

intelligence in the cultivation of her society,

and renown in the fellowship of her conversation,

I went in all directions seeking by what means I might make her mine.

I was a boy of happy disposition,

I had received a good soul as my lot,

or rather, being good, I had entered an undefiled body;

but knowing I could not master Wisdom but by the gift of God

– a mark itself of understanding, to know whose the bounty was –

I turned to the Lord.

Responsory

I prayed, and understanding was given me;

I entreated, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.

I esteemed her more than sceptres and thrones.

If there is any one of you who needs wisdom,

he must ask God,

who gives to all freely and ungrudgingly:

it will be given to him.

I entreated, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.

I esteemed her more than sceptres and thrones.

Second Reading

A tractate

by St Baldwin of Canterbury

The word of God is alive and active

The word of God is something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely. These words tell us how much power and wisdom there is in the word of God for those who seek Christ, who is the word and the power and the wisdom of God. This word, with the Father from the beginning and co-eternal with him, came at its own chosen time, was revealed to them, was proclaimed by them, and was humbly received in faith by its believers. A word, therefore, in the Father; 

a word in the mouth; and a word in the heart.

This word of God is alive. The Father gave it life coming from itself just as the Father’s own life comes from himself. The word is not just alive, therefore, it is life, as it said itself: I am the way, the truth, and the life. Since the word is life, the word is alive to give life. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to anyone he chooses. He gives life, 

as when he calls the dead man out of the tomb, saying Lazarus, come forth.

When this word is preached, the voice of its preaching which is heard outwardly calls forth a voice of power that is heard inwardly, that voice by which the dead are restored to life and their praise raises up sons for Abraham. So this word is alive in the heart of the Father, alive in the mouth of the preacher, and alive in the hearts of those who believe and love. If a word is alive in this way, how can it not also be active?

The word is active in creating, active in guiding the world, active in redeeming the world. What could be more active? What could be more powerful? Who shall tell of his powerful deeds? Who shall proclaim the praises of the Lord? It is active when it works, 

it is active when it is preached. For it does not come back empty-handed: wherever it is sent, it prospers.

It is active and cuts finer than a double-edged sword when it is believed and loved. For what is impossible to the believer? What is hard for the lover? When this word speaks, its words transfix the heart like a flight of sharp arrows, like nails hammered deep into its very essence. This word is sharper than a double-edged sword in that it cuts deeper than any strength or power, 

it is finer than anything made by human ingenuity, sharper than any human wisdom or learned speech.

Responsory

The source of wisdom is the word of God in the heavens;

her ways are the eternal laws.

To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

her ways are the eternal laws.

Let us pray.

Lord God, deepen our faith,

strengthen our hope,

enkindle our love;

and so that we may obtain what you promise,

make us love what you command.

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.

THURSDAY OF THE THIRTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Prayer attributed to Alphonsus Rodriguez

Lord, let me know you, let me know myself.

Lord, you do your will and not mine.

I’m just coming, Lord.

(from Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits)

DAILY MASS READINGS

Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading

EPH 6:10-20

Brothers and sisters:

Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.

Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm

against the tactics of the Devil.

For our struggle is not with flesh and blood

but with the principalities, with the powers,

with the world rulers of this present darkness,

with the evil spirits in the heavens.

Therefore, put on the armor of God,

that you may be able to resist on the evil day

and, having done everything, to hold your ground.

So stand fast with your loins girded in truth,

clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,

and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace.

In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,

to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.

And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,

which is the word of God.

With all prayer and supplication,

pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.

To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication

for all the holy ones and also for me,

that speech may be given me to open my mouth,

to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel

for which I am an ambassador in chains,

so that I may have the courage to speak as I must.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 144:1B, 2, 9-10

R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

Blessed be the LORD, my rock,

who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war.

R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

My mercy and my fortress,

my stronghold, my deliverer,

My shield, in whom I trust,

who subdues my people under me.

R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

O God, I will sing a new song to you;

with a ten stringed lyre I will chant your praise,

You who give victory to kings,

and deliver David, your servant from the evil sword.

R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

Gospel

LK 13:31-35

Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,

“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”

He replied,

“Go and tell that fox,

‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,

and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.

Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,

for it is impossible that a prophet should die

outside of Jerusalem.’

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,

you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,

how many times I yearned to gather your children together

as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,

but you were unwilling!

Behold, your house will be abandoned.

But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

SAINT OF THE DAY

October 30

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez (c. 1533-1617)

Born in Spain in 1533, Alphonsus inherited the family textile business at 23. Within the space of three years, his wife, daughter and mother died; meanwhile, business was poor. Alphonsus stepped back and reassessed his life. He sold the business and, 
with his young son, moved into his sisters’ home. There he learned the discipline of prayer and meditation.

Years later, at the death of his son, Alphonsus, almost 40 by then, sought to join the Jesuits. He was not helped by his poor education. He applied twice before being admitted. For 45 years he served as doorkeeper at the Jesuits’ college in Majorca. 
When not at his post, he was almost always at prayer, though he often encountered difficulties and temptations.

His holiness and prayerfulness attracted many to him, including St. Peter Claver, then a Jesuit seminarian. Alphonsus’s life as doorkeeper may have been humdrum, but he caught the attention of poet and fellow-Jesuit Gerard Manley Hopkins, 
who made him the subject of one of his poems.

Alphonsus died in 1617. 
He is the patron saint of Majorca.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 99 (100)

Come before the Lord, singing with joy.

Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth,

and serve him with joy.

Exult as you enter his presence.

Come before the Lord, singing with joy.

Know that the Lord is God.

He made us and we are his

– his people, the sheep of his flock.

Come before the Lord, singing with joy.

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 forever,

his faithfulness through all the ages.

Come before the Lord, singing with joy.

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.

Come before the Lord, singing with joy.

Hymn

Where true love is dwelling, God is dwelling there:

Love’s own loving Presence love does ever share.

Love of Christ has made us out of many one;

In our midst is dwelling God’s eternal Son.

Give him joyful welcome, love him and revere:

Cherish one another with a love sincere.

Psalm 43 (44)

In time of defeat

It was you who saved us, Lord:

we will praise your name without ceasing.

Our own ears have heard, O God,

and our fathers have proclaimed it to us,

what you did in their days, the days of old:

how with your own hand you swept aside the nations

and put us in their place,

struck them down to make room for us.

It was not by their own swords that our fathers took over the land,

it was not their own strength that gave them victory;

but your hand and your strength,

the light of your face,

for you were pleased in them.

You are my God and my king,

who take care for the safety of Jacob.

Through you we cast down your enemies;

in your name we crushed those who rose against us.

I will not put my hopes in my bow,

my sword will not bring me to safety;

for it was you who saved us from our afflictions,

you who set confusion among those who hated us.

We will glory in the Lord all the day,

and proclaim your name for all ages.

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.

It was you who saved us, Lord:

we will praise your name without ceasing.

Psalm 43 (44)

Spare us, Lord, do not let your people be put to shame.

But now, God, you have spurned us and confounded us,

so that we must go into battle without you.

You have put us to flight in the sight of our enemies,

and those who hate us plunder us at will.

You have handed us over like sheep sold for food,

you have scattered us among the nations.

You have sold your people for no money,

not even profiting by the exchange.

You have made us the laughing-stock of our neighbours,

mocked and derided by those who surround us.

The nations have made us a by-word,

the peoples toss their heads in scorn.

All the day I am ashamed,

I blush with shame

as they reproach me and revile me,

my enemies and my persecutors.

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.

Spare us, Lord, do not let your people be put to shame.

Psalm 43 (44)

Arise, Lord!

Redeem us because of your love.

All this happened to us,

but not because we had forgotten you.

We were not disloyal to your covenant;

our hearts did not turn away;

our steps did not wander from your path;

and yet you brought us low,

with horrors all about us:

you overwhelmed us in the shadows of death.

If we had forgotten the name of our God,

if we had spread out our hands before an alien god —

would God not have known?

He knows what is hidden in our hearts.

It is for your sake that we face death all the day,

that we are reckoned as sheep to be slaughtered.

Awake, Lord, why do you sleep?

Rise up, do not always reject us.

Why do you turn away your face?

How can you forget our poverty and our tribulation?

Our souls are crushed into the dust,

our bodies dragged down to the earth.

Rise up, Lord, and help us.

In your mercy, redeem us.

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.

Arise, Lord!

Redeem us because of your love.

Lord, to whom shall we go?

– You have the words of eternal life.

First Reading

Wisdom 7:15-30

May God grant me to speak as he would wish

and express thoughts worthy of his gifts,

since he himself is the guide of Wisdom,

since he directs the sages.

We are indeed in his hand, we ourselves and our words,

with all our understanding, too, and technical knowledge.

It was he who gave me true knowledge of all that is,

who taught me the structure of the world and the properties of the elements,

the beginning, end and middle of the times,

the alternation of the solstices and the succession of the seasons,

the revolution of the year and the positions of the stars,

the natures of animals and the instincts of wild beasts,

the powers of spirits and the mental processes of men,

the varieties of plants and the medical properties of roots.

All that is hidden, all that is plain, I have come to know, instructed by Wisdom who designed them all.

For within her is a spirit intelligent, holy,

unique, manifold, subtle,

active, incisive, unsullied,

lucid, invulnerable, benevolent, sharp,

irresistible, beneficent, loving to man,

steadfast, dependable, unperturbed,

almighty, all-surveying,

penetrating all intelligent, pure

and most subtle spirits;

for Wisdom is quicker to move than any motion;

she is so pure, she pervades and permeates all things.

She is a breath of the power of God,

pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;

hence nothing impure can find a way into her.

She is a reflection of the eternal light,

untarnished mirror of God’s active power,

image of his goodness.

Although alone, she can do all;

herself unchanging, she makes all things new.

In each generation she passes into holy souls,

she makes them friends of God and prophets;

for God loves only the man who lives with Wisdom.

She is indeed more splendid than the sun,

she outshines all the constellations;

compared with light, she takes first place,

for light must yield to night,

but over Wisdom evil can never triumph.

Responsory

Christ Jesus is the visible likeness of the invisible God.

He is the firstborn Son,

superior to all created things,

for by him God created everything.

He is the brightness that radiates from eternal light,

the faithful echo of God’s goodness,

for by him God created everything.

Second Reading

A discourse "Against the Arians"

by St Athanasius

Wisdom's likeness and image is created in God's works

An impress of Wisdom has been created in us and in all his works. 

Therefore, the true Wisdom which shaped the world claims for himself all that bears his image, and rightly says: 

The Lord created me in his works. 

These words are really spoken by the wisdom that is in us, but the Lord himself here adopts them as his own.

Wisdom himself is not created, because he is the Creator, but by reason of the created image of himself found in his works, he speaks thus as though he were speaking of himself. Our Lord said: He who receives you receives me, and he could say this because the impress of himself is in us. In the same way, although Wisdom is not to be numbered among created things, yet because his form and likeness are in his works, he speaks as if he were a creature, and he says: 

The Lord created me in his works, when his purpose first unfolded.

The likeness of Wisdom has been stamped upon creatures in order that the world may recognise in it the Word who was its maker and through the Word come to know the Father. This is Paul’s teaching: What can be known about God is clear to them, for God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature has been there for the mind to perceive in things that have been made. Accordingly the Word is not a creature, for the passage that begins: 

The Lord created me is to be understood as referring to that wisdom which is truly in us and is said to be so.

But if this fails to persuade our opponents, let them tell us whether there is any wisdom in created things. If there is none, why does the apostle Paul allege as the cause of men’s sins: By God’s wisdom, the world failed to come to a knowledge of God through wisdom? And if there is no created wisdom, how is it that the expression a multitude of wise men is found in Scripture? 

And again, Scripture testifies that the wise man is wary and turns away from evil, and by wisdom is a house built.

Further, Ecclesiastes says: A wise man’s wisdom will light up his face. He also rebukes presumptuous persons with the warning: Do not say, “How is it that former days were better than these?” For it is not in wisdom that you ask this.

So there is a wisdom in created things, as the son of Sirach too bears witness: The Lord has poured it out upon all his works, to be with men as his gift, and with wisdom he has abundantly equipped those who love him. This quality of being “poured out” belongs not to the essence of that self-existent Wisdom who is the Only-Begotten, but to that wisdom which reflects the only-begotten one in the world. Why then is it beyond belief if the creative and archetypal Wisdom, whose likeness is the wisdom and understanding poured out in the world, should say, as though speaking directly of himself: The Lord created me in his works? For the wisdom in the world is not creative, but is itself created in God’s works, and in the light of this wisdom the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands.

Responsory

Within wisdom is a spirit both intelligent and holy,

one in its source yet manifold in its operations,

subtle yet lucid,

loving what is good, irresistible.

Nothing is beyond its power,

nothing hidden from its sight;

it pervades the minds of all living beings.

The Spirit reaches the depths of everything,

even the depths of God.

Nothing is beyond its power,

nothing hidden from its sight;

it pervades the minds of all living beings.

Let us pray.

Lord God, deepen our faith,

strengthen our hope,

enkindle our love;

and so that we may obtain what you promise,

make us love what you command.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

Let us praise the Lord.

– Thanks be to God.