PRAYER OF THE DAY

Prayer of St. Peter Damian 
to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Holy Virgin,

Mother of God,

succour those who implore thy aid.

O turn towards us.

Hast thou, perhaps,

forgotten men,

because thou hast been raised to so close a union with God?

Ah no, most certainly.

Thou knowest well in what danger thou didst leave us,

and the wretched condition of thy servants;

ah no, it would not become so great a mercy as thine to forget such great misery as ours.

Turn towards us then with thy power;

for He who is powerful has made thee omnipotent in heaven and on earth.

Nothing is impossible to thee,

for thou canst raise even those who are in despair to the hope of salvation.

The more powerful thou art, the greater should be thy mercy.

Turn also to us in thy love.

I know, O my Lady,

that thou art all benign,

and that thou lovest us with a love that can be surpassed by no other love.

How often dost thou not appease the wrath of our Judge,

when He is on the point of chastising us!

All the treasures of the mercies of God are in thy hands.

Ah never cease to benefit us;

thou only seekest occasion to save all the wretched,

and to shower thy mercies upon them;

for thy glory is increased when,

by thy means,

penitents are forgiven,

and thus reach heaven.

Turn then towards us,

that we also may be able to go and see thee in heaven;

for the greatest glory we can have will be,

after seeing God,

to see thee,

to love thee,

and be under thy protection.

Be pleased then to grant our prayer;

for thy beloved Son desires to honor thee,

by denying thee nothing that thou askest.

Amen.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading

JAS 2:14-24, 26

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,

if someone says he has faith but does not have works?

Can that faith save him?

If a brother or sister has nothing to wear

and has no food for the day,

and one of you says to them,

“Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,”

but you do not give them the necessities of the body,

what good is it?

So also faith of itself,

if it does not have works, is dead.

Indeed someone might say,

“You have faith and I have works.”

Demonstrate your faith to me without works,

and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.

You believe that God is one.

You do well.

Even the demons believe that and tremble.

Do you want proof, you ignoramus,

that faith without works is useless?

Was not Abraham our father justified by works

when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?

You see that faith was active along with his works,

and faith was completed by the works.

Thus the Scripture was fulfilled that says,

Abraham believed God,

and it was credited to him as righteousness,

and he was called the friend of God.

See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

For just as a body without a spirit is dead,

so also faith without works is dead.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 112:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.

Blessed the man who fears the LORD,

who greatly delights in his commands.

His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;

the upright generation shall be blessed.

R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.

Wealth and riches shall be in his house;

his generosity shall endure forever.

Light shines through the darkness for the upright;

he is gracious and merciful and just.

R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.

Well for the man who is gracious and lends,

who conducts his affairs with justice;

He shall never be moved;

the just man shall be in everlasting remembrance.

R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.

Gospel

MK 8:34-9:1

Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,

take up his cross, and follow me.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for my sake

and that of the Gospel will save it.

What profit is there for one to gain the whole world

and forfeit his life?

What could one give in exchange for his life?

Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words

in this faithless and sinful generation,

the Son of Man will be ashamed of

when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

He also said to them,

“Amen, I say to you,

there are some standing here who will not taste death

until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.”

SAINT OF THE DAY

February 21

St. Peter Damian (1007-1072)

Maybe because he was orphaned and had been treated shabbily by one of his brothers, Peter Damian was very good to the poor. 
It was the ordinary thing for him to have a poor person or two with him at table and he liked to minister personally to their needs.

Peter escaped poverty and the neglect of his own brother when his other brother, who was archpriest of Ravenna, 

took him under his wing. His brother sent him to good schools and Peter became a professor.

Already in those days Peter was very strict with himself. He wore a hair shirt under his clothes, fasted rigorously and spent many hours in prayer. Soon, he decided to leave his teaching and give himself completely to prayer with the Benedictines of the reform of St. Romuald (June 19) at Fonte Avellana. They lived two monks to a hermitage. Peter was so eager to pray and slept so little that he soon suffered from severe insomnia. He found he had to use some prudence in taking care of himself. 

When he was not praying, he studied the Bible.

The abbot commanded that when he died Peter should succeed him. Abbot Peter founded five other hermitages. He encouraged his brothers in a life of prayer and solitude and wanted nothing more for himself. The Holy See periodically called on him, 

however, to be a peacemaker or troubleshooter, 

between two abbeys in dispute or a cleric or government official in some disagreement with Rome.

Finally, Pope Stephen IX made Peter the cardinal-bishop of Ostia. He worked hard to wipe out simony (the buying of church offices), and encouraged his priests to observe celibacy and urged even the diocesan clergy to live together and maintain scheduled prayer and religious observance. He wished to restore primitive discipline among religious and priests, warning against needless travel, violations of poverty and too comfortable living. He even wrote to the bishop of Besancon, 

complaining that the canons there sat down when they were singing the psalms in the Divine Office.

He wrote many letters. Some 170 are extant. 
We also have 53 of his sermons and seven lives, or biographies, that he wrote. 
He preferred examples and stories rather than theory in his writings. 

The liturgical offices he wrote are evidence of his talent as a stylist in Latin.

He asked often to be allowed to retire as cardinal-bishop of Ostia, and finally Alexander II consented. Peter was happy to become once again just a monk, but he was still called to serve as a papal legate. When returning from such an assignment in Ravenna, 

he was overcome by a fever. With the monks gathered around him saying the Divine Office, 

he died on February 22, 1072.

In 1828 he was declared a Doctor of the Church.

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

Proverbs 15:8-9,16-17,25-26,29,33,16:1-9,17:5

The sacrifice of the wicked is abhorrent to the Lord,

dear to him is the prayer of honest men.

The conduct of the wicked is abhorrent to the Lord,

but he loves the man who makes virtue his goal.

Better to have little and with it fear of the Lord

than to have treasure and with it anxiety.

Better a dish of herbs when love is there

than a fattened ox and hatred to go with it.

The Lord pulls down the house of the proud,

but he keeps the widow’s boundaries intact.

Wicked scheming is abhorrent to the Lord,

but words that are kind are pure.

The Lord stands far from the wicked,

but he listens to the prayers of the virtuous.

The fear of the Lord is a school of wisdom,

humility goes before honour.

Man’s heart makes the plans,

the Lord gives the answer.

A man’s conduct may strike him as pure,

the Lord, however, weighs the motives.

Commend what you do to the Lord,

and your plans will find achievement.

The Lord made everything for its own purpose,

yes, even the wicked for the day of disaster.

The arrogant heart is abhorrent to the Lord,

be sure it will not go unpunished.

By kindliness and loyalty atonement is made for sin;

with the fear of the Lord goes avoidance of evil.

Let the Lord be pleased with a man’s way of life

and he makes his very enemies into friends.

Better have little and with it virtue,

than great revenues and no right to them.

A man’s heart plans out his way

but it is the Lord who makes his steps secure.

To mock the poor is to insult his creator,

he who laughs at distress shall not go unpunished.

Responsory

Take heed lest you forget the Lord,

who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

You shall fear the Lord your God,

and you shall serve him alone.

The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,

and humility goes before honor.

You shall fear the Lord your God,

and you shall serve him alone.

Second Reading

From the Tractates on the first letter of John

by Saint Augustine, bishop

Our heart longs for God

We have been promised that we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. By these words, the tongue has done its best; now we must apply the meditation of the heart. Although they are the words of Saint John, what are they in comparison with the divine reality? And how can we, so greatly inferior to John in merit, add anything of our own? Yet we have received, as John has told us, an anointing by the Holy One which teaches us inwardly more than our tongue can speak. Let us turn to this source of knowledge, and because at present you cannot see, make it your business to desire the divine vision.

The entire life of a good Christian is in fact an exercise of holy desire. You do not yet see what you long for, 

but the very act of desiring prepares you, so that when he comes you may see and be utterly satisfied.

Suppose you are going to fill some holder or container, and you know you will be given a large amount. Then you set about stretching your sack or wineskin or whatever it is. Why? Because you know the quantity you will have to put in it and your eyes tell you there is not enough room. By stretching it, therefore, you increase the capacity of the sack, and this is how God deals with us. Simply by making us wait he increases our desire, which in turn enlarges the capacity of our soul, 

making it able to receive what is to be given to us.

So, my brethren, let us continue to desire, for we shall be filled. Take note of Saint Paul stretching as it were his ability to receive what is to come: Not that I have already obtained this, he said, or am made perfect. Brethren, I do not consider that I have already obtained it. We might ask him, “If you have not yet obtained it, what are you doing in this life?” This one thing I do, answers Paul, forgetting what lies behind, and stretching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the prize to which I am called in the life above. Not only did Paul say he stretched forward, but he also declared that he pressed on toward a chosen goal. 

He realised in fact that he was still short of receiving what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, 

nor the heart of man conceived.

Such is our Christian life. By desiring heaven we exercise the powers of our soul. Now this exercise will be effective only to the extent that we free ourselves from desires leading to infatuation with this world. Let me return to the example I have already used, of filling an empty container. God means to fill each of you with what is good; so cast out what is bad! If he wishes to fill you with honey and you are full of sour wine, where is the honey to go? The vessel must be emptied of its contents and then be cleansed. Yes, it must be cleansed even if you have to work hard and scour it. It must be made fit for the new thing, whatever it may be.

We may go on speaking figuratively of honey, gold or wine – but whatever we say we cannot express the reality we are to receive. The name of that reality is God. But who will claim that in that one syllable we utter the full expanse of our heart’s desire? Therefore, whatever we say is necessarily less than the full truth. We must extend ourselves toward the measure of Christ so that when he comes he may fill us with his presence. Then we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Responsory

If you find your delight in the Lord,

he will grant your heart’s desire.

Commit your life to the Lord and trust in him:

he will grant your heart’s desire.

Let us pray.

To those who love you, Lord,

you promise to come with your Son

and make your home within them.

Come, then, with your purifying grace

and make our hearts a place where you can dwell.

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.