PRAYER OF THE DAY

Lorica of Saint Patrick

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through a belief in the Threeness,

Through confession of the Oneness

Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today

Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,

Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,

Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,

Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today

Through the strength of the love of cherubim,

In obedience of angels,

In service of archangels,

In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,

In the prayers of patriarchs,

In preachings of the apostles,

In faiths of confessors,

In innocence of virgins,

In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today

Through the strength of heaven;

Light of the sun,

Splendor of fire,

Speed of lightning,

Swiftness of the wind,

Depth of the sea,

Stability of the earth,

Firmness of the rock.

I arise today

Through God's strength to pilot me;

God's might to uphold me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's eye to look before me,

God's ear to hear me,

God's word to speak for me,

God's hand to guard me,

God's way to lie before me,

God's shield to protect me,

God's hosts to save me

From snares of the devil,

From temptations of vices,

From every one who desires me ill,

Afar and anear,

Alone or in a multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and evil,

Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,

Against incantations of false prophets,

Against black laws of pagandom,

Against false laws of heretics,

Against craft of idolatry,

Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,

Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.

Christ shield me today

Against poison, against burning,

Against drowning, against wounding,

So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,

Christ in the eye that sees me,

Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through a belief in the Threeness,

Through a confession of the Oneness

Of the Creator of creation

St. Patrick (ca. 377)

DAILY MASS READINGS

Monday of the Second Week in Lent

Reading

DN 9:4B-10

“Lord, great and awesome God,

you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you

and observe your commandments!

We have sinned, been wicked and done evil;

we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws.

We have not obeyed your servants the prophets,

who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes,

our fathers, and all the people of the land.

Justice, O Lord, is on your side;

we are shamefaced even to this day:

we, the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem,

and all Israel, near and far,

in all the countries to which you have scattered them

because of their treachery toward you.

O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers,

for having sinned against you.

But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!

Yet we rebelled against you

and paid no heed to your command, O LORD, our God,

to live by the law you gave us through your servants the prophets.”

Responsorial Psalm

PS 79:8, 9, 11 AND 13

R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.

Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;

may your compassion quickly come to us,

for we are brought very low.

R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.

Help us, O God our savior,

because of the glory of your name;

Deliver us and pardon our sins

for your name’s sake.

R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.

Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you;

with your great power free those doomed to death.

Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture,

will give thanks to you forever;

through all generations we will declare your praise.

R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.

Gospel

LK 6:36-38

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

“Stop judging and you will not be judged.

Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.

Forgive and you will be forgiven.

Give and gifts will be given to you;

a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,

will be poured into your lap.

For the measure with which you measure

will in return be measured out to you.”

SAINT OF THE DAY

March 17

St. Patrick (415?-493?)

Legends about Patrick abound; but truth is best served by our seeing two solid qualities in him: He was humble and he was courageous. The determination to accept suffering and success with equal indifference guided the life of God’s instrument for winning most of Ireland for Christ.

Details of his life are uncertain. Current research places his dates of birth and death a little later than earlier accounts. Patrick may have been born in Dunbarton, Scotland, Cumberland, England, or in northern Wales. He called himself both a Roman and a Briton. At 16, he and a large number of his father’s slaves and vassals were captured by Irish raiders and sold as slaves in Ireland. 

Forced to work as a shepherd, he suffered greatly from hunger and cold.

After six years, Patrick escaped, probably to France, and later returned to Britain at the age of 22. His captivity had meant spiritual conversion. He may have studied at Lerins, off the French coast; he spent years at Auxerre, France, 

and was consecrated bishop at the age of 43. His great desire was to proclaim the Good News to the Irish.

In a dream vision it seemed “all the children of Ireland from their mothers’ wombs were stretching out their hands” to him. He understood the vision to be a call to do mission work in pagan Ireland. Despite opposition from those who felt his education had been defective, he was sent to carry out the task. He went to the west and north, where the faith had never been preached, 

obtained the protection of local kings and made numerous converts.

Because of the island’s pagan background, Patrick was emphatic in encouraging widows to remain chaste and young women to consecrate their virginity to Christ. He ordained many priests, divided the country into dioceses, held Church councils, 

founded several monasteries and continually urged his people to greater holiness in Christ.

He suffered much opposition from pagan druids and was criticized in both England and Ireland for the way he conducted his mission.

In a relatively short time, the island had experienced deeply the Christian spirit, 

and was prepared to send out missionaries whose efforts were greatly responsible for Christianizing Europe.

Patrick was a man of action, with little inclination toward learning. He had a rocklike belief in his vocation, 

in the cause he had espoused.

One of the few certainly authentic writings is his Confession, above all an act of homage to God for having called Patrick, 

unworthy sinner, to the apostolate.

There is hope rather than irony in the fact that his burial place is said to be in County Down in Northern Ireland, 

long the scene of strife and violence.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 99 (100)

Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us.

Come, let us adore him.

Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth,

and serve him with joy.

Exult as you enter his presence.

Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us.

Come, let us adore him.

Know that the Lord is God.

He made us and we are his

– his people, the sheep of his flock.

Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us.

Come, let us adore him.

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.

Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us.

Come, let us adore 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.

Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us.

Come, let us adore him.

Hymn

Forty days and forty nights

thou wast fasting in the wild

forty days and forty nights

tempted still, yet undefiled.

Shall not we thy sorrow share,

and from earthly joys abstain,

fasting with unceasing prayer,

strong with thee to suffer pain?

And if Satan, vexing sore,

flesh or spirit should assail,

thou, his vanquisher before,

grant we may not faint or fail.

So shall we have peace divine;

holier gladness ours shall be;

round us too shall angels shine,

such as ministered to thee.

Keep, O keep us, Saviour dear,

ever constant by thy side;

that with thee we may appear

at the eternal Eastertide.

Psalm 103 (104)

Hymn to God the Creator

Lord God, how great you are,

clothed in majesty and glory,

wrapped in light as in a robe.

Bless the Lord, my soul!

Lord, my God, how great you are!

You are robed in majesty and splendour;

you are wrapped in light as in a cloak.

You stretch out the sky like an awning,

you build your palace upon the waters.

You make the clouds your chariot,

you walk upon the wings of the wind.

You make the breezes your messengers,

you make burning fire your minister.

You set the earth upon its foundation:

from age to age it will stand firm.

Deep oceans covered it like a garment,

and the waters stood high above the mountains;

but you rebuked them and they fled;

at the sound of your thunder they fled in terror.

They rise to the mountains or sink to the valleys,

to the places you have decreed for them.

You have given them a boundary they must not cross;

they will never come back to cover the earth.

You make springs arise to feed the streams,

that flow in the midst of the mountains.

All the beasts of the field will drink from them

and the wild asses will quench their thirst.

Above them will nest the birds of the sky,

from among the branches their voices will sound.

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 God, how great you are,

clothed in majesty and glory,

wrapped in light as in a robe.

Psalm 103 (104)

The Lord brought forth bread from the earth and wine,

to cheer man’s heart.

From your palace you water the mountains,

and thus you give plenty to the earth.

You bring forth grass for the cattle,

and plants for the service of man.

You bring forth bread from the land,

and wine to make man’s heart rejoice.

Oil, to make the face shine;

and bread to make man’s heart strong.

The trees of the Lord have all that they need,

and the cedars of Lebanon, that he planted.

Small birds will nest there,

and storks at the tops of the trees.

For wild goats there are the high mountains;

the crags are a refuge for the coneys.

He made the moon so that time could be measured;

the sun knows the hour of its setting.

You send shadows, and night falls:

then all the beasts of the woods come out,

lion cubs roaring for their prey,

asking God for their food.

When the sun rises they come back together

to lie in their lairs;

man goes out to his labour,

and works until evening.

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 brought forth bread from the earth and wine,

to cheer man’s heart.

Psalm 103 (104)

God saw all he had made,

and indeed it was very good.

How many are your works, O Lord!

You have made all things in your wisdom,

and the earth is full of your creatures.

The sea is broad and immense:

sea-creatures swim there, both small and large,

too many to count.

Ships sail across it;

Leviathan lives there, the monster;

you made him to play with.

All of them look to you

to give them their food when they need it.

You give it to them, and they gather;

you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

But turn away, and they are dismayed;

take away their breath, and they die,

once more they will turn into dust.

You will send forth your breath, they will come to life;

you will renew the face of the earth.

Glory be to the Lord, for ever;

let the Lord rejoice in his works.

He turns his gaze to the earth, and it trembles;

he touches the mountains, and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord all my life;

as long as I exist, I will sing songs to God.

May my praises be pleasing to him;

truly I will delight in the Lord.

Let sinners perish from the earth,

let the wicked vanish from existence.

Bless the Lord, my soul!

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.

God saw all he had made,

and indeed it was very good.

The Father’s voice was heard from the cloud:

– ‘This is my beloved Son: listen to him.’

First Reading

Exodus 13:17-14:9

When Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not let them take the road to the land of the Philistines, although that was the nearest way. God thought that the prospect of fighting would make the people lose heart and turn back to Egypt. Instead, God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness to the Sea of Reeds. The sons of Israel went out from Egypt fully armed. Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had put the sons of Israel on solemn oath. ‘It is sure that God will visit you,’ he had said ‘and when that day comes you must take my bones from here with you.’

From Succoth they moved on, and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.

The Lord went before them, by day in the form of a pillar of cloud to show them the way, 

and by night in the form of a pillar of fire to give them light: 

thus they could continue their march by day and by night. 

The pillar of cloud never failed to go before the people during the day, nor the pillar of fire during the night.

The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and pitch camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, facing Baal-zephon. You are to pitch your camp opposite this place, beside the sea. Pharaoh will think, “Look how these sons of Israel wander to and fro in the countryside; the wilderness has closed in on them.” Then I shall make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn and he will set out in pursuit of them. But I shall win glory for myself at the expense of Pharaoh and all his army, 

and the Egyptians will learn that I am the Lord.’ And the Israelites did this.

When Pharaoh, king of Egypt, was told that the people had made their escape, he and his courtiers changed their minds about the people. ‘What have we done,’ they said ‘allowing Israel to leave our service?’ So Pharaoh had his chariot harnessed and gathered his troops about him, taking six hundred of the best chariots and all the other chariots in Egypt, each manned by a picked team. The Lord made Pharaoh, king of Egypt, stubborn, and he gave chase to the sons of Israel as they made their triumphant escape. So the Egyptians gave chase and came up with them where they lay encamped beside the sea – all the horses, the chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen, his army – near Pi-hahiroth, facing Baal-zephon.

Responsory

When Israel came forth from Egypt,

Jacob’s sons from an alien people,

Judah became the Lord’s temple,

Israel became his kingdom.

The Lord went before them in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way.

Judah became the Lord’s temple,

Israel became his kingdom.

Second Reading

From a sermon

by Saint Leo the Great, pope

The Law was given through Moses, 

grace and truth came through Jesus Christ

The Lord reveals his glory in the presence of chosen witnesses. His body is like that of the rest of mankind, 

but he makes it shine with such splendour that his face becomes like the sun in glory, and his garments as white as snow.

The great reason for this transfiguration was to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of his disciples, and to prevent the humiliation of his voluntary suffering from disturbing the faith of those who had witnessed the surpassing glory that lay concealed.

With no less forethought he was also providing a firm foundation for the hope of holy Church. 

The whole body of Christ was to understand the kind of transformation that it would receive as his gift: 

the members of that body were to look forward to a share in that glory which first blazed out in Christ their head.

The Lord had himself spoken of this when he foretold the splendour of his coming: Then the just will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Saint Paul the apostle bore witness to this same truth when he said: I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not to be compared to the future glory that is to be revealed in us. In another place he says: 

You are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 

When Christ, your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

This marvel of the transfiguration contains another lesson for the apostles, to strengthen them and lead them into the fullness of knowledge. Moses and Elijah, the law and the prophets, appeared with the Lord in conversation with him. This was in order to fulfil exactly, through the presence of these five men, the text which says: Before two or three witnesses every word is ratified. What word could be more firmly established, more securely based, than the word which is proclaimed by the trumpets of both old and new testaments, sounding in harmony, and by the utterances of ancient prophecy and the teaching of the Gospel, 

in full agreement with each other?

The writings of the two testaments support each other. The radiance of the transfiguration reveals clearly and unmistakably the one who had been promised by signs foretelling him under the veils of mystery. As Saint John says: The law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. In him the promise made through the shadows of prophecy stands revealed, along with the full meaning of the precepts of the law. He is the one who teaches the truth of the prophecy through his presence, and makes obedience to the commandments possible through grace.

In the preaching of the holy Gospel all should receive a strengthening of their faith. 

No one should be ashamed of the cross of Christ, through which the world has been redeemed.

No one should fear to suffer for the sake of justice; no one should lose confidence in the reward that has been promised. The way to rest is through toil, the way to life is through death. Christ has taken on himself the whole weakness of our lowly human nature. If then we are steadfast in our faith in him and in our love for him, we win the victory that he has won, 

we receive what he has promised.

When it comes to obeying the commandments or enduring adversity, 

the words uttered by the Father should always echo in our ears: 

This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him.

Responsory

You have come to Jesus,

the mediator who brings a new covenant.

Make sure that you never refuse to listen when he speaks.

The people who refused to listen to him on earth could not escape their punishment:

then how can we escape if we turn away from his voice that warns us from heaven?

O that today you would listen to his voice:

harden not your hearts.

The people who refused to listen to him on earth could not escape their punishment:

then how can we escape if we turn away from his voice that warns us from heaven?

Let us pray.

God our Father,

you bid us listen to your Son, the well-beloved.

Nourish our hearts on your word,

purify the eyes of our mind,

and fill us with joy at the vision of your glory.

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.