Collect
May your grace, O Lord, we pray,
at all times go before us and follow after
and make us always determined
to carry out good works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading
ROM 1:1-7
Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus,
called to be an Apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God,
which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
the Gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh,
but established as Son of God in power
according to the Spirit of holiness
through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him we have received the grace of apostleship,
to bring about the obedience of faith,
for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles,
among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;
to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 98:1BCDE, 2-3AB, 3CD-4
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
Alleluia
PS 95:8
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
LK 11:29-32
While still more people gathered in the crowd,
Jesus said to them,
“This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here.”
October 12
St. Seraphin of Montegranaro (1540-1604)
Born into a poor Italian family, young Seraphin lived the life of a shepherd and spent much of his time in prayer.
Mistreated for a time by his older brother after the two of them had been orphaned,
Seraphin became a Capuchin Franciscan at age 16 and impressed everyone with his humility and generosity.
Serving as a lay brother, Seraphin imitated St. Francis in fasting, clothing and courtesy to all.
He even mirrored Francis' missionary zeal, but Seraphin's superiors did not judge him to be a candidate for the missions.
Faithful to the core, Seraphin spent three hours in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament daily.
The poor who begged at the friary door came to hold a special love for him.
Despite his uneventful life, he reached impressive spiritual heights and has had miracles attributed to him.
Seraphin died on October 12, 1604, and was canonized in 1767.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!
Invitatory Psalm
Psalm 66 (67)
Let us rejoice in the Lord,
with songs let us praise him.
O God, take pity on us and bless us,
and let your face shine upon us,
so that your ways may be known across the world,
and all nations learn of your salvation.
Let us rejoice in the Lord,
with songs let us praise him.
Let the peoples praise you, O God,
let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and rejoice,
for you judge the peoples with fairness
and you guide the nations of the earth.
Let us rejoice in the Lord,
with songs let us praise him.
Let the peoples praise you, O God,
let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has produced its harvest:
may God, our God, bless us.
May God bless us,
may the whole world revere him.
Let us rejoice in the Lord,
with songs let us praise 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.
Let us rejoice in the Lord,
with songs let us praise him.
Hymn
Come, Spirit blest, with God the Son
and God the Father, everyone:
shed forth your grace within our breast
and live in us, a ready guest.
By every power, by heart and tongue,
by act and deed, your praise be sung.
Inflame with perfect love each sense,
that others’ souls may kindle thence.
Psalm 72 (73)
Why should the just suffer?
How good God is to Israel,
to those who are pure of heart.
How good God is to the upright,
to those who are pure of heart!
But as for me, my feet nearly stumbled,
my steps were on the point of going astray,
as I envied the boasters and sinners,
envied their comfort and peace.
For them there are no burdens,
their bellies are full and sleek.
They do not labour, like ordinary men;
they do not suffer, like mortals.
They wear their pride like a necklace,
their violence covers them like a robe.
Wickedness oozes from their very being,
the thoughts of their hearts break forth:
they deride, they utter abominations,
and from their heights they proclaim injustice.
They have set their mouth in the heavens,
and their tongue traverses the earth.
Thus they sit in their lofty positions,
and the flood-waters cannot reach them.
They ask, “How can God know?
Does the Most High have any understanding?”
Behold, then, the wicked, always prosperous:
their riches growing forever.
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.
How good God is to Israel,
to those who are pure of heart.
Psalm 72 (73)
Their rejoicing will be turned to weeping,
their joy to sorrow.
I said, “It was pointless to purify my heart,
to wash my hands in innocence –
for still I suffered all through the day,
still I was punished every morning.”
If I had said, “I will speak like them,”
I would have betrayed the race of your children.
I pondered and tried to understand:
my eyes laboured to see –
until I entered God’s holy place
and heard how they would end.
For indeed you have put them on a slippery surface
and have thrown them down in ruin.
How they are laid waste!
How suddenly they fall and perish in terror!
You spurn the sight of them, Lord,
as a dream is abandoned when the sleeper awakes.
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.
Their rejoicing will be turned to weeping,
their joy to sorrow.
Psalm 72 (73)
All those who abandon you shall perish;
but to be near God is my happiness.
My heart was sore, my being was troubled –
I was a fool, I knew nothing;
I was like a dumb beast before you.
But still I stay with you:
you hold my right hand.
You lead me according to your counsel,
until you raise me up in glory.
For who else is for me, in heaven?
On earth, I want nothing when I am with you.
My flesh and heart are failing,
but it is God that I love:
God is my portion forever.
Behold, those who abandon you will perish:
you have condemned all who go whoring away from you.
But for myself, I take joy in clinging to God,
in putting my trust in the Lord, my God,
to proclaim your works at the gates of the daughters of Zion.
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.
All those who abandon you shall perish;
but to be near God is my happiness.
How sweet is the taste of your sayings, O Lord,
– sweeter than honey in my mouth.
First Reading
Haggai 2:10-23
On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord was addressed to the prophet Haggai as follows, ‘The Lord of Hosts says this: Ask the priests for a decision on this question, “If a man carries consecrated meat in the fold of his gown and with this fold touches bread, broth, wine, or food of any kind, does such food become holy?”’ The priests answered, ‘No, it does not.’ Haggai then said, ‘If a man made unclean by contact with a corpse touches any of this, does it become unclean?’ The priests answered, ‘Yes, it does.’ Haggai then spoke out. ‘It is the same with this people,’ he said, ‘the same with this nation as I see it – it is the Lord who speaks – the same with everything they turn their hands to;
and what they offer here is unclean.
‘Reflect carefully from today onwards. Before one stone had been laid on another in the sanctuary of the Lord, what state were you in? A man would come to a twenty-measure heap and there would be ten; he would come to a vat to draw fifty measures and there would be twenty. I struck with blight and mildew and hail everything you turned your hands to. And still you would not return to me – it is the Lord who speaks. Reflect carefully from today onwards (from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day the foundation of the sanctuary of the Lord was laid, think carefully) if grain is still short in the barn, and if vine and fig tree, pomegranate and olive, still bear no fruit. From today onwards I intend to bless you.’
On the twenty-fourth day of the month the word of the Lord was addressed a second time to Haggai, as follows, ‘Speak to Zerubbabel, the high commissioner of Judah. Say this, “I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kings of the nations. I will overthrow the chariots and their charioteers; horses and their riders will be brought down; they shall fall, each to the sword of his fellow. When that day comes – it is the Lord of Hosts who speaks – I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant – it is the Lord of Hosts who speaks –
and make you like a signet ring. For I have chosen you – it is the Lord of Hosts who speaks.”’
Responsory
I will shake heaven and earth,
and the treasure of all nations shall be laid bare.
The glory of this temple shall be surprisingly great,
and this place will know peace and prosperity,
and the treasure of all nations shall be laid bare.
Second Reading
St Fulgentius of Ruspe's Tract against Fabian
Sharing in the body and blood of the Lord sanctifies us
When we offer the sacrifice the words of our Saviour are fulfilled just as the blessed Apostle Paul reported them: On the same night he was betrayed the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and said: ‘This is my body, which is for you: do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’ Until the Lord comes, therefore,
every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.
So the sacrifice is offered to proclaim the death of the Lord and to be a commemoration of him who laid down his life for us. He himself has said: A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. So, since Christ died for us, out of love, it follows that when we offer the sacrifice in commemoration of his death, we are asking for love to be given us by the coming of the Holy Spirit. We beg and we pray that just as through love Christ deigned to be crucified for us, so we may receive the grace of the Holy Spirit; and that by that grace the world should be a dead thing in our eyes and we should be dead to the world, crucified and dead. We pray that we should imitate the death of our Lord. Christ, when he died, died, once for all, to sin, so his life now is life with God. We pray, therefore, that in imitating the death of our Lord we should walk in newness of life,
dead to sin and living for God.
The love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been sent to us.
When we share in the Lord’s body and blood, when we eat his bread and drink his cup, this truly means that we die to the world and have our hidden life with Christ in God, crucifying our flesh and its weaknesses and its desires.
Thus it is that all the faithful who love God and their neighbour drink the cup of the Lord’s love even if they do not drink the cup of bodily suffering. Soaked through with that drink, they mortify the flesh in which they walk this earth. Putting on the Lord Jesus Christ like a cloak, their desires are no longer those of the body. They do not contemplate what can be seen but what is invisible to the eyes. This is how the cup of the Lord is drunk when divine love is present; but without that love,
you may even give your body to be burned and still it will do you no good.
What the gift of love gives us is the chance to become in truth what we celebrate as a mystery in the sacrifice.
Responsory
Jesus took some bread,
and when he had given thanks,
broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying:
This is my body which will be given for you;
do this in memory of me.
This is the bread come down from heaven:
anyone who eats this bread shall live forever.
This is my body which will be given for you;
do this in memory of me.
Let us pray.
Lord God,
open our hearts to your grace.
Let it go before us and be with us,
that we may always be intent upon doing your will.
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.
