MEMORIAL OF SAINTS OF ISAAC JOQUES, JEAN DE BREBEUF

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Collect

O God, who chose to manifest

the blessed hope of your eternal kingdom

by the toil of Saints John de Brébeuf,

Isaac Jogues and their companions

and by the shedding of their blood,

graciously grant that through their intercession

the faith of Christians may be strengthened day by day.

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.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues

Priests, and Companions, Martyrs

Reading

ROM 4:20-25

Brothers and sisters:

Abraham did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief;

rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God

and was fully convinced that what God had promised

he was also able to do.

That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.

But it was not for him alone that it was written

that it was credited to him;

it was also for us, to whom it will be credited,

who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

who was handed over for our transgressions

and was raised for our justification.

Responsorial Psalm

LUKE 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75

R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

he has come to his people.

He has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior,

born of the house of his servant David.

R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

he has come to his people.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old

that he would save us from our enemies,

from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant.

R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

he has come to his people.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

free to worship him without fear,

holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.

R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

he has come to his people.

Alleluia

MT 5:3

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are the poor in spirit;

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

LK 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,

“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”

He replied to him,

“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”

Then he said to the crowd,

“Take care to guard against all greed,

for though one may be rich,

one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

Then he told them a parable.

“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.

He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,

for I do not have space to store my harvest?’

And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:

I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.

There I shall store all my grain and other goods

and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,

you have so many good things stored up for many years,

rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’

But God said to him,

‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;

and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’

Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself

but is not rich in what matters to God.”

SAINT OF THE DAY

October 19

St. Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brébeuf and Companions (1607-1646) (1593-1649)

Isaac Jogues and his companions were the first martyrs of the North American continent officially recognized by the Church. As a young Jesuit, Isaac Jogues, a man of learning and culture, taught literature in France. He gave up that career to work among the Huron Indians in the New World, and in 1636 he and his companions, under the leadership of Jean de Brébeuf, arrived in Quebec. The Hurons were constantly warred upon by the Iroquois, and in a few years Father Jogues was captured by the Iroquois and imprisoned for 13 months. His letters and journals tell how he and his companions were led from village to village, 

how they were beaten, tortured and forced to watch as their Huron converts were mangled and killed.

An unexpected chance for escape came to Isaac Jogues through the Dutch, and he returned to France, bearing the marks of his sufferings. Several fingers had been cut, chewed or burnt off. Pope Urban VIII gave him permission to offer Mass with his mutilated hands: "It would be shameful that a martyr of Christ not be allowed to drink the Blood of Christ." Welcomed home as a hero, Father Jogues might have sat back, thanked God for his safe return and died peacefully in his homeland. 

But his zeal led him back once more to the fulfillment of his dreams. 

In a few months he sailed for his missions among the Hurons.

In 1646 he and Jean de Lalande, who had offered his services to the missioners, set out for Iroquois country in the belief that a recently signed peace treaty would be observed. They were captured by a Mohawk war party, and on October 18 Father Jogues was tomahawked and beheaded. Jean de Lalande was killed the next day at Ossernenon, a village near Albany, New York.

The first of the Jesuit missionaries to be martyred was René Goupil who, with Lalande, had offered his services as an oblate. 

He was tortured along with Isaac Jogues in 1642, 

and was tomahawked for having made the Sign of the Cross on the brow of some children.

Jean de Brébeuf was a French Jesuit who came to Canada at the age of 32 and labored there for 24 years. He went back to France when the English captured Quebec in 1629 and expelled the Jesuits, but returned to his missions four years later. 

Although medicine men blamed the Jesuits for a smallpox epidemic among the Hurons, Jean remained with them.

He composed catechisms and a dictionary in Huron, and saw 7,000 converted before his death. He was captured by the Iroquois and died after four hours of extreme torture at Sainte Marie, near Georgian Bay, Canada.

Father Anthony Daniel, working among Hurons who were gradually becoming Christian, was killed by Iroquois on July 4, 1648. His body was thrown into his chapel, which was set on fire.

Gabriel Lalemant had taken a fourth vow—to sacrifice his life for the Native Americans. 

He was horribly tortured to death along with Father Brébeuf.

Father Charles Garnier was shot to death as he baptized children and catechumens during an Iroquois attack.

Father Noel Chabanel was killed before he could answer his recall to France. He had found it exceedingly hard to adapt to mission life. He could not learn the language, the food and life of the Indians revolted him, 

plus he suffered spiritual dryness during his whole stay in Canada. Yet he made a vow to remain until death in his mission.

These eight Jesuit martyrs of North America were canonized in 1930.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 94 (95)

Let us come before the Lord, giving thanks.

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.

Let us come before the Lord, giving thanks.

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.

Let us come before the Lord, giving thanks.

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.

Let us come before the Lord, giving thanks.

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.”

Let us come before the Lord, giving thanks.

“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.”

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

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.

Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal

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

Esther 3:1-15

Shortly afterwards, King Ahasuerus singled out Haman son of Hammedatha, from the land of Agag, for promotion. He raised him in rank and precedence above all his colleagues, the other officers of state, and gave orders that all the officials employed at the Chancellery were to bow down and prostrate themselves before Haman. Mordecai refused either to bow or prostrate himself. ‘Why do you flout the royal command?’ the officials of the Chancellery asked Mordecai. They asked him this day after day, but he took no notice of them. In the end they reported the matter to Haman, wishing to see whether Mordecai would persist in his attitude, since he had told them he was a Jew. When Haman had seen for himself that Mordecai did not bow or prostrate himself before him, he was seized with fury. Having been told what race Mordecai belonged to, he could not be content with murdering Mordecai but made up his mind to wipe out all the members of Mordecai’s race, the Jews, throughout the empire of Ahasuerus.

In the first month, that is the month of Nisan, of the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast the pur (that is, the lot) before Haman for the day and the month. The lot falling on the twelfth month, which is Adar, Haman said to King Ahasuerus, ‘There is a certain unassimilated nation scattered among the other nations throughout the provinces of your realm; their laws are different from those of all the other nations and they ignore the royal edicts; hence it is not in the king’s interests to tolerate them. If it please the king to decree their destruction, I am prepared to pay ten thousand talents of silver to the king’s receivers, 

to be credited to the royal treasury.’

The king then took his signet ring off his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the persecutor of the Jews. ‘Keep the money,’ he said ‘and you can have the people too; do what you like with them.’

Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal scribes were summoned, and copies were made of the orders addressed by Haman to the king’s satraps, to the governors ruling each province and to the principal officials of each people, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language. The edict was signed in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with his ring, and letters were sent by runners to every province of the realm ordering the destruction, slaughter and annihilation of all Jews, young and old, women and children, on the one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, 

which is Adar, and the seizing of their possessions.

The text of this decree, to be promulgated as law in each province, was published to the various peoples, so that each might be ready for the day aforementioned. At the king’s command, the runners set out with all speed; 

the decree was first promulgated in the citadel of Susa.

While the king and Haman gave themselves up to feasting and drinking, consternation reigned in the city of Susa.

Responsory

Lord, Lord, King and Master of all things,

everything is subject to your power and there is no-one who can withstand your will.

Deliver us for the sake of your name.

Hear my supplication and turn our grief into rejoicing.

Deliver us for the sake of your name.

Second Reading

A letter to Proba

by St Augustine

Let us turn our mind to the task of prayer at appointed hours

Let us always desire the happy life from the Lord God and always pray for it. But for this very reason we turn our mind to the task of prayer at appointed hours, since that desire grows lukewarm, so to speak, from our involvement in other concerns and occupations. We remind ourselves through the words of prayer to focus our attention on the object of our desire; 

otherwise, the desire that began to grow lukewarm may grow chill altogether and may be totally extinguished unless it is repeatedly stirred into flame.

Therefore, when the Apostle says: Let your petitions become known before God, this should not be taken in the sense that they are in fact becoming known to God who certainly knew them even before they were made, 

but that they are becoming known to us before God through submission and not before men through boasting.

Since this is the case, it is not wrong or useless to pray even for a long time when there is the opportunity. I mean when it does not keep us from performing the other good and necessary actions we are obliged to do. But even in these actions, as I have said, we must always pray with that desire. To pray for a longer time is not the same as to pray by multiplying words, as some people suppose. Lengthy talk is one thing, a prayerful disposition which lasts a long time is another. For it is even written in reference to the Lord himself that he spent the night in prayer and that he prayed at great length. Was he not giving us an example by this? 

In time, he prays when it is appropriate, and in eternity, he hears our prayers with the Father.

The monks in Egypt are said to offer frequent prayers, but these are very short and hurled like swift javelins. Otherwise their watchful attention, a very necessary quality for anyone at prayer, could be dulled and could disappear through protracted delays. They also clearly demonstrate through this practice that a person must not quickly divert such attention if it lasts, 

just as one must not allow it to be blunted if it cannot last.

Excessive talking should be kept out of prayer but that does not mean that one should not spend much time in prayer so long as a fervent attitude continues to accompany his prayer. To talk at length in prayer is to perform a necessary action with an excess of words. To spend much time in prayer is to knock with a persistent and holy fervour at the door of the one whom we beseech. This task is generally accomplished more through sighs than words, more through weeping than speech. He places our tears in his sight, and our sighs are not hidden from him, for he has established all things through his Word and does not seek human words.

Responsory

Lord my God, I call for help by day;

I cry at night before you.

Let my prayer reach your presence.

Your name, your memory are all my soul desires.

Let my prayer reach your presence.

Let us pray.

Almighty, ever-living God,

make us ever obey you willingly and promptly.

Teach us how to serve you

with sincere and upright hearts

in every sphere of life.

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.

THE TWENTY NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,

grant that we may always conform our will to yours

and serve your majesty in sincerity of heart.

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.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

IS 53:10-11

The LORD was pleased

to crush him in infirmity.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin,

he shall see his descendants in a long life,

and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his affliction

he shall see the light in fullness

of days;

through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,

and their guilt he shall bear.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22

R. Lord, let your mercy be on us,

as we place our trust in you.

Upright is the word of the LORD,

and all his works are trustworthy.

He loves justice and right;

of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.

R. Lord, let your mercy be on us,

as we place our trust in you.

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,

upon those who hope for his kindness,

To deliver them from death

and preserve them in spite of famine.

R. Lord, let your mercy be on us,

as we place our trust in you.

Our soul waits for the LORD,

who is our help and our shield.

May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us

who have put our hope in you.

R. Lord, let your mercy be on us,

as we place our trust in you.

Reading 2

HEB 4:14-16

Brothers and sisters:

Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,

Jesus, the Son of God,

let us hold fast to our confession.

For we do not have a high priest

who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,

but one who has similarly been tested in every way,

yet without sin.

So let us confidently approach the throne of grace

to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

Alleluia

MK 10:45

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The Son of Man came to serve

and to give his life as a ransom for many.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

MK 10:35-45

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him,

"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."

He replied,

"What do you wish me to do for you?"

They answered him,

"Grant that in your glory

we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."

Jesus said to them,

"You do not know what you are asking.

Can you drink the cup that I drink

or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"

They said to him,

"We can."

Jesus said to them,

"The cup that I drink, you will drink,

and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;

but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give

but is for those for whom it has been prepared."

When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.

Jesus summoned them and said to them,

"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles

lord it over them,

and their great ones make their authority over them felt.

But it shall not be so among you.

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;

whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.

For the Son of Man did not come to be served

but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Or

MK 10:42-45

Jesus summoned the twelve and said to them,

"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles

lord it over them,

and their great ones make their authority over them felt.

But it shall not be so among you.

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;

whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.

For the Son of Man did not come to be served

but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

SAINT OF THE DAY

October 18

St. Luke

Luke wrote one of the major portions of the New Testament, a two-volume work comprising the third Gospel and Acts of the Apostles. In the two books he shows the parallel between the life of Christ and that of the Church. He is the only Gentile Christian among the Gospel writers. Tradition holds him to be a native of Antioch, and Paul calls him "our beloved physician" 

(Colossians 4:14). His Gospel was probably written between A.D. 70 and 85.

Luke appears in Acts during Paul’s second journey, remains at Philippi for several years until Paul returns from his third journey, accompanies Paul to Jerusalem and remains near him when he is imprisoned in Caesarea. During these two years, 

Luke had time to seek information and interview persons who had known Jesus. 

He accompanied Paul on the dangerous journey to Rome where he was a faithful companion. 

"Only Luke is with me," Paul writes (2 Timothy 4:11).

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 99 (100)

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; 

hail the God who saves us, alleluia.

Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth,

and serve him with joy.

Exult as you enter his presence.

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; 

hail the God who saves us, alleluia.

Know that the Lord is God.

He made us and we are his

– his people, the sheep of his flock.

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; 

hail the God who saves us, alleluia.

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, ring out our joy to the Lord; 

hail the God who saves us, alleluia.

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, ring out our joy to the Lord; 

hail the God who saves us, alleluia.

Hymn

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,

Be all else but naught to me, save that thou art;

Be thou my best thought in the day and the night,

Both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word,

Be thou ever with me, and I with thee Lord;

Be thou my great Father, and I thy true son;

Be thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight;

Be thou my whole armor, be thou my true might;

Be thou my soul’s shelter, be thou my strong tower:

O raise thou me heavenward, great Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise:

Be thou mine inheritance now and always;

Be thou and thou only the first in my heart;

O Sovereign of Heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of Heaven, thou Heaven’s bright sun,

O grant me its joys after victory is won!

Great heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

Psalm 1

The two paths

The cross of the Lord is become the tree of life for us.

Blessed the man who does not follow the counsels of the wicked,

or stand in the paths that sinners use,

or sit in the gatherings of those who mock:

his delight is the law of the Lord,

he ponders his law day and night.

He is like a tree planted by flowing waters,

that will give its fruit in due time,

whose leaves will not fade.

All that he does will prosper.

Not thus are the wicked, not thus.

They are like the dust blown by the wind.

At the time of judgement the wicked will not stand,

nor sinners in the council of the just.

For the Lord knows the path of the just;

but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

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 cross of the Lord is become the tree of life for us.

Psalm 2

The Messiah, king and victor

It is I who have set up my king on Sion.

Why are the nations in a ferment?

Why do the people make their vain plans?

The kings of the earth have risen up;

the leaders have united against the Lord,

against his anointed.

“Let us break their chains, that bind us;

let us throw off their yoke from our shoulders!”

The Lord laughs at them,

he who lives in the heavens derides them.

Then he speaks to them in his anger;

in his fury he throws them into confusion:

“But I – I have set up my king on Zion,

my holy mountain.”

I will proclaim the Lord’s decrees.

The Lord has said to me:

“You are my son: today I have begotten you.

Ask me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance,

the ends of the earth for you to possess.

You will rule them with a rod of iron,

break them in pieces like an earthen pot.”

So now, kings, listen: understand, you who rule the land.

Serve the Lord in fear, tremble even as you praise him.

Learn his teaching, lest he take anger,

lest you perish when his anger bursts into flame.

Blessed are all who put their trust in the Lord.

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 is I who have set up my king on Sion.

Psalm 3

The Lord is my protector

You, Lord, are my salvation and my glory:

you lift up my head.

Lord, how many they are, my attackers!

So many rise up against me, so many of them say:

“He can hope for no help from the Lord.”

But you, Lord, are my protector, my glory:

you raise up my head.

I called to the Lord,

and from his holy mountain he heard my voice.

I fell asleep, and slept;

but I rose, for the Lord raised me up.

I will not fear when the people surround me in their thousands.

Rise up, O Lord;

bring me to safety, my God.

Those who attacked me – you struck them on the jaw,

you shattered their teeth.

Salvation comes from the Lord:

Lord, your blessing is upon your people.

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.

You, Lord, are my salvation and my glory:

you lift up my head.

May the word of the Lord find a true home in you.

– Teach and advise one another in all wisdom.

First Reading

Esther 1:1-3,9-13,15-16,19,2:5-10,16-17

It was in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus whose empire stretched from India to Ethiopia and comprised one hundred and twenty-seven provinces. In those days, when King Ahasuerus was sitting on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, in the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet at his court for all his administrators and ministers, chiefs of the army of Persia and Media, nobles and governors of provinces.

Queen Vashti, too, had given a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Ahasuerus.

On the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs in attendance on the person of King Ahasuerus, to bring Queen Vashti before the king crowned with her royal diadem, in order to display her beauty to the people and the administrators, for she was very beautiful.

But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. The king was very angry at this and his rage grew hot. He then consulted the wise men who were versed in the law, since it was the practice to refer matters affecting the king to expert lawyers and jurists. ‘According to law,’ he said 

‘what is to be done to Queen Vashti for not obeying the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?’

In the presence of the king and of the administrators Memucan answered, ‘Vashti has wronged not only the king, but also all the administrators and nations inhabiting the provinces of King Ahasuerus. The queen’s conduct will soon become known to all the women and encourage them in a contemptuous attitude towards their husbands, since they will say, “King Ahasuerus ordered Queen Vashti to appear before him and she did not come.” The wives of all the Persian and Median administrators will hear of the queen’s answer before the day is out, and will start talking to the king’s administrators in the same way; that will mean contempt and anger all round. If it is the king’s pleasure, let him issue a royal edict, to be irrevocably incorporated into the laws of the Persians and Medes, to the effect that Vashti is never to appear again before King Ahasuerus, 

and let the king confer her royal dignity on a worthier woman.

Now in the citadel of Susa there lived a Jew called Mordecai son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who had been deported from Jerusalem among the captives taken away with Jeconiah king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He had brought up Hadassah, otherwise called Esther, his uncle’s daughter, who had lost both father and mother; the girl had a good figure and a beautiful face, and on the death of her parents Mordecai had adopted her as his daughter.

Following the promulgation of the king’s edict, a great number of girls were brought to the citadel of Susa where they were entrusted to Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, the custodian of the women. The girl pleased him and won his favor. Not only did he quickly provide her with all she needed for her dressing room and her meals, but he gave her seven special maids from the king’s household and transferred her and her maids to the best part of the harem. Esther did not reveal her race or kindred, since Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. She was brought to King Ahasuerus in his royal palace in the tenth month, which is called Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign; and the king liked Esther better than any of the other women; none of the other girls found so much favour and approval with him. 

So he set the royal diadem on her head and proclaimed her queen instead of Vashti.

Responsory

Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high,

yet deigns to look down upon the heavens and the earth?

He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash-heap,

to give them a place among princes.

He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their hearts;

he has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree.

He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash-heap,

to give them a place among princes.

Second Reading

A letter to Proba

by St Augustine

Let us exercise our desire in prayer

Why in our fear of not praying as we should, do we turn to so many things, to find what we should pray for? Why do we not say instead, in the words of the psalm: I have asked one thing from the Lord, this is what I will seek: to dwell in the Lord’s house all the days of my life, to see the graciousness of the Lord, and to visit his temple? There, the days do not come and go in succession, and the beginning of one day does not mean the end of another; all days are one, simultaneously and without end, 

and the life lived out in these days has itself no end.

So that we might obtain this life of happiness, he who is true life itself taught us to pray, not in many words as though speaking longer could gain us a hearing. After all, we pray to one who, as the Lord himself tells us, knows what we need before we ask for it.

Why he should ask us to pray, when he knows what we need before we ask him, may perplex us if we do not realise that our Lord and God does not want to know what we want (for he cannot fail to know it), but wants us rather to exercise our desire through our prayers, so that we may be able to receive what he is preparing to give us. His gift is very great indeed, but our capacity is too small and limited to receive it. That is why we are told: Enlarge your desires, do not bear the yoke with unbelievers.

The deeper our faith, the stronger our hope, the greater our desire, the larger will be our capacity to receive that gift, which is very great indeed. No eye has seen it; it has no color. No ear has heard it; it has no sound. It has not entered man’s heart; 

man’s heart must enter into it.

In this faith, hope and love we pray always with unwearied desire. However, at set times and seasons we also pray to God in words, so that by these signs we may instruct ourselves and mark the progress we have made in our desire, and spur ourselves on to deepen it. The more fervent the desire, the more worthy will be its fruit. When the Apostle tells us: Pray without ceasing, he means this: Desire unceasingly that life of happiness which is nothing if not eternal, and ask it of him who alone is able to give it.

Responsory

When you seek me, you shall find me –

if you search with all your heart.

If you pray to me,

I will listen to you.

I know the plans I have in mind for you –

plans for peace, not disaster,

reserving a future full of hope for you.

If you pray to me,

I will listen to you.

Hymn

Te Deum

God, we praise you; Lord, we proclaim you!

You, the Father, the eternal –

all the earth venerates you.

All the angels, all the heavens, every power –

The cherubim, the seraphim –

unceasingly, they cry:

“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts:

heaven and earth are full of the majesty of your glory!”

The glorious choir of Apostles –

The noble ranks of prophets –

The shining army of martyrs –

all praise you.

Throughout the world your holy Church proclaims you.

– Father of immeasurable majesty,

– True Son, only-begotten, worthy of worship,

– Holy Spirit, our Advocate.

You, Christ:

– You are the king of glory.

– You are the Father’s eternal Son.

– You, to free mankind, did not disdain a Virgin’s womb.

– You defeated the sharp spear of Death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in you.

– You sit at God’s right hand, in the glory of the Father.

– You will come, so we believe, as our Judge.

And so we ask of you: give help to your servants,

whom you set free at the price of your precious blood.

Number them among your chosen ones in eternal glory.

Bring your people to safety, Lord,

and bless those who are your inheritance.

Rule them and lift them high for ever.

Day by day we bless you, Lord: we praise you for ever and for ever.

Of your goodness, Lord, keep us without sin for today.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us.

Let your pity, Lord, be upon us, as much as we trust in you.

In you, Lord, I trust: let me never be put to shame.

Let us pray.

Almighty, ever-living God,

make us ever obey you willingly and promptly.

Teach us how to serve you

with sincere and upright hearts

in every sphere of life.

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.