FEAST OF SAINTS SIMON AND JUDE

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH

Antiphon

These are the holy men

whom the Lord chose in his own perfect love;

to them he gave eternal glory.

Collect

O God, who by the blessed Apostles

have brought us to acknowledge your name,

graciously grant,

through the intercession of Saints Simon and Jude,

that the Church may constantly grow

by increase of the peoples who believe in you.

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

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude

Apostles

Reading

EPH 2:19-22

Brothers and sisters:

You are no longer strangers and sojourners,

but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones

and members of the household of God,

built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,

with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.

Through him the whole structure is held together

and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;

in him you also are being built together

into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 19:2-3, 4-5

R. Their message goes out through all the earth.

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

Day pours out the word to day,

and night to night imparts knowledge.

R. Their message goes out through all the earth.

Not a word nor a discourse

whose voice is not heard;

Through all the earth their voice resounds,

and to the ends of the world, their message.

R. Their message goes out through all the earth.

Alleluia

Te Deum

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

We praise you, O God,

we acclaim you as Lord;

the glorious company of Apostles praise you.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

LK 6:12-16

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray,

and he spent the night in prayer to God.

When day came, he called his disciples to himself,

and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:

Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,

James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,

Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,

Simon who was called a Zealot,

and Judas the son of James,

and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

SAINT OF THE DAY

October 28

Saint Jude

St. Jude, known as Thaddaeus, was a brother of St. James the Less, and a relative of Our Saviour. 
He was one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus and his attribute is a club. Images of St. Jude often include a flame around his head, which represent his presence at Pentecost, when he accepted the Holy Spirit alongside the other apostles. Another attribute is St. Jude holding an image of Christ, in the Image of Edessa.

Saint Jude is not the same person as Judas Iscariot, 
who betrayed Our Lord and despaired because of his great sin and lack of trust in God's mercy.

Saint Simon the Zealot

Simon was surnamed the Zealot for his rigid adherence to the Jewish law and to the Canaanite law. He was one of the original followers of Christ. Western tradition is that he preached in Egypt and then went to Persia with St. Jude, where both suffered martyrdom. 
Eastern tradition says Simon died peacefully at Edessa.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 66 (67)

The Lord is the King of apostles:

come, let us adore 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.

The Lord is the King of apostles:

come, let us adore 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.

The Lord is the King of apostles:

come, let us adore 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.

The Lord is the King of apostles:

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.

The Lord is the King of apostles:

come, let us adore him.

Hymn

O God, creation’s secret force,

yourself unmoved, all motion’s source,

who from the morn till evening ray

through all its changes guide the day:

Grant us, when this short life is past,

the glorious evening that shall last;

that, by a holy death attained,

eternal glory may be gained.

To God the Father, God the Son,

and God the Spirit, Three in One,

may every tongue and nation raise

an endless song of thankful praise!

St Ambrose of Milan

Psalm 18 (19)

Praise of God the creator

Their voice has gone out through all the earth,

their message to the ends of the world.

The skies tell the story of the glory of God,

the firmament proclaims the work of his hands;

day pours out the news to day,

night passes to night the knowledge.

Not a speech, not a word,

not a voice goes unheard.

Their sound is spread throughout the earth,

their message to all the corners of the world.

At the ends of the earth he has set up

a dwelling place for the sun.

Like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,

it rejoices like an athlete at the race to be run.

It appears at the edge of the sky,

runs its course to the sky’s furthest edge.

Nothing can hide from its heat.

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 voice has gone out through all the earth,

their message to the ends of the world.

Psalm 63 (64)

A prayer against enemies

They told what God has done;

they understood God’s deeds.

Listen, O God, to my voice;

keep me safe from fear of the enemy.

Protect me from the alliances of the wicked,

from the crowd of those who do evil.

They have sharpened their tongues like swords,

aimed poisonous words like arrows,

to shoot at the innocent in secret.

They will attack without warning, without fear,

for they are firm in their evil purpose.

They have set out to hide their snares

– for they say, “Who will see us?”

They have thought out plans to commit wicked deeds,

and they carry out what they have planned.

Truly the heart and soul of a man

are bottomless depths.

And God has shot them with his arrow:

in a moment, they are wounded –

their own tongues have brought them low.

All who see them will shake their heads;

all will behold them with fear

and proclaim the workings of God

and understand what he has done.

The just will rejoice and hope in the Lord:

the upright in heart will give him glory.

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.

They told what God has done;

they understood God’s deeds.

Psalm 96 (97)

The glory of God in his judgements

They proclaimed the justice of God;

all peoples saw his glory.

The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice,

let the many islands be glad.

Clouds and dark mist surround him,

his throne is founded on law and justice.

Fire precedes him,

burning up his enemies all around.

His lightnings light up the globe;

the earth sees and trembles.

The mountains flow like wax at the sight of the Lord,

at the sight of the Lord the earth dissolves.

The heavens proclaim his justice

and all peoples see his glory.

Let them be dismayed, who worship carved things,

who take pride in the images they make.

All his angels, worship him.

Zion heard and was glad,

the daughters of Judah rejoiced

because of your judgements, O Lord.

For you are the Lord, the Most High over all the earth,

far above all other gods.

You who love the Lord, hate evil!

The Lord protects the lives of his consecrated ones:

he will free them from the hands of sinners.

A light has arisen for the just,

and gladness for the upright in heart.

Rejoice, you just, in the Lord

and proclaim his holiness.

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.

They proclaimed the justice of God;

all peoples saw his glory.

They told of the Lord’s glory and might

– and the wonders that he had performed.

First Reading

1 Corinthians 4:1-16

People must think of us as Christ’s servants, stewards entrusted with the mysteries of God. What is expected of stewards is that each one should be found worthy of his trust. Not that it makes the slightest difference to me whether you, or indeed any human tribunal, find me worthy or not. I will not even pass judgement on myself. True, my conscience does not reproach me at all, but that does not prove that I am acquitted: the Lord alone is my judge. There must be no passing of premature judgement. 
Leave that until the Lord comes; 
he will light up all that is hidden in the dark and reveal the secret intentions of men’s hearts.

Then will be the time for each one to have whatever praise he deserves, from God.

Now in everything I have said here, brothers, I have taken Apollos and myself as an example (remember the maxim: ‘Keep to what is written’); it is not for you, so full of your own importance, to go taking sides for one man against another. In any case, brother, has anybody given you some special right? What do you have that was not given to you? And if it was given, how can you boast as though it were not? Is it that you have everything you want – that you are rich already, in possession of your kingdom, with us left outside? Indeed I wish you were really kings, and we could be kings with you! But instead, it seems to me, God has put us apostles at the end of his parade, with the men sentenced to death; it is true – we have been put on show in front of the whole universe, angels as well as men. Here we are, fools for the sake of Christ, while you are the learned men in Christ; we have no power, but you are influential; you are celebrities, we are nobodies. To this day, we go without food and drink and clothes; we are beaten and have no homes; we work for our living with our own hands. When we are cursed, we answer with a blessing; when we are hounded, we put up with it; we are insulted and we answer politely. 
We are treated as the offal of the world, still to this day, the scum of the earth.

I am saying all this not just to make you ashamed but to bring you, 
as my dearest children, to your senses.

You might have thousands of guardians in Christ,

but not more than one father and it was I who begot you in Christ Jesus by preaching the Good News.

That is why I beg you to copy me.

Responsory

I shall not call you servants any more,

I call you friends,

because I have made known to you everything I have learned from my Father.

The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you;

happy are your eyes because they see,

your ears because they hear.

Because I have made known to you everything I have learned from my Father.

Second Reading

A commentary on the gospel of John

by St Cyril of Alexandria

As the father sent me, so I am sending you

Our Lord Jesus Christ has appointed certain men to be guides and teachers of the world and stewards of his divine mysteries. Now he bids them to shine out like lamps and to cast out their light not only over the land of the Jews but over every country under the sun and over people scattered in all directions and settled in distant lands. That man has spoken truly who said: No one takes honour upon himself, except the one who is called by God, for it was our Lord Jesus Christ who called his own disciples before all others to a most glorious apostolate. These holy men became the pillar and mainstay of the truth,

and Jesus said that he was sending them just as the Father had sent him.

By these words he is making clear the dignity of the apostolate and the incomparable glory of the power given to them, but he is also, it would seem, giving them a hint about the methods they are to adopt in their apostolic mission. For if Christ thought it necessary to send out his intimate disciples in this fashion, just as the Father had sent him, then surely it was necessary that they whose mission was to be patterned on that of Jesus should see exactly why the Father had sent the Son. And so Christ interpreted the character of his mission to us in a variety of ways. Once he said: I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance. And then at another time he said: I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. For God sent his Son into the world, 
not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

Accordingly, in affirming that they are sent by him just as he was sent by the Father, Christ sums up in a few words the approach they themselves should take to their ministry. From what he said they would gather that it was their vocation to call sinners to repentance, to heal those who were sick whether in body or spirit, to seek in all their dealings never to do their own will but the will of him who sent them, and as far as possible to save the world by their teaching.

Surely it is in all these respects that we find his holy disciples striving to excel. 
To ascertain this is no great labor,

a single reading of the Acts of the Apostles or of Saint Paul’s writings is enough.

Responsory

You did not choose me:

I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit,

the kind of fruit that endures.

This is how my Father’s glory is shown:

by your bearing much fruit,

the kind of fruit that endures.

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.

Lord God,

you taught us to call upon your name

through the preaching of the apostles.

At the intercession of Saint Simon and Saint Jude,

may your Church continue to grow

by an increase in the number of believing nations.

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.

MEMORIAL OF SAINT IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH

Antiphon

Galatians 2:19-20

I am crucified with Christ, yet I live;

no longer I, but Christ lives in me.

I live by faith in the Son of God,

who has loved me and given himself up for me.

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,

who adorn the sacred body of your Church

with the confessions of holy Martyrs,

grant, we pray,

that, just as the glorious passion of Saint Ignatius of Antioch,

which we celebrate today,

brought him eternal splendor,

so it may be for us unending protection.

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 Saint Ignatius of Antioch

Bishop and Martyr

Reading

EPH 2:1-10

Brothers and sisters:

You were dead in your transgressions and sins

in which you once lived following the age of this world,

following the ruler of the power of the air,

the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.

All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh,

following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses,

and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest.

But God, who is rich in mercy,

because of the great love he had for us,

even when we were dead in our transgressions,

brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

raised us up with him,

and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,

that in the ages to come

he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace

in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith,

and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;

it is not from works, so no one may boast.

For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works

that God has prepared in advance,

that we should live in them.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 100:1B-2, 3, 4AB, 4C-5

R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.

Sing joyfully to the LORD all you lands;

serve the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful song.

R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.

Know that the LORD is God;

he made us, his we are;

his people, the flock he tends.

R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

his courts with praise.

R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.

Give thanks to him; bless his name, for he is good:

the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,

and his faithfulness, to all generations.

R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.

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 17

St. Ignatius of Antioch (d. 107?)

Born in Syria, Ignatius converted to Christianity and eventually became bishop of Antioch. 

In the year 107,

Emperor Trajan visited Antioch and forced the Christians there to choose between death and apostasy.

Ignatius would not deny Christ and thus was condemned to be put to death in Rome.

Ignatius is well known for the seven letters he wrote on the long journey from Antioch to Rome. 

Five of these letters are to churches in Asia Minor; 

they urge the Christians there to remain faithful to God and to obey their superiors.

He warns them against heretical doctrines, providing them with the solid truths of the Christian faith.

The sixth letter was to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, who was later martyred for the faith. The final letter begs the Christians in Rome not to try to stop his martyrdom. 

"The only thing I ask of you is to allow me to offer the libation of my blood to God.

I am the wheat of the Lord; may I be ground by the teeth of the beasts to become the immaculate bread of Christ."

Ignatius bravely met the lions in the Circus Maximus.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 23 (24)

Christ is the chief shepherd,

the leader of his flock:

come, let us adore him.

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,

the world and all who live in it.

He himself founded it upon the seas

and set it firm over the waters.

Christ is the chief shepherd,

the leader of his flock:

come, let us adore him.

Who will climb the mountain of the Lord?

Who will stand in his holy place?

The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart,

who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely.

He will receive the blessing of the Lord

and be justified by God his savior.

This is the way of those who seek him,

seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Christ is the chief shepherd,

the leader of his flock:

come, let us adore him.

Gates, raise your heads.

Stand up, eternal doors,

and let the king of glory enter.

Who is the king of glory?

The Lord of might and power.

The Lord, strong in battle.

Christ is the chief shepherd,

the leader of his flock:

come, let us adore him.

Gates, raise your heads.

Stand up, eternal doors,

and let the king of glory enter.

Who is the king of glory?

The Lord of hosts

– he is the king of glory.

Christ is the chief shepherd,

the leader of his flock:

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 is the chief shepherd,

the leader of his flock:

come, let us adore him.

Hymn

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,

In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,

Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,

Almighty, victorious, thy great Name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,

Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;

Thy justice like mountains high soaring above

Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all life thou givest, to both great and small;

In all life thou livest, the true life of all;

We blossom and flourish, like leaves on the tree,

Then wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,

Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;

All laud we would render: O help us to see

‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.

Psalm 49 (50)

True reverence for the Lord

The Lord has summoned heaven and earth to witness his judgement of his people.

The Lord, the God of gods has spoken:

he has summoned the whole earth, from east to west.

God has shone forth from Zion in her great beauty.

Our God will come, and he will not be silent.

Before him, a devouring fire;

around him, a tempest rages.

He will call upon the heavens above, and on the earth, to judge his people.

“Bring together before me my chosen ones, who have sealed my covenant with sacrifice.”

The heavens will proclaim his justice; for God is the true judge.

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 has summoned heaven and earth to witness his judgement of his people.

Psalm 49 (50)

Call on me in the day of trouble,

and I will come to free you.

Listen, my people, and I will speak;

Israel, I will testify against you.

I am God, your God.

I will not reproach you with your sacrifices,

for your burnt offerings are always before me.

But I will not accept calves from your houses,

nor goats from your flocks.

For all the beasts of the forests are mine,

and in the hills, a thousand animals.

All the birds of the air – I know them.

Whatever moves in the fields – it is mine.

If I am hungry, I will not tell you;

for the whole world is mine, and all that is in it.

Am I to eat the flesh of bulls,

or drink the blood of goats?

Offer a sacrifice to God – a sacrifice of praise;

to the Most High, fulfil your vows.

Then you may call upon me in the time of trouble:

I will rescue you, and you will honor me.

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.

Call on me in the day of trouble,

and I will come to free you.

Psalm 49 (50)

A sacrifice of thanksgiving will honor me.

To the sinner, God has said this:

Why do you recite my statutes?

Why do you dare to speak my covenant?

For you hate what I teach you,

and reject what I tell you.

The moment you saw a thief, you joined him;

you threw in your lot with adulterers.

You spoke evil with your mouth,

and your tongue made plans to deceive.

Solemnly seated, you denounced your own brother;

you poured forth hatred against your own mother’s son.

All this you did, and I was silent;

so you thought that I was just like you.

But I will reprove you –

I will confront you with all you have done.

Understand this, you who forget God;

lest I tear you apart, with no-one there to save you.

Whoever offers up a sacrifice of praise gives me true honor;

whoever follows a sinless path in life will be shown the salvation of God.

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.

A sacrifice of thanksgiving will honor me.

We ceaselessly pray to God for you.

– For you to have the fullest knowledge of God’s will.

First Reading

Malachi 3:1-24

Look, I am going to send my messenger to prepare a way before me. And the Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple; and the angel of the covenant whom you are longing for, yes, he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts. Who will be able to resist the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ alkali. He will take his seat as refiner and purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and then they will make the offering to the Lord as it should be made. The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will then be welcomed by the Lord as in former days, as in the years of old. I mean to visit you for the judgement and I am going to be a ready witness against sorcerer, adulterer and perjurer, against those who oppress the wage-earner, the widow and the orphan, and who rob the settler of his rights –

no need for you to be afraid of me, says the Lord of Hosts.

No; I, the Lord, do not change; and you, sons of Jacob, you are not ruined yet! Since the days of your ancestors you have evaded my statutes and not observed them. Return to me and I will return to you, says the Lord of Hosts. You ask, ‘How are we to return? Can a man cheat God?’ Yet you are cheating me. You ask, ‘How are we cheating you?’ In the matter of tithes and dues. The curse lies on you because you, yes you the whole nation, are cheating me. Bring the full tithes and dues to the storehouse so that there may be food in my house, and then see if I do not open the floodgates of heaven for you and pour out blessing for you in abundance. For your sake I will lay a strict injunction on the locust not to destroy the fruits of your soil nor to make the vine in your fields barren, says the Lord of Hosts. 

All the nations will call you blessed,

for you will be a land of delights, says the Lord of Hosts.

You say harsh things about me, says the Lord. You ask, ‘What have we said against you?’ You say, ‘It is useless to serve God; what is the good of keeping his commands or of walking mournfully before the Lord of Hosts? Now we have reached the point when we call the arrogant blessed; yes, they prosper, these evil-doers; they try God’s patience and yet go free.’ This is what those who fear the Lord used to say to one another. But the Lord took note and heard them: a book of remembrance was written in his presence recording those who fear him and take refuge in his name. On the day which I am preparing, says the Lord of Hosts, they are going to be my own special possession. I will make allowances for them as a man makes allowances for the son who obeys him. Then once again you will see the difference between an upright man and a wicked one, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve him. For the day is coming now, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and the evil-doers will be like stubble. The day that is coming is going to burn them up, says the Lord of Hosts, leaving them neither root nor stalk. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays; you will leap like calves going out to pasture. You will trample on the wicked, 

who will be like ashes under your feet on the day I am preparing, says the Lord of Hosts.

Remember the Law of my servant Moses to whom at Horeb I prescribed laws and customs for the whole of Israel. Know that I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before my day comes, that great and terrible day. He shall turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the hearts of children towards their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse.

Responsory

I shall send my messenger to prepare a way before me,

and the Lord you are seeking will enter his temple,

the angel of the covenant for whom you long.

As for you, little child,

you shall be called a prophet of the Most High.

You shall go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way before him,

and the Lord you are seeking will enter his temple,

the angel of the covenant for whom you long.

Second Reading

A letter to the Romans

by St Ignatius of Antioch

I am God's wheat and shall be ground by the teeth of wild animals

I am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way. I plead with you: show me no untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, 

for they are my way to God.

I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread.

Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God.

No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire.

The time for my birth is close at hand. Forgive me, my brothers. Do not stand in the way of my birth to real life; do not wish me stillborn. My desire is to belong to God. Do not, then, hand me back to the world. Do not try to tempt me with material things. Let me attain pure light. Only on my arrival there can I be fully a human being. Give me the privilege of imitating the passion of my God. 

If you have him in your heart, you will understand what I wish.

You will sympathise with me because you will know what urges me on.

The prince of this world is determined to lay hold of me and to undermine my will which is intent on God. Let none of you here help him; instead show yourselves on my side, which is also God’s side. Do not talk about Jesus Christ as long as you love this world. Do not harbor envious thoughts. And supposing I should see you, if then I should beg you to intervene on my behalf, do not believe what I say. Believe instead what I am now writing to you. For though I am alive as I write to you, still my real desire is to die. My love of this life has been crucified, and there is no yearning in me for any earthly thing. Rather within me is the living water which says deep inside me: “Come to the Father.” I no longer take pleasure in perishable food or in the delights of this world. I want only God’s bread, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, formed of the seed of David, and for drink I crave his blood, 

which is love that cannot perish.

I am no longer willing to live a merely human life, and you can bring about my wish if you will. Please, then, do me this favor, so that you in turn may meet with equal kindness. Put briefly, this is my request: believe what I am saying to you. Jesus Christ himself will make it clear to you that I am saying the truth. Only truth can come from that mouth by which the Father has truly spoken. Pray for me that I may obtain my desire. I have not written to you as a mere man would, but as one who knows the mind of God. If I am condemned to suffer, I will take it that you wish me well. If my case is postponed,

I can only think that you wish me harm.

Responsory

Nothing will be hidden from you,

if you are perfect in your faith and love towards Jesus Christ,

for these are the beginning and end of life:

faith is the beginning and love is the end.

Arm yourselves with gentleness and renew your faith,

which is the flesh of the Lord, and your love,

which is the blood of Jesus Christ.

Faith is the beginning and love is the end.

Let us pray.

Almighty, ever-living God,

the sufferings of the martyrs adorn the Church,

which is the Body of Christ.

As we celebrate the martyrdom of Saint Ignatius of Antioch,

grant that it may be for us a constant source of strength,

as it was for him the entry into 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.