Antiphon
Cf. Ps 17 (16): 6, 8
To you I call; for you will surely heed me, O God;
turn your ear to me; hear my words.
Guard me as the apple of your eye;
in the shadow of your wings protect me.
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.
Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading
EPH 4:1-6
Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit
through the bond of peace;
one Body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 24:1-2, 3-4AB, 5-6
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Alleluia
MT 11:25
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
LK 12:54-59
Jesus said to the crowds,
“When you see a cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;
and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south
you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate,
make an effort to settle the matter on the way;
otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge,
and the judge hand you over to the constable,
and the constable throw you into prison.
I say to you, you will not be released
until you have paid the last penny.”
October 26
Saint Peter of Alcantara (1499 - 1562)
Born into a noble family—his father was the governor of Alcantara in Spain—Peter studied law at Salamanca University, and at 16 he joined the so-called Observant Franciscans, also known as the discalced friars. While he practiced many penances, he also demonstrated abilities which were soon recognized. He was named the superior of a new house even before his ordination as a priest, was elected provincial at the age of 39, and he was a very successful preacher. Still, he was not above washing dishes and cutting wood for the friars.
He did not seek attention; indeed, he preferred solitude.
Peter’s penitential side was evident when it came to food and clothing. It is said that he slept only 90 minutes each night. While others talked about Church reform, Peter’s reform began with himself. His patience was so great that a proverb arose: “To bear such an insult one must have the patience of Peter of Alcantara.”
In 1554, Peter received permission to form a group of Franciscans who followed the Rule of St. Francis with even greater rigor. These friars were known as Alcantarines. Some of the Spanish friars who came to North and South America in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries were members of this group. At the end of the 19th century, the Alcantarines were joined with other Observant friars to form the Order of Friars Minor.
As spiritual director to Saint Teresa, Peter encouraged her in promoting the Carmelite reform.
His preaching brought many people to religious life,
especially to the Secular Franciscan Order, the friars, and the Poor Clares.
Peter of Alcantara was canonized in 1669.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!
Invitatory Psalm
Psalm 23 (24)
Let us adore the Lord,
for it is he who made us.
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.
Let us adore the Lord,
for it is he who made us.
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.
Let us adore the Lord,
for it is he who made us.
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.
Let us adore the Lord,
for it is he who made us.
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.
Let us adore the Lord,
for it is he who made us.
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 adore the Lord,
for it is he who made us.
Hymn
Bright as fire in darkness,
Sharper than a sword,
Lives throughout the ages
God’s eternal word.
Father, Son and Spirit,
Trinity of might,
Compassed in your glory,
Give the world your light.
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal
Psalm 17 (18)
Thanksgiving for salvation and victory
I love you, Lord, my strength.
I will love you, Lord, my strength:
Lord, you are my foundation and my refuge,
you set me free.
My God is my help: I will put my hope in him,
my protector, my sign of salvation,
the one who raises me up.
I will call on the Lord – praise be to his name –
and I will be saved from my enemies.
The waves of death flooded round me,
the torrents of Belial tossed me about,
the cords of the underworld wound round me,
death’s traps opened before me.
In my distress I called on the Lord,
I cried out to my God:
from his temple he heard my voice,
my cry to him came to his ears.
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 love you, Lord, my strength.
Psalm 17 (18)
The Lord saved me because he loved me.
The earth moved and shook,
at the coming of his anger the roots of the mountains rocked
and were shaken.
Smoke rose from his nostrils,
consuming fire came from his mouth,
from it came forth flaming coals.
He bowed down the heavens and descended,
storm clouds were at his feet.
He rode on the cherubim and flew,
he travelled on the wings of the wind.
He made dark clouds his covering;
his dwelling-place, dark waters and clouds of the air.
The cloud-masses were split by his lightnings,
hail fell, hail and coals of fire.
The Lord thundered from the heavens,
the Most High let his voice be heard,
with hail and coals of fire.
He shot his arrows and scattered them,
hurled thunderbolts and threw them into confusion.
The depths of the oceans were laid bare,
the foundations of the globe were revealed,
at the sound of your anger, O Lord,
at the onset of the gale of your wrath.
He reached from on high and took me up,
he lifted me from the many waters.
He snatched me from my powerful enemies,
from those who hate me, for they were too strong for me.
They attacked me in my time of trouble,
but the Lord was my support.
He led me to the open spaces,
he was my deliverance, for he held me in favor.
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 saved me because he loved me.
Psalm 17 (18)
You, O Lord, are my lamp, my God who lightens my darkness.
The Lord rewards me according to my uprightness,
he repays me according to the purity of my hands,
for I have kept to the paths of the Lord
and have not departed wickedly from my God.
For I keep all his decrees in my sight,
and I will not reject his judgements;
I am stainless before him,
I have kept myself away from evil.
And so the Lord has rewarded me according to my uprightness,
according to the purity of my hands in his sight.
You will be holy with the holy,
kind with the kind,
with the chosen you will be chosen,
but with the crooked you will show your cunning.
For you will bring salvation to a lowly people
but make the proud ashamed.
For you light my lamp, O Lord;
my God brings light to my darkness.
For with you I will attack the enemy’s squadrons;
with my God I will leap over their wall.
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, O Lord, are my lamp, my God who lightens my darkness.
All were astonished by the gracious words
– that came from his lips.
First Reading
Esther 4:17
All Israel cried out with all their might, for they were faced with death.
Queen Esther also took refuge with the Lord in the mortal peril which had overtaken her. She took off her sumptuous robes and put on sorrowful mourning. Instead of expensive perfumes she covered her head with ashes. She humbled her body severely with fasting. She threw herself on the ground,
together with her servants from morning to night and she said:
‘God of Abraham and God of Isaac and God of Jacob, blessed are you.
I am alone and have no helper but you
and am about to take my life in my hands.
‘I have heard, Lord, from the books of my ancestors
that you saved Noah from the waters of the flood.
I have heard, Lord, from the books of my ancestors
that to Abraham with his three hundred and eighteen men,
you gave victory over nine kings.
‘I have heard, Lord, from the books of my ancestors
that you freed Jonah from the belly of the whale.
I have heard, Lord, from the books of my ancestors
that you freed Ananiah, Azariah and Mishael from the fiery furnace.
‘I have heard, Lord, from the books of my ancestors
that you saved Daniel from the lions’ den.
I have heard, Lord, from the books of my ancestors
that you took pity on Hezekiah, king of the Jews,
when he was condemned to death and prayed to you for his life.
‘I have heard, Lord, from the books of my ancestors
that when Anna begged you from the depths of her heart,
you gave her a child.
I have heard, Lord, from the books of my ancestors
that you rescue all who are pleasing in your sight,
for ever.
‘Lord, my God, come to my help, for I am alone,
I have no-one but you.
You know that your servant loathes the bed of the uncircumcised.
You know I have not eaten at the table of the abominations
nor drunk the wine of libations.
‘You know I have not found pleasure
from the day of my promotion until now
except in you, Lord.
‘You know, God, that I loathe the symbol of my high position
that is bound round my brow.
I loathe it as if it were a filthy rag
and do not wear it on my days of leisure.
‘And now support me, for I am an orphan.
Put persuasive words into my mouth when I face the lion.
Let me find favor in his eyes:
change his feeling into hatred for our enemy,
that the latter and all like him may be brought to their end.
‘But free us from the power of our enemies;
turn our mourning into rejoicing
and bring our sufferings to an end.
Make an example of those who attack us.
‘Come, Lord, appear!’
Responsory
King of gods, almighty Lord, give me courage:
put the right words into my mouth.
Lord,
give us time for repentance and do not shut the mouths of those who praise you;
put the right words into my mouth.
Second Reading
St Augustine's letter to Proba
You will find no prayer that is not already contained in the Lord's Prayer
Here are some examples.
When one prays: Be glorified among all nations as thou art glorified among us,
and Let your prophets be proved true, what else is one asking than Hallowed be thy name?
When the psalmist says: Bring us back, O God of hosts,
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved what else is he saying than Thy kingdom come?
When he says: Direct my steps according to your word,
so that iniquity has no dominion over me what else is he saying than Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven?
When in the book of Proverbs it is said: give me neither poverty nor riches,
grant me only my share of food what else is this than Give us this day our daily bread?
When the psalmist says Lord, remember David and how he served you or O Lord,
if I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands,
if I have rewarded with evil those that did evil to me what else is this than Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us?
When he says: Deliver me from my enemies, O my God,
and defend me from those that rise up against me what else is this than Deliver us from evil?
And if you go over all the words of holy prayers, I think you will find nothing which cannot be comprised and summed up in the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. So when we pray we are free to use different words to any extent, but we must ask the same things: in this we have no choice.
It is our duty to ask these things without hesitation for ourselves and for our friends, for strangers and even for our enemies; although of course our emotions may differ according to the persons being prayed for and their closeness or their distance from us.
Now you have the answers to two questions: what sort of person you should be when you pray,
and what sort of things you should pray for. These answers have not come from my teaching but from the teaching of him who has condescended to teach us all.
We must seek a blessed life and we must ask God to grant it to us. What a blessed life might mean is something that many people have had many arguments about; but why should we go to many people or listen to many arguments? God’s own Scriptures have summed it up exactly: Blessed is the people whose God is the Lord. How are we to be part of that people, to look on God and live with him for ever?
As St Paul says, The only purpose of this instruction is that there should be love coming out of a pure heart,
a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.
For “a clear conscience” we may read “hope.” Faith, hope, and charity, therefore, lead to God the man who prays, the man, that is, who believes, hopes, and desires,
and is guided as to what he should ask from the Lord by studying the Lord’s Prayer.
Responsory
Lord,
listen to my prayers and let my cry for help reach you,
for you, O God,
do not despise the prayers of the helpless.
Listen attentively to the voice of my pleading,
for you, O God,
do not despise the prayers of the helpless.
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.
