THE LITURGY OF THE WORD

Daily Mass Readings

Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Antiphon

Rev. 5:12, 1:6

 

How worthy is the Lamb who was slain,

to receive power and divinity,

and wisdom and strength and honor.

To him belong glory and power forever and ever.

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,

whose will is to restore all things

in your beloved Son, the King of the universe,

grant, we pray,

that the whole creation, set free from slavery,

may render your majesty service

and ceaselessly proclaim your praise.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, forever and ever.

Amen.

Reading

Dn 7:15-27

I, Daniel, found my spirit anguished within its covering of flesh,

and I was terrified by the visions of my mind.

I approached one of those present

and asked him what all this meant in truth;

in answer, he made known to me the meaning of the things:

"These four great beasts stand for four kingdoms

which shall arise on the earth.

But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingship,

to possess it forever and ever."

But I wished to make certain about the fourth beast,

so very terrible and different from the others,

devouring and crushing with its iron teeth and bronze claws,

and trampling with its feet what was left;

about the ten horns on its head, and the other one that sprang up,

before which three horns fell;

about the horn with the eyes and the mouth that spoke arrogantly,

which appeared greater than its fellows.

For, as I watched, that horn made war against the holy ones

and was victorious until the Ancient One arrived;

judgment was pronounced in favor of the holy ones of the Most High,

and the time came when the holy ones possessed the kingdom.

He answered me thus:

"The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth

different from all the others;

It shall devour the whole earth,

beat it down, and crush it.

The ten horns shall be ten kings

rising out of that kingdom;

another shall rise up after them,

Different from those before him,

who shall lay low three kings.

He shall speak against the Most High

and oppress the holy ones of the Most High,

thinking to change the feast days and the law.

They shall be handed over to him

for a year, two years, and a half-year.

But when the court is convened,

and his power is taken away

by final and absolute destruction,

Then the kingship and dominion and majesty

of all the kingdoms under the heavens

shall be given to the holy people of the Most High,

Whose Kingdom shall be everlasting:

all dominions shall serve and obey him."

Responsorial Psalm

Dn 3:82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

"You sons of men, bless the Lord;

praise and exalt him above all forever."

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

"O Israel, bless the Lord;

praise and exalt him above all forever."

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

"Priests of the Lord, bless the Lord;

praise and exalt him above all forever."

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

"Servants of the Lord, bless the Lord;

praise and exalt him above all forever."

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

"Spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord;

praise and exalt him above all forever."

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

"Holy men of humble heart, bless the Lord;

praise and exalt him above all forever."

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

Alleluia

Lk 21:36

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Be vigilant at all times and pray

That you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Lk 21:34-36

Jesus said to his disciples:

"Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy

from carousing and drunkenness

and the anxieties of daily life,

and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.

For that day will assault everyone

who lives on the face of the earth.

Be vigilant at all times

and pray that you have the strength

to escape the tribulations that are imminent

and to stand before the Son of Man."

SAINT OF THE DAY

December 2

Blessed Rafal Chylinski

(1694 - 1741)

Born near Buk in the Poznan region of Poland, Melchior Chylinski showed early signs of religious devotion; family members nicknamed him “the little monk.” After completing his studies at the Jesuit college in Poznan, Melchior joined the cavalry and was promoted to officer rank within three years.

In 1715, against the urgings of his military comrades, Melchior joined the Conventual Franciscans in Krakow. Receiving the name Rafal, he was ordained two years later. After pastoral assignments in nine cities, he came to Lagiewniki, where he spent the last 13 years of his life, except for 20 months ministering to flood and epidemic victims in Warsaw. In all these places, Rafal was known for his simple and candid sermons, for his generosity, as well as for his ministry in the confessional. People of all levels of society were drawn to the self-sacrificing way he lived out his religious profession and priestly ministry.

Rafal played the harp, lute, and mandolin to accompany liturgical hymns. In Lagiewniki he distributed food, supplies, and clothing to the poor. After his death, the Conventual church in that city became a place of pilgrimage for people throughout Poland. 

He was beatified in Warsaw in 1991.

THE LITURGY OF HOURS

The Liturgy of the Hours, 

also known as the Divine Office or the Work of God (Opus Dei), is the daily prayer of the Church, marking the hours of each day and sanctifying the day with prayer.  The Hours are a meditative dialogue on the mystery of Christ, using scripture and prayer.  At times the dialogue is between the Church or individual soul and God; at times it is a dialogue among the members of the Church; and at times it is even between the Church and the world.  The Divine Office "is truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to her Bridegroom. It is the very prayer which Christ himself together with his Body addresses to the Father." (SC 84)  The dialogue is always held, however, in the presence of God and using the words and wisdom of God.  Each of the five canonical Hours includes selections from the Psalms that culminate in a scriptural proclamation.  The two most important or hinge Hours are Morning and Evening Prayer. These each include a Gospel canticle:  the Canticle of Zechariah from Luke 1:68-79 for Morning Prayer (known as the Benedictus), and the Canticle of Mary from Luke 1:46-55 for Evening Prayer (known as the Magnificat). The Gospel canticle acts as a kind of meditative extension of the scriptural proclamation in light of the Christ event.  Morning and Evening Prayer also include intercessions that flow from the scriptural proclamation just as the Psalms prepare for it.

In the Hours, the royal priesthood of the baptized is exercised, 

and this sacrifice of praise is thus connected to the sacrifice of the Eucharist,  

both preparing for and flowing from the Mass.

"The hymns and litanies of the Liturgy of the Hours integrate the prayer of the psalms into the age of the Church, expressing the symbolism of the time of day, the liturgical season, or the feast being celebrated. Moreover, the reading from the Word of God at each Hour (with the subsequent responses or troparia) and readings from the Fathers and spiritual masters at certain Hours, reveal more deeply the meaning of the mystery being celebrated, assist in understanding the psalms, 

and prepare for silent prayer." (CCC 1177)

OFFICE OF READINGS

"The office of readings seeks to provide God's people, and in particular those consecrated to God in a special way, with a wider selection of passages from sacred Scripture for meditation, together with the finest excerpts from spiritual writers. Even though the cycle of scriptural readings at daily Mass is now richer, the treasures of revelation and tradition to be found in the office of readings will also contribute greatly to the spiritual life" (General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours [GILH], no. 55).

https://www.universalis.com/0/readings.htm

LAUDS - Morning Prayer

"As is clear from many of the elements that make it up, morning prayer is intended and arranged to sanctify the morning. St. Basil the Great gives an excellent description of this character in these words: "It is said in the morning in order that the first stirrings of our mind and will may be consecrated to God and that we may take nothing in hand until we have been gladdened by the thought of God, as it is written: 'I was mindful of God and was glad' (Ps 77:4 [Jerome's translation from Hebrew]), or set our bodies to any task before we do what has been said: 

'I will pray to you, Lord, you will hear my voice in the morning; 

I will stand before you in the morning and gaze on you' 

(Ps 5:4-5)."

"Celebrated as it is as the light of a new day is dawning, this hour also recalls the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the true light enlightening all people (see Jn 1:9) and "the sun of justice" (Mal 4:2), "rising from on high" (Lk 1:78). Hence, we can well understand the advice of St. Cyprian: 

"There should be prayer in the morning so that the resurrection of the Lord may thus be celebrated" (GILH, no. 38).

https://www.universalis.com/0/lauds.htm

TERCE - Mid-Morning Prayer

"Following a very ancient tradition Christians have made a practice of praying out of private devotion at various times of the day, even in the course of their work, in imitation of the Church in apostolic times. 

In different ways with the passage of time this tradition has taken the form of a liturgical celebration.

"Liturgical custom in both East and West has retained midmorning, midday, and midafternoon prayer, mainly because these hours were linked to a commemoration of the events of the Lord's passion and of the first preaching of the Gospel" 

(GILH, no. 74-75).

https://www.universalis.com/0/terce.htm

SEXT - Mid-Day Prayer

 https://www.universalis.com/0/sext.htm

NONE - Afternoon Prayer

 https://www.universalis.com/0/none.htm

VESPERS - Evening Prayer

"When evening approaches and the day is already far spent, evening prayer is celebrated in order that 'we may give thanks for what has been given us, or what we have done well, during the day.' We also recall the redemption through the prayer we send up 'like incense in the Lord's sight,' and in which 'the raising up of our hands' becomes 'an evening sacrifice' (see Ps 141:2). This sacrifice 'may also be interpreted more spiritually as the true evening sacrifice that our Savior the Lord entrusted to the apostles at supper on the evening when he instituted the sacred mysteries of the Church or of the evening sacrifice of the next day, the sacrifice, that is, which, raising his hands, he offered to the Father at the end of the ages for the salvation of the whole world.' Again, in order to fix our hope on the light that knows no setting, 'we pray and make petition for the light to come down on us anew; we implore the coming of Christ who will bring the grace of eternal light.' Finally, at this hour we join with the Churches of the East in calling upon the 'joy-giving light of that holy glory, born of the immortal, heavenly Father, the holy and blessed Jesus Christ; now that we have come to the setting of the sun and have seen the evening star, we sing in praise of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…'" 

(GILH, no. 39).

https://www.universalis.com/0/vespers.htm

COMPLINE - Night Prayer

"Night prayer is the last prayer of the day, said before retiring,  even if that is after midnight" (GILH, no. 84). The Psalms that are chosen for Night Prayer are full of confidence in the Lord.

https://www.universalis.com/0/compline.htm

ABOUT TODAY

https://www.universalis.com/0/today.htm

08/11/23