TODAY’S OFFICE OF READINGS 24 January 2015 Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time St.Francis De Sales (Memorial) Lord, + open my lips. – And my mouth will proclaim your praise. INVITATORY (The Invitatory is said when this is the first ‘hour’ of the day.) Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom. Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock. Psalm 100 The joyful song of those entering God’s temple The Lord calls his ransomed people to sing songs of victory (Saint Athanasius). Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. † Serve the Lord with gladness. * Come before him, singing for joy. Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom. Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock. Know that he, the Lord, is God. † He made us, we belong to him, * we are his people, the sheep of his flock. Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom. Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock. Go within his gates, giving thanks. † Enter his courts with songs of praise. * Give thanks to him and bless his name. Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom. Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock. Indeed, how good is the Lord, † eternal his merciful love. * He is faithful from age to age. Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom. Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, * and will be forever. Amen. Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom. Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock. If the Invitatory is not said, then the following is used: God, + come to my assistance. – Lord, make haste to help me. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: – as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia. HYMN Eternal Sun, true Light Divine, Whose wisdom fills creation’s plan, We sing to you with joy this day, The Light supreme of ev’ry soul. You Holy Spirit’s ardent fire Inspired some chosen master minds, To shed bright rays upon the world And open up salvation’s way. Both inspiration from on high, And efforts of deep human thought, Have worked in harmony of grace Developing our holy Faith. This saint and doctor whom we praise, Shines out with luster all his own, A jewel in the favored crown Of those who spread true doctrine’s light. May his assistance help us now, Unswerving path of truth to tread, That we at last may gaze on you, Our God, for all eternity. Most tender Father, hear our prayer, Whom we adore, with Christ the Lord, And Holy Spirit of them both, Bless us who praise your Trinity. Amen. PSALMODY Ant. 1 None but the Lord has done such marvels; his love endures for ever. Psalm 136 Paschal Hymn We praise God by recalling his marvelous deeds (Cassiodorus). I O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, * for his love endures for ever. Give thanks to the God of gods * for his love endures for ever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, * for his love endures for ever; who alone has wrought marvelous works, * for his love endures for ever; whose wisdom it was made the skies, * for his love endures for ever; who fixed the earth firmly on the seas, * for his love endures for ever. It was he who made the great lights, * for his love endures for ever, the sun to rule in the day, * for his love endures for ever, the moon and the stars in the night, * for his love endures for ever. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, * and will be for ever. Amen. Ant. None but the Lord has done such marvels; his love endures for ever. Ant. 2 He brought Israel out of Egypt with powerful hand and arm outstretched. II The first-born of the Egyptians he smote, * for his love endures for ever. He brought Israel out from their midst, * for his love endures for ever; arm outstretched, with power in his hand, * for his love endures for ever. He divided the Red Sea in two, * for his love endures for ever; he made Israel pass through the midst, * for his love endures for ever; he flung Pharaoh and his force in the sea, * for his love endures for ever. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, * and will be for ever. Amen. Ant. He brought Israel out of Egypt with powerful hand and arm outstretched. Ant. 3 Give praise to the God of heaven; he has ransomed us from our enemies. III Through the desert his people he led, * for his love endures for ever. Nations in their greatness he struck, * for his love endures for ever. Kings in their splendor he slew, * for his love endures for ever. Sihon, king of the Amorites, * for his love endures for ever, and Og, the king of Bashan, * for his love endures for ever. He let Israel inherit their land, * for his love endures for ever. On his servant their land he bestowed, * for his love endures for ever. He remembered us in our distress, * for his love endures for ever. And he snatched us away from our foes, * for his love endures for ever. He gives food to all living things, * for his love endures for ever. To the God of heaven give thanks, * for his love endures for ever. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, * and will be for ever. Amen. Psalm Prayer Almighty God, remember our lowliness and have mercy. Once you gave our fathers a foreign land to inherit. Free us today from sin and give us a share in your inheritance. Ant. Give praise to the God of heaven; he has ransomed us from our enemies. Lord, show me your ways. – Teach me to walk in your footsteps. READINGS FIRST READING A reading from the book of Deuteronomy 16:1-17 The observance of the feasts Moses spoke to the people, saying: “Observe the month of Abib by keeping the Passover of the Lord, your God, since it was in the month of Abib that he brought you by night out of Egypt. You shall offer the Passover sacrifice from your flock or your herd to the Lord, your God, in the place which he chooses as the dwelling place of his name. “You shall not eat leavened bread with it. For seven days you shall eat with it only unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, that you may remember as long as you live the day of your departure from the land of Egypt; for in frightened haste you left the land of Egypt. Nothing leavened may be found in all your territory for seven days, and none of the meat which you sacrificed on the evening of the first day shall be kept overnight for the next day. “You may not sacrifice the Passover in any of the communities which the Lord, your God, gives you; only at the place which he chooses as the dwelling place of his name, and in the evening at sunset, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt, shall you sacrifice the Passover. You shall cook and eat it at the place the Lord, your God, chooses; then in the morning you may return to your tents. For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh there shall be a solemn meeting in honor of the Lord, your God; on that day you shall not do any sort of work. “You shall count off seven weeks, computing them from the day when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. You shall then keep the feast of Weeks in honor of the Lord, your God, and the measure of your own freewill offering shall be in proportion to the blessing the Lord, your God, has bestowed on you. In the place which the Lord, your God, chooses as the dwelling place of his name, you shall make merry in his presence together with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who belongs to your community, as well as the alien, the orphan and the widow among you. Remember that you too were once slaves in Egypt, and carry out these statutes carefully. “You shall celebrate the feast of Booths for seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and wine press. You shall make merry at your feast, together with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and also the Levite, the alien, the orphan and the widow who belong to your community. For seven days you shall celebrate this pilgrim feast in honor of the Lord, your God, in the place which he chooses; since the Lord, your God, has blessed you in all your crops and in all your undertakings, you shall do nought but make merry. “Three times a year, then, every male among you shall appear before the Lord, your God, in the place which he chooses: at the feast of Unleavened Bread, at the feast of Weeks, and at the feast of Booths. No one shall appear before the Lord empty-handed, but each of you with as much as he can give, in proportion to the blessings which the Lord, your God, has bestowed on you.” RESPONSORY Deuteronomy 16:14, 15; Nahum 1:15 Your feast must be a time of rejoicing for you and your son and your daughter, for the Levite too, and the stranger, for the orphan and the widow; – and then the Lord will bless you and fill you with joy. See, even now over the mountain the messenger of good tidings comes! Peace, he cries out. Rejoice, Judah, and celebrate your feasts. – And then the Lord will bless you and fill you with joy. SECOND READING From The Introduction to the Devout Life, by Saint Francis de Sales, bishop (Pars 1, cap 3) Devotion must be practiced in different ways When God the Creator made all things, he commanded the plants to bring forth fruit each according to its own kind; he has likewise commanded Christians, who are the living plants of his Church, to bring forth the fruits of devotion, each one in accord with his character, his station and his calling. I say that devotion must be practiced in different ways by the nobleman and by the working man, by the servant and by the prince, by the widow, by the unmarried girl and by the married woman. But even this distinction is not sufficient; for the practice of devotion must be adapted to the strength, to the occupation and to the duties of each one in particular. Tell me, please, my Philothea, whether it is proper for a bishop to want to lead a solitary life like a Carthusian; or for married people to be no more concerned than a Capuchin about increasing their income; or for a working man to spend his whole day in church like a religious; or on the other hand for a religious to be constantly exposed like a bishop to all the events and circumstances that bear on the needs of our neighbor. Is not this sort of devotion ridiculous, unorganized and intolerable? Yet this absurd error occurs very frequently, but in no way does true devotion, my Philothea, destroy anything at all. On the contrary, it perfects and fulfills all things. In fact if it ever works against, or is inimical to, anyone’s legitimate station and calling, then it is very definitely false devotion. The bee collects honey from flowers in such a way as to do the least damage or destruction to them, and he leaves them whole, undamaged and fresh, just as he found them. True devotion does still better. Not only does it not injure any sort of calling or occupation, it even embellishes and enhances it. Moreover, just as every sort of gem, cast in honey, becomes brighter and more sparkling, each according to its color, so each person becomes more acceptable and fitting in his own vocation when he sets his vocation in the context of devotion. Through devotion your family cares become more peaceful, mutual love between husband and wife becomes more sincere, the service we owe to the prince becomes more faithful, and our work, no matter what it is, becomes more pleasant and agreeable. It is therefore an error and even a heresy to wish to exclude the exercise of devotion from military divisions, from the artisans’ shops, from the courts of princes, from family households. I acknowledge, my dear Philothea, that the type of devotion which is purely contemplative, monastic and religious can certainly not be exercised in these sorts of stations and occupations, but besides this threefold type of devotion, there are many others fit for perfecting those who live in a secular state. Therefore, in whatever situations we happen to be, we can and we must aspire to the life of perfection. RESPONSORY Ephesians 4:32-5:1; Matthew 11:29 Be kind and compassionate to one another; forgive each other as God has forgiven you in Christ. – Be imitators of God the Father who loves you as his own dear children. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. – Be imitators of God the Father who loves you as his own dear children. CONCLUDING PRAYER Let us pray. Father, you gave Francis de Sales the spirit of compassion to befriend all men on the way to salvation. By his example, lead us to show your gentle love in the service of our fellow men. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. – Amen. Or: O God, who for the salvation of souls willed that the Bishop Saint Francis de Sales become all things to all, graciously grant that, following his example, we may always display the gentleness of your charity in the service of our neighbor. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. – Amen. ACCLAMATION Let us praise the Lord. – And give him thanks.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 10:34:35 +0000
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