September 6, 2014

Saturday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

Brothers and sisters:
Learn from myself and Apollos not to go beyond what is written,
so that none of you will be inflated with pride
in favor of one person over against another.
Who confers distinction upon you?
What do you possess that you have not received?
But if you have received it,
why are you boasting as if you did not receive it?
You are already satisfied; you have already grown rich;
you have become kings without us!
Indeed, I wish that you had become kings,
so that we also might become kings with you.

For as I see it, God has exhibited us Apostles as the last of all,
like people sentenced to death,
since we have become a spectacle to the world,
to angels and men alike.
We are fools on Christ’s account, but you are wise in Christ;
we are weak, but you are strong;
you are held in honor, but we in disrepute.
To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty,
we are poorly clad and roughly treated,
we wander about homeless and we toil, working with our own hands.
When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
when slandered, we respond gently.
We have become like the world’s rubbish, the scum of all,
to this very moment.

I am writing you this not to shame you,
but to admonish you as my beloved children.
Even if you should have countless guides to Christ,
yet you do not have many fathers,
for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 145:17-18, 19-20, 21

R. (18) The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him,
he hears their cry and saves them.
The LORD keeps all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
May my mouth speak the praise of the LORD,
and may all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

Gospel Lk 6:1-5

While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath,
his disciples were picking the heads of grain,
rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.
Some Pharisees said,
“Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Have you not read what David did
when he and those who were with him were hungry?
How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,
which only the priests could lawfully eat,
ate of it, and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”

From: 1 Corinthians 4:6-15

Servants of Christ (Continuation)

[6] I have applied all this to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brethren, that you
may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed
up in favor of one against another. [7] For who sees anything different in you?
What have you that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast
as if it were not a gift?

Trials of Apostles

[8] Already you are filled! Already you have become rich! Without us you have
become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with
you! [9] For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sen-
tenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels
and to men. [10] We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We
are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. [11]
To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and home-
less, [12] and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless;
when persecuted, we endure; [13] when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have
become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things.

Admonishment

[14] I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my be-
loved children. [15] For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not
have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

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Commentary:

6. “Not to go beyond what is written”: this is open to various interpretations. It
may be a proverb with which the Corinthians were familiar, meaning that one
should stay on safe ground (in this cases Paul’s guidelines for the infant Church
at Corinth). “What is written” could also refer to all scripture or just to the quota-
tions which Paul has used (cf. 1:19, 31; 3:19). In any event he makes it clear to
the Corinthians that it is they themselves who, due to their immaturity and pride,
have caused the dissensions in their community through exalting one preacher
at the expense of others. Paul and Apollos have behaved quite properly and
therefore cannot be held responsible for these divisions.

7. The Apostle comes back again to insist on what he said earlier (cf. 1:26-31):
they have no cause to boast about the calling they have received. God called
them without any merit on their part. “To be humble is to walk in the truth, for it
is absolutely true to say that we have no good thing in ourselves, but only mise-
ry and nothingness; and anyone who fails to understand this is walking in false-
hood” (St Teresa of Avila, “Interior Castle”, VI, chap. 10). Therefore, the attitude
of a humble soul, reflecting on the graces he or she has received, should be one
of gratitude to God, the giver. Here is what St John of Avila has to say about this
verse: “If you have the grace of God and want to please him and do excellent
things, do not glory in yourself, but rather in him who made it possible — God.
And if you boast of having used your free will well, or freely consented to God’s
inspirations, do not boast even on that account; boast rather of God who made
you consent, inspiring you and gently influencing you-and who in fact gave you
that free will whereby you were able to give your free consent. And if you are in-
clined to boast about the fact that you could have resisted God’s inspiration and
good influence and yet did not resist it, you should not boast about that either,
for that is a matter not of doing something but of not doing something; and even
that you owe to God, because he who helped you to consent in doing good also
helped you not to reject that help. Any good use you make of your free will, in
things to do with your salvation, is a gift from God [...]. So, always boast only in
God, from whom all the good you have comes; and remember that without him
the only harvest you reap is nothing, and vanity and evil” (”Audi, Filia”, chap. 66).

8. Verse 8 sums up a series of ironic remarks about the conceitedness of these
Corinthians whom St Paul is taking to task. St Thomas Aquinas comments on
this passage as follows: “The Apostle here considers four types of pride: the first,
when one thinks that what one has does not come from God [...]; the second,
which is similar, when one thinks that one has done everything on one’s own me-
rit; the third, when one boasts of having something which one does not in fact
have [...]; the fourth, when one despises others and is concerned only about one-
self” (”Commentary on 1 Cor, ad loc.”).

The Apostle dramatically describes the disabilities which followers of Christ are
happy to bear, like people sentenced to death in the arena they are a spectacle
for everyone to watch. In other letters he again tells of the suffering an apostle
must expect (cf. 2 Cor 6:3-10; 11:23-33; 2 Tim 3:11).

The last words in the passage — “the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all
things” — may refer to a barbaric custom that obtained in some Greek cities: in
the face of some public calamity, a citizen, in exchange for being treated royal
for a period, agreed to be sacrificed to the gods; on the day of his sacrifice the
people had the right to heap every kind of insult and filth upon him; he was “the
offscouring of everyone”. This sacrifice was offered to free the city of evil spells.
Even if they do refer to this custom, these words have also a much deeper mea-
ning: Christ by dying on the cross has redeemed the world; the apostle must
follow in the footsteps of his Master, knowing that suffering completes “what is
lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church” (Col
1:24).

Therefore, there is no trace of protest in what St Paul is saying here: he is poin-
ting to the value of suffering, which the cross of Christ, helps us to recognize. “I
will tell you which are man’s treasures on earth,” St. Escriva writes, “so that you
won’t let them go to waste: hunger, thirst, heat cold, pain, dishonor, poverty, lone-
liness, betrayal, slander, prison...” (”The Way”, 194).

14-16. St Paul brings up the subject of the spiritual paternity of the Corinthians,
because it was he who begot them in the faith. In view of this fact, his reproaches
take on a special seriousness; his purpose is not to make them feel ashamed but
to encourage them to acquire the virtues they need and to have them build up the
Church, which has been established as “a communion of life, love and truth”
(Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 9).

“Be imitators of me”: whenever the Apostle puts himself forward as a model for
the faithful (cf. 1 Cor 11:1; 2 Thess 3:7; Phil 3:17; Gal 4:12) he refers to the suffe-
rings which his apostolate has brought upon him. All Christians should act in like
manner (1 Thess 1:6-7; 2:14). If they do, they will be a support for one another,
they will come to have the same sentiments as Christ Jesus, (Phil 2:5), and will
be keeping out his commandment that each carry his own cross (Mt. 16:24).

The saints understood all this and taught others to face up to suffering, even se-
vere suffering. “We always find that those who walked closest to Christ our Lord
were those who had to bear the greatest trials. Consider the trials suffered by his
glorious Mother and by the glorious Apostles. How do you suppose St Paul could
endure such terrible trials? [...]. You know very well that, so far as we can learn,
he took not a day’s rest, nor can he have rested by night, since it was then that
he had to earn his living” (St Teresa, “Interior Castle”, VII, chap. 4,5).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Luke 6:1-5

The Law of the Sabbath

[1] On a Sabbath, while He (Jesus) was going through the grainfields, His dis-
ciples plucked and ate some ears of grain, rubbing them in their hands. [2] But
some of the Pharisees said, “Why are You doing what is not lawful to do on the
Sabbath?” [3] And Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he
was hungry, he and those who were with him: [4] how he entered the house of
God, and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any
but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” [5] And he said to
them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1-5. Accused by the Pharisees of breaking the Sabbath, Jesus explains the
correct way of understanding the Sabbath rest, using an example from the Old
Testament. And, by stating that He is “Lord of the Sabbath” He is openly revea-
ling that He is God Himself, for it was God who gave this precept to the people
of Israel. For more on this, see the notes on Matthew 12:2 and 12:3-8.

[The notes on Matthew 12:2 and 12:3-8 states:

2. “The Sabbath”: this was the day the Jews set aside for worshipping God. God
Himself, the originator of the Sabbath (Genesis 2:3), ordered the Jewish people
to avoid certain kinds of work on this day (Exodus 20:8-11; 21:13; Deuteronomy
5:14) to leave them free to give more time to God. As time went by, the rabbis
complicated this divine precept: by Jesus’ time they had extended to 39 the list
of kinds of forbidden work.

The Pharisees accuse Jesus’ disciples of breaking the Sabbath. In the casuistry
of the scribes and the Pharisees, plucking ears of corn was the same as harves-
ting, and crushing them was the same as milling-types of agricultural work forbid-
den on the Sabbath.

3-8. Jesus rebuts the Pharisees’ accusation by four arguments-the example of
David, that of the priests, a correct understanding of the mercy of God and Jesus’
own authority over the Sabbath.

The first example which was quite familiar to the people, who were used to lis-
tening to the Bible being read, comes from 1 Samuel 21:2-7: David, in flight from
the jealousy of King Saul, asks the priest of the shrine of Nob for food for his men;
the priest gave them the only bread he had, the holy bread of the Presence; this
was the twelve loaves which were placed each week on the golden altar of the
sanctuary as a perpetual offering from the twelve tribes of Israel (Leviticus 24:5-9).
The second example refers to the priestly ministry to perform the liturgy, priests
had to do a number of things on the Sabbath but did not thereby break the law
of Sabbath rest (cf. Numbers 28:9).]

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading

1 Corinthians 4:6-15 ©

Take Apollos and myself as an example and 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.

Psalm

Psalm 144:17-21 ©

The Lord is close to all who call him.

The Lord is just in all his ways

and loving in all his deeds.

He is close to all who call him,

who call on him from their hearts.

The Lord is close to all who call him.

He grants the desires of those who fear him,

he hears their cry and he saves them.

The Lord protects all who love him;

but the wicked he will utterly destroy.

The Lord is close to all who call him.

Let me speak the praise of the Lord,

let all mankind bless his holy name

for ever, for ages unending.

The Lord is close to all who call him.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Ps26:11

Alleluia, alleluia!

Instruct me, Lord, in your way;

on an even path lead me.

Alleluia!

Or	Jn14:6

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;

No one can come to the Father except through me.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 6:1-5 ©

One sabbath Jesus happened to be taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples were picking ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands and eating them. Some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing something that is forbidden on the sabbath day?’ Jesus answered them, ‘So you have not read what David did when he and his followers were hungry how he went into the house of God, took the loaves of offering and ate them and gave them to his followers, loaves which only the priests are allowed to eat?’ And he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is master of the sabbath.’

Jesus, High Priest

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.

Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.

Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem. He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.

St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

Pray the Rosary

1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be: 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.

Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

The Mysteries of the Rosary

By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary.
The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Joyful Mysteries
(Mondays and Saturdays)
1. The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) [Spiritual fruit - Humility]
2. The Visitation (Luke 1: 39-56) [Spiritual fruit - Love of Neighbor]
3. The Nativity (Luke 2:1-20) [Spiritual fruit - Poverty of Spirit]
4. The Presentation (Luke 2:21-38) [Spiritual fruit - Purity of mind & body]
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) [Spiritual fruit - Obedience ]

Our Blessed Lady's Sorrows

Sea of Sorrow

Oh! on what a sea of sorrow
Was the Virgin-Mother cast,
When her eyes with tears o'erflowing
Gazed upon her Son aghast,
From the bloodstained gibbet taken,
Dying in her arms at last.

In her bitter desolation,
His sweet mouth, His bosom too,
Then His riven side beloved,
Then each hand, both wounded through,
Then His feet, with blood encrimsoned,
Her maternal tears bedew.

She, a hundred times and over,
Strains Him closely to her breast
Heart to Heart, arms arms enfolding,
Are His wounds on her impressed:
Thus, in sorrow's very kisses,
Melts her anguished soul to rest.

Oh, dear Mother! we beseech thee,
By the tears thine eyes have shed,
By the cruel death of Jesus
And His wounds' right royal red,
Make our hearts o'erflow with sorrow
From thy heart's deep fountainhead.

To the Father, Son, and Spirit,
Now we bend on equal knee:
Glory, sempiternal glory,
To the Most High Trinity;
Yea! perpetual praise and honor
Now and through all ages be.

Novena Prayer To Our Sorrowful Mother

Most Blessed and afflicted Virgin, Queen of Martyrs, who didst stand generously beneath the cross, beholding the agony of thy dying Son; by the sword of sorrow which then pierced thy soul, by the sufferings of thy sorrowful life, by the unutterable joy which now more than repays thee for them; look down with a mother's pity and tenderness, as I kneel before thee to compassionate thy sorrows, and to lay my petition with childlike confidence in thy wounded heart. I beg of thee, O my Mother, to plead continually for me with thy Son, since He can refuse thee nothing, and through the merits of His most sacred Passion and Death, together with thy own sufferings at the foot of the cross, so to touch His Sacred Heart, that I may obtain my request,
For to whom shall I fly in my wants and miseries, if not to thee, O Mother of mercy, who, having so deeply drunk the chalice of thy Son, canst most pity us poor exiles, still doomed to sigh in this vale of tears? Offer to Jesus but one drop of His Precious Blood, but one pang of His adorable Heart; remind Him that thou art our life, our sweetness, and our hope, and thou wilt obtain what I ask, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hail Mary
Virgin Most Sorrowful, pray for us
(Seven times each)

Mary, most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, accept the sincere homage of my filial affection. Into thy Heart, pierced by so many swords, do thou welcome my poor soul. Receive it as the companion of thy sorrows at the foot of the Cross, on which Jesus died for the redemption of the world. With thee, O sorrowful Virgin, I will gladly suffer all the trials, contradictions, and infirmities which it shall please Our Lord to send me. I offer them all to thee in memory of thy sorrows, so that: every thought of my mind and every beat of my heart may be an act of compassion and of love for thee. And do thou, sweet Mother, have pity on me, reconcile me to thy Divine Son, Jesus; keep me in His grace and assist me in my last agony, so that I may be able to meet thee in Heaven and sing thy glories.

Most holy Virgin and Mother, whose soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the Passion of thy Divine Son, and who in His glorious Resurrection wast filled with never ending joy at His triumph, obtain for us who call upon thee, so to be partakers in the adversities of Holy Church and the Sorrows of the Sovereign Pontiff, as to be found worthy to rejoice with them in the consolations for which we pray, in the charity and peace of the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Litany of the Seven Sorrows

For private use only.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary,
Pray for us.
Holy Mother of God,
Pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, etc.
Mother crucified,
Mother sorrowful,
Mother tearful,
Mother afflicted,
Mother forsaken,
Mother desolate,
Mother bereft of thy Child,
Mother transfixed with the sword,
Mother consumed with grief,
Mother filled with anguish,
Mother crucified in heart,
Mother most sad,
Fountain of tears,
Abyss of suffering,
Mirror of patience,
Rock of constancy,
Anchor of confidence,
Refuge of the forsaken,
Shield of the oppressed,
Subduer of the unbelieving,
Comfort of the afflicted,
Medicine of the sick,
Strength of the weak,
Harbor of the wrecked,
Allayer of tempests,
Resource of mourners,
Terror of the treacherous,
Treasure of the faithful,
Eye of the Prophets,
Staff of the Apostles,
Crown of Martyrs,
Light of confessors,
Pearl of virgins,
Consolation of widows,
Joy of all Saints,

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.

Look down upon us, deliver us, and save us from all trouble,
in the power of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Let Us Pray.
Imprint, O Lady, thy wounds upon my heart, that I may read therein sorrow and love
--- sorrow to endure every sorrow for thee, love to despise every love for thee. Amen.

Conclude with the Apostles Creed, Hail Holy Queen, and three Hail Marys,
in honor of the Most Holy Heart of Mary.

Stabat Mater Dolorosa

Stabat mater dolorosa
iuxta Crucem lacrimosa,
dum pendebat Filius.

Cuius animam gementem,
contristatam et dolentem
pertransivit gladius.

O quam tristis et afflicta
fuit illa benedicta,
mater Unigeniti!

Quae maerebat et dolebat,
pia Mater, dum videbat
nati poenas inclyti.

Quis est homo qui non fleret,
matrem Christi si videret
in tanto supplicio?

Quis non posset contristari
Christi Matrem contemplari
dolentem cum Filio?

Pro peccatis suae gentis
vidit Iesum in tormentis,
et flagellis subditum.

Vidit suum dulcem Natum
moriendo desolatum,
dum emisit spiritum.

Eia, Mater, fons amoris
me sentire vim doloris
fac, ut tecum lugeam.

Fac, ut ardeat cor meum
in amando Christum Deum
ut sibi complaceam.

Sancta Mater, istud agas,
crucifixi fige plagas
cordi meo valide.

Tui Nati vulnerati,
tam dignati pro me pati,
poenas mecum divide.

Fac me tecum pie flere,
crucifixo condolere,
donec ego vixero.

Iuxta Crucem tecum stare,
et me tibi sociare
in planctu desidero.

Virgo virginum praeclara,
mihi iam non sis amara,
fac me tecum plangere.

Fac, ut portem Christi mortem,
passionis fac consortem,
et plagas recolere.

Fac me plagis vulnerari,
fac me Cruce inebriari,
et cruore Filii.

Flammis ne urar succensus,
per te, Virgo, sim defensus
in die iudicii.

Christe, cum sit hinc exire,
da per Matrem me venire
ad palmam victoriae.

Quando corpus morietur,
fac, ut animae donetur
paradisi gloria. Amen.

Prayer To Our Lady of Sorrows, by St. Bridget

O Blessed Virgin Mary, Immaculate Mother of God, who didst endure a martyrdom of love and grief beholding the sufferings and sorrows of Jesus! Thou didst cooperate in the benefit of my redemption by thine innumerable afflictions and by offering to the Eternal Father His only begotten Son as a holocaust and victim of propitiation for my sins. I thank thee for the unspeakable love which led thee to deprive thyself of the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus, true God and true Man, to save me, a sinner. Oh, make use of the unfailing intercession of thy sorrows with the Father and the Son, that I may steadfastly amend my life and never again crucify my loving Redeemer by new sins, and that, persevering till death in His grace. I may obtain eternal life through the merits of His Cross and Passion. Amen.

Mother of love, of sorrow and of mercy, pray for us.

Saint Alphonsus Liguori's Prayer To The Mother Of Sorrows

O, my Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced thy heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed. O, Lady, it is not to thee, who art innocent, that sufferings are due, but to me, who am guilty of so many crimes. But since thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, by thy merits, obtain me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my demerits; for I have often deserved Hell.
Amen.

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Daily Gospel Commentary

Saturday of the Twenty-second week in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
Catechism of the Catholic Church
§1166-1167

"The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath"

"By a tradition handed down from the apostles which took its origin from the very day of Christ's Resurrection, the Church celebrates the Paschal mystery every seventh day, which day is appropriately called the Lord's Day or Sunday" (Vatican II SC 106). The day of Christ's Resurrection is both the “first day of the week” (Jn 20,1) the memorial of the first day of creation, and the "eighth day," on which Christ after his "rest" on the great sabbath inaugurates the "day that the Lord has made," the "day that knows no evening." (Ps 117; Byzantine liturgy) The “Lord's Supper” (1Cor 11,20) is its center, for there the whole community of the faithful encounters the risen Lord who invites them to his banquet ((Jn 21,12; Lk 24,30).

The Lord's day, the day of Resurrection, the day of Christians, is our day. It is called the Lord's day because on it the Lord rose victorious to the Father. If pagans call it the "day of the sun," we willingly agree, for today the light of the world is raised, today is revealed “the sun of justice with healing in his rays” (St Jerome; Mal 3,20).

Sunday is the pre-eminent day for the liturgical assembly, when the faithful gather "to listen to the word of God and take part in the Eucharist, thus calling to mind the Passion, Resurrection, and glory of the Lord Jesus, and giving thanks to God who 'has begotten them again, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead' unto a living hope" (SC 106; 1P 1,3). “When we ponder, O Christ, the marvels accomplished on this day, the Sunday of your holy resurrection, we say: Blessed is Sunday, for on it began creation . . . the world's salvation ... the renewal of the human race .... On Sunday heaven and earth rejoiced and the whole universe was filled with light. Blessed is Sunday, for on it were opened the gates of paradise so that Adam and all the exiles might enter it without fear (Antiochene syriac liturgy).

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