Posted on 03/07/2006 9:03:52 AM PST by Salvation
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
Reading I
Is 55:10-11
Thus says the LORD:
Just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
And do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
Giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19
R. (18b) From all their distress God rescues the just.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
The LORD has eyes for the just,
and ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
Gospel
Mt 6:7-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
“In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This is how you are to pray:
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.
“If you forgive men their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”
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Farewell to Alleluia and Gloria
During the penitential seasons of the Church, the Gloria and the Alleluia are not said or sung. The Gloria is sung only at the Mass on Holy Thursday, usually with great ceremony, organ and sometimes trumpets, and often with the ringing of bells. After the singing of the Gloria, musical instruments are to be silent until the Alleluia at the Easter Vigil. (Catholic families might imitate this solemn silence by not playing instrumental music in their homes at this time.)
In the Middle Ages and throughout the 16th century, the "burying" of the Alleluia was a solemn ritual on Septuagesima Sunday. A procession of children carrying a wooden plaque bearing the word "Alleluia" laid it at the feet of the statue of the Blessed Virgin, covering it with a purple cloth. It remained there until Easter at the Gospel procession, when the plaque was carried as the priest intoned the three Alleluias before the Easter Gospel. In Paris, a straw figure inscribed with the word was carried out of the choir at the end of the service and burned in the church yard.
Although the practice of literally removing the Alleluia from the Church may have disappeared, even today in some parish celebrations of the Easter Vigil an Alleluia card is carried in procession and placed in front of the altar during the singing of the first Alleluias before the Gospel for Easter.
The hymn Alleluia, Song of Gladness and the one that follows date from the early 9th and 10th centuries; both refer to the farewell to the Alleluia in the liturgy.
St.Perpetua: The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity
The Passion Of Saints Perpetua And Felicity [MARTYRS] {Read Only}
The Holy Season of Lent -- Fast and Abstinence
The Holy Season of Lent -- The Stations of the Cross
Mardi Gras' Catholic Roots [Shrove Tuesday]
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI FOR LENT 2006
Lent a Time for Renewal, Says Benedict XVI
Lent: A Time to Fast From Media and Criticism Says President of Pontifical Liturgical Institute
From: Isaiah 55:10-11
Epilogue: Invitation to Partake of the Banquet of the Lord's Covenant
From: Matthew 6:7-15
An Upright Intention in Almsgiving, Prayer and Fasting (Continuation)
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help 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.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 9B (10) |
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| Thanksgiving |
| With what purpose, Lord, do you stay away, hide yourself in time of need and trouble? The wicked in their pride persecute the weak, trap them in the plots they have devised. The sinner glories in his desires, the miser congratulates himself. The sinner in his arrogance rejects the Lord: “there is no God, no retribution”. This is what he thinks – and all goes well for him. Your judgements are far beyond his comprehension: he despises all who stand against him. The sinner says to himself: “I will stand firm; nothing can touch me, from generation to generation”. His mouth is full of malice and deceit, under his tongue hide trouble and distress. He lies in ambush by the villages, he kills the innocent in some secret place. He watches the weak, he hides like a lion in its lair, and makes plans. He plans to rob the weak, lure him to his trap and rob him. He rushes in, makes a dive, and the poor victim is caught. For he has said to himself, “God has forgotten. He is not watching, he will never see”. 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. |
| Psalm 9B (10) |
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| Rise up, Lord, raise your hand! Do not forget the weak. Why does the wicked man spurn God? Because he says to himself, “you will not take revenge”. But you do see: you see the trouble and the pain, and then you take things into your own hands. The weak fall to your care, and you are the help of the orphan. Break the arms of the sinner and evil-doer: seek out wickedness until there is no more to be found. The Lord is King for ever and for ever. The Gentiles have perished from his land. You have heard the prayer of the weak, Lord, and you will strengthen their hearts. You will lend your ear to the pleas of the orphans and the helpless, so mere mortals can frighten them no longer. 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. |
| Psalm 11 (12) |
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| A prayer against the proud |
| Save me, Lord, for the good men are all gone: there is no-one to be trusted among the sons of men. Neighbour speaks falsehood to neighbour: with lying lips and crooked hearts they speak. Let the Lord condemn all lying lips, all boastful tongues. They say “Our tongues will make us great, our lips are ours, we have no master”. “On account of the sufferings of the poor, the groans of the weak, I will rise up”, says the Lord. “I will bring to safety the one whom men despise”. The words of the Lord are pure words, silver tried by fire, freed from dross, silver seven times refined. You, Lord, will help us and guard us from now to all eternity – while the wicked walk round outside, where the vilest are most honoured of the children of men. 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. |
| Reading | Exodus 6:29 - 7:25 © |
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| The Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I make you as a god for Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother is to be your prophet. You yourself must tell him all I command you, and Aaron your brother will tell Pharaoh to let the sons of Israel leave his land. I myself will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn, and perform many a sign and wonder in the land of Egypt. Pharaoh will not listen to you, and so I will lay my hand on Egypt and with strokes of power lead out my armies, my people, the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt. And all the Egyptians shall come to know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.’ Moses and Aaron obeyed; they did what the Lord commanded them. Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three at the time of their audience with Pharaoh. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘If Pharaoh says to you, “Produce some marvel”, you must say to Aaron, “Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and let it turn into a serpent”’. To Pharaoh, then, Moses and Aaron duly went, and they did as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw down his staff in front of Pharaoh and his court, and it turned into a serpent. Then Pharaoh in his turn called for the sages and the sorcerers, and with their witchcraft the magicians of Egypt did the same. Each threw his staff down and these turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the staffs of the magicians. Yet Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn and, as the Lord had foretold, he would not listen to Moses and Aaron. Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Pharaoh is adamant. He refuses to let the people go. In the morning go to him as he makes his way to the water and wait for him by the bank of the river. In your hand take the staff that turned into a serpent. Say to him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say: Let my people go to offer me worship in the wilderness. Now, so far you have not listened. Here is the Lord’s message: That I am the Lord you shall learn by this: with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the river and it shall be changed into blood. The fish in the river will die, and the river will smell so foul that the Egyptians will not want to drink the water of it.”’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘Say this to Aaron, “Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers and their canals, their marshland, and all their reservoirs, and let them turn to blood throughout the land of Egypt, even down to the contents of every tub or jar”’. Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. He raised his staff and in the sight of Pharaoh and his court he struck the waters of the river, and all the water in the river changed to blood. The fish in the river died, and the river smelt so foul that the Egyptians found it impossible to drink its water. Throughout the land of Egypt there was blood. But the magicians of Egypt used their witchcraft to do the same, so that Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn and, as the Lord had foretold, he would not listen to Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh turned away and went back into his palace, taking no notice even of this. Meanwhile, all the Egyptians dug holes along the banks of the river in search of drinking water; they found the water of the river impossible to drink. After the Lord had struck the river, seven days passed. |
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| Reading | From a treatise on the Lord's Prayer by Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr |
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| He has given us life: he has also taught us how to pray | |
| Dear brothers, the commands of the Gospel are nothing else than God’s lessons, the foundations on which to build up hope, the supports for strengthening faith, the food that nourishes the heart. They are the rudder for keeping us on the right course, the protection that keeps our salvation secure. As they instruct the receptive minds of believers on earth, they lead safely to the kingdom of heaven. God willed that many things should be said by the prophets, his servants, and listened to by his people. How much greater are the things spoken by the Son. These are now witnessed to by the very Word of God who spoke through the prophets. The Word of God does not now command us to prepare the way for his coming: he comes in person and opens up the way for us and directs us toward it. Before, we wandered in the darkness of death, aimlessly and blindly. Now we are enlightened by the light of grace, and are to keep to the highway of life, with the Lord to precede and direct us. The Lord has given us many counsels and commandments to help us toward salvation. He has even given us a pattern of prayer, instructing us on how we are to pray. He has given us life, and with his accustomed generosity, he has also taught us how to pray. He has made it easy for us to be heard as we pray to the Father in the words taught us by the Son. He had already foretold that the hour was coming when true worshippers would worship the Father in spirit and in truth. He fulfilled what he had promised before, so that we who have received the spirit and the truth through the holiness he has given us may worship in truth and in the spirit through the prayer he has taught. What prayer could be more a prayer in the spirit than the one given us by Christ, by whom the Holy Spirit was sent upon us? What prayer could be more a prayer in the truth than the one spoken by the lips of the Son, who is truth himself? It follows that to pray in any other way than the Son has taught us is not only the result of ignorance but of sin. He himself has commanded it, and has said: You reject the command of God, to set up your own tradition. So, my brothers, let us pray as God our master has taught us. To ask the Father in words his Son has given us, to let him hear the prayer of Christ ringing in his ears, is to make our prayer one of friendship, a family prayer. Let the Father recognise the words of his Son. Let the Son who lives in our hearts be also on our lips. We have him as an advocate for sinners before the Father; when we ask forgiveness for our sins, let us use the words given by our advocate. He tells us: Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. What more effective prayer could we then make in the name of Christ than in the words of his own prayer? |
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| A concluding prayer may follow here. |
| Tuesday, March 7, 2006 Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs (Commemoration) |
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March 7, 2006
 Sts. Perpetua and Felicity
(d. 203?)
“When my father in his affection for me was trying to turn me from my purpose by arguments and thus weaken my faith, I said to him, ‘Do you see this vessel—waterpot or whatever it may be? Can it be called by any other name than what it is?’ ‘No,’ he replied. ‘So also I cannot call myself by any other name than what I am—a Christian.’” So writes Perpetua, young, beautiful, well-educated, a noblewoman of Carthage, mother of an infant son and chronicler of the persecution of the Christians by Emperor Septimius Severus. Despite threats of persecution and death, Perpetua, Felicity (a slavewoman and expectant mother) and three companions, Revocatus, Secundulus and Saturninus, refused to renounce their Christian faith. For their unwillingness, all were sent to the public games in the amphitheater. There, Perpetua and Felicity were beheaded, and the others killed by beasts. Perpetua’s mother was a Christian and her father a pagan. He continually pleaded with her to deny her faith. She refused and was imprisoned at 22. In her diary, Perpetua describes her period of captivity: “What a day of horror! Terrible heat, owing to the crowds! Rough treatment by the soldiers! To crown all, I was tormented with anxiety for my baby.... Such anxieties I suffered for many days, but I obtained leave for my baby to remain in the prison with me, and being relieved of my trouble and anxiety for him, I at once recovered my health, and my prison became a palace to me and I would rather have been there than anywhere else.” Felicity gave birth to a girl a few days before the games commenced. Perpetua’s record of her trial and imprisonment ends the day before the games. “Of what was done in the games themselves, let him write who will.” The diary was finished by an eyewitness. Quote:
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O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help 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.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 94 (95) |
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| A call to worship |
| Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, let us acclaim God our salvation. Let us come before him proclaiming our thanks, let us acclaim him with songs. For the Lord is a great God, a king above all gods. For he holds the depths of the earth in his hands, and the peaks of the mountains are his. For the sea is his: he made it; and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down, bend the knee before the Lord who made us; for he himself is our God and we are his flock, the sheep that follow his hand. If only, today, you would listen to his voice: “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, on the day of Massah in the desert, when your fathers tested me – they put me to the test, although they had seen my works”. “For forty years they wearied me, that generation. I said: their hearts are wandering, they do not know my paths. I swore in my anger: they will never enter my place of rest”. 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. |
| Canticle | Tobit 13 |
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| God punishes and saves | |
| Blessed be God who lives for ever, whose kingdom is eternal: for he both punishes and takes pity, he leads down to the underworld, and rescues from perdition; no one can escape him. Give thanks to him before all nations, children of Israel: he scattered you among them, and there he has made known his greatness. Give glory to him before all who live: he is our Lord, our father, and our God for ever. He will punish you for your transgressions; but he will take pity on all your sufferings, and gather you together from all the nations among whom he scattered you. If you turn back to him with all your heart and soul – if you keep faithful to him – he will turn back to you and hide his face no longer. So now look at what he has done with you, and praise him with all your might. Bless the Lord of justice, and glorify the eternal King. In the land of my captivity I trust in him; I show his power and majesty to the sinful people. Turn back, sinners, and be upright in his presence – perhaps he will forgive you and show you his favour. I will rejoice in the Lord with all my soul, my soul will rejoice as long as it lives. Bless the Lord, all his chosen ones: all people, praise his greatness. Fill your days with joy and proclaim his 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. |
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| Psalm 32 (33) |
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| The Lord provides |
| Rejoice in the Lord, you just: it is good for the upright to praise him. Proclaim the Lord on the lyre, play his song on the ten-stringed harp. Sing a new song to the Lord, sing out your cries of triumph, for the word of the Lord is truly just, and all his actions are faithful. The Lord loves justice and right judgement; the earth is full of his loving kindness. By the Lord’s word the heavens were made, and all their array by the breath of his mouth. He gathered the seas as if in a bag, he stored up the depths in his treasury. Let every land fear the Lord, let all the world be awed at his presence. For he spoke, and they came into being; he commanded, and they were made. The Lord confounds the counsel of the nations, throws the thoughts of the peoples into confusion. But the Lord’s own counsel stands firm for ever, his thoughts last for all generations. Happy the nation whose lord is God, the people he has chosen as his inheritance. The Lord looks down from the heavens and sees all the children of men. From his dwelling-place he looks upon all who inhabit the earth. He moulded each one of their hearts, he understands all that they do. The king will not be saved by his forces; the abundance of his strength will not set the strong man free. Do not trust a horse to save you, whatever its swiftness and strength. For see, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, upon those who trust in his mercy, hoping he will save their souls from death and their bodies from hunger. Our souls praise the Lord, for he is our help and our protector, for our hearts rejoice in him, and we trust in his holy name. Lord, show us your loving kindness, just as we put our hope in you. 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 short Bible reading and responsory may follow here. |
| Canticle | Benedictus |
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| The Messiah and his forerunner | |
| Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption. He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of his servant David, as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones, his prophets through the ages: to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers, to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father, that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies – in uprightness and holiness before him, for all of our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path, to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven. Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death; to lead our feet in the path of peace. 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. |
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| Some short prayers may follow here, to offer up the day's work to God. |
| 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 that trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. |
| A concluding prayer may follow here. |
| May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life. |
| A M E N |
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March 07, 2006    Memorial of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs Old Calendar: St. Thomas Aquinas, confessor and doctor
The account of the martyrdom of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity forms one of the finest pages of the history of the first centuries of the Church. It shows us clearly the wonderful sentiments of these two women when they heard that they had been condemned to the wild beasts. Knowing their own weakness but relying on the strength of Christ, who was fighting with them, they went to their martyrdom as to a triumphant celebration, to which they were invited by Christ. They were exposed to the fury of wild beasts in the amphitheatre at Carthage, A.D. 203, and finally killed by the sword. Their names are still mentioned together in the Roman Canon of the Mass. Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar today was the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas which is now celebrated on January 28.
Sts. Perpetua and Felicity  Vibia Perpetua, a well-to-do young woman and mother, and Felicitas, a slave who gave birth to a child three days before suffering a martyr's death, were catechumens. Against such prospective converts the persecution of Septimius Severus was particularly severe. These two holy women suffered death on the seventh of March in Carthage. The Breviary relates the following touching episode:
Now the day had arrived when they were to be thrown to the wild beasts. Felicitas began to be sorrowful because she feared she would have to wait longer than her companions. For eight months she had been pregnant and therefore, according to Roman law, could not be executed before the birth of the child. But the prayers of her fellow sufferers hastened her time and she gave birth to a baby girl. Finally, on the seventh of March, these heroic women were led into the amphitheatre and severely scourged. Then they were tossed about by an exceptionally wild cow, gored, and thrown to the ground. Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch. Patron: Perpetua — Cattle, death of children, martyrs. Felicity — Death of children; martyrs; sterility; to have male children; widows. Symbols: Perpetua — Wild cow; spiked ladder guarded by a dragon. Felicity — Seven swords; cauldron of oil and sword; sword with seven heads; eight palms. Things to Do:
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Praying Well Tuesday of the First Week of Lent Matthew 6:7-15 Introductory Prayer: My Lord and God, thank you for bringing me to this moment of prayer. Predispose my heart to hear and heed your holy word. Petition: Lord Jesus, teach me how to pray! 1. Surrendering in Trust Versus Controlling God. All cultures have felt the need to pray and communicate with the Divine. They have developed techniques to placate God. They seek to exercise some sort of control over his actions so as to obtain what they want but cannot attain on their own. Our own tendency is to approach God with the intention of gaining control over things. Too often our concept of a good spiritual life is merely one where things go our way. This is not the proper view of spiritual life. Jesus teaches the proper attitude. He teaches that only by a loving surrender to God, like a child in the arms of its Father, and expressing the truth about God and the human person, can we gain a healthy spiritual life. Prayer is not so much trying to convince God, as conquering the resistance of my own heart to God´s will. 3. God Will Bring Us As Far As We Desire. Our Father shows us that God places no limits on how much he is willing to give himself to us. He is willing to go as far as we desire in the path of our holiness and union with him. The result is that I need to live my life striving for the highest degree of perfection in my love for God. Our holiness is often compromised by the unconscious limits we place on holiness, on our love. Our growth in the spiritual life basically consists in eliminating the limits of our love, these limits being our self-love and all its manifestations. Dialogue with Christ: Lord Jesus, thank you for teaching me how to pray. Make my dispositions and sentiments like yours before the Heavenly Father. Resolution: I will remember that God is my most loving Father when I pray. |
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Is 55:10-11 / Mt 6:7-15 If someone were to ask us what God is like, most of us would speak in terms of a very dear Father who loved us so much that He sent His son to die for us. And we’d be right. But if that same person were to listen to our prayers, he might wonder if we were talking to the same God. Many of us pray as if God had been absent for quite awhile and needed to be brought up to date. Many of us also pray as if God were a miser or a hard-nosed policeman, who doesn’t much like us, who doesn’t really want to forgive us, and who certainly doesn’t want to give us what we need. So, as Jesus says in the gospel, we rattle on, we beg, plead, and implore, and we even resort to bribery: “Lord, if you’ll let me win this game, I’ll go to Mass every day for a month,” and so on. We project our own smallness and neediness on God, we shrink God down to our size, and then we try to manipulate Him! What an illusion and what waste of time! God already wants what’s best for us, and He’s long since promised to give us what we need - not necessarily what we want, but what we need! Our task in prayer is to trust that basic fact and to open our minds and hearts to God’s way of seeing things. God’s mind doesn’t need changing. Our minds and hearts do. They need to be reshaped into God’s likeness. So relax in the Lord. Trust His love for you, and let Him reshape your heart. Real contentment will be your reward. |
HOLDING HANDS AT THE OUR FATHER?
Our Father - In Heaven (Dr. Scott Hahn)
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Pray for A Voice in the Desert
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 Is this the reason Father Altier was silenced? |
Father Altier innocent of any impropriety About Father Altier and the Desert Voice Website A Statement from the Webmaster at Desert Voice|
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Most Reverend Harry J. Flynn Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA This action of the Archbishop is not related to any scandal We regret any inconvenience and humbly ask for your prayers. Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Most Reverend Harry J. Flynn |
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help 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.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 19 (20) |
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| Prayer for victory |
| May the Lord hear your prayer in the day of tribulation, may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help from his holy place; from Sion, may he extend his protection. May he remember every one of your sacrifices and find merit in your burnt-offerings. May he deal with you as your heart desires and bring all your plans to fulfilment. We will rejoice in your saving help, we will raise our banners in the name of God; may the Lord grant all your prayers. Now I know that the Lord keeps his anointed one safe: in his sanctuary in heaven he hears his prayer, and lends the support of his strong right hand. Some put their faith in chariots and some in horses, but we invoked the name of the Lord our God. They stumbled and fell, but we rose and we stand upright. Lord, keep the king safe, and hear our prayer whenever we call upon you. 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. |
| Psalm 20 (21) |
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| Thanksgiving for victory |
| Lord, the king will rejoice in your strength, he will triumph in your saving power. You have granted him his heart’s desire, you have not denied the wish that he spoke. For you showered him with blessings even before he asked for them. You have placed a crown of purest gold upon his head. He asked you for life, and you granted it to him, length of days for ever and for ever. Great is his glory through your help: you cover him with splendour and majesty. You lay a blessing upon him that will last for ever, you make him rejoice in joy before you. For the king hopes in the Lord, and through the kindness of the Most High he will not be shaken. Stand high above us, Lord, in your power; and we will sing and celebrate your might. 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. |
| Canticle | Apocalypse 4,5 |
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| The song of the redeemed | |
| You are worthy, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honour and power; for you made all things, and it is by your will that they existed and were created. You are worthy, Lord, to receive the book and open its seals, for you were killed, and with your blood you have ransomed people from every tribe and language and people and nation, and made them rulers and priests for God; and they will rule over the earth. The Lamb is worthy, who was killed, to receive power and riches and wisdom, strength and honour, glory and blessing. 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. |
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| A short Bible reading and responsory may follow here. |
| Canticle | Magnificat |
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| My soul rejoices in the Lord | |
| My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my salvation. For he has shown me such favour – me, his lowly handmaiden. Now all generations will call me blessed, because the mighty one has done great things for me. His name is holy, his mercy lasts for generation after generation for those who revere him. He has put forth his strength: he has scattered the proud and conceited, torn princes from their thrones; but lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel, he has remembered his mercy as he promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever. 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. |
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| 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 that trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. |
| A concluding prayer may follow here. |
| May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life. |
| A M E N |
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Tuesday, March 07, 2006 Meditation Psalm 34 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. (Psalm 34:15) Think about how a mother can look into the eyes of her baby with complete contentment and love. She simply marvels at this precious new life in her arms. What does the baby do? She looks back at mommy, drinking in the love she can see in her eyes. In our prayer today, let’s look into the eyes of our Heavenly Father. What do we see? Just as the baby can see mommy’s love, we can see the Father’s love as we gaze into his eyes. God is always available, never aloof, and continually attentive to our every call (Psalm 34:6). He is full of grace, covering us with the radiance of his presence when we turn our faces to him (34:5). He says, “I will have my angels encamped around you because I want to protect you” (34:7). He is mighty, watching every moment of our lives to deliver us from harm. He is the author of peace, removing all our fears as we bring them to him (34:4). He is merciful, lifting up our wounded spirits (34:19). He is our comforter, tenderly touching our hearts which have been broken through loss or harm (34:18). God is good, abounding in love, compassion, and steadfast kindness. Let us ponder such things! Though we are tempted to see only a reflection of our sin and weaknesses in his eyes, let’s ask him to tell us how he sees us. He looks upon us as his precious children, whom he created in love. He sees his plans to bless us unfolding in our families, churches, and neighborhoods. He sees people who can be filled with his presence. He sees children without shame, clamoring to sit close to their Father. He sees his children fall asleep in his peace, even in the midst of the difficult circumstances of life. He sees our excitement when his words in the Scriptures suddenly come alive. We belong to him. Heavenly Father, how wonderful you are! You see into every part of my life and care for me without hesitation. I love you. I trust you with my life. I am content to look at you and see all that you are, and all that you desire for me. Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15 |
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| Mt 6:7-15 | ||
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| # | Douay-Rheims | Vulgate |
| 7 | And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. For they think that in their much speaking they may be heard. | orantes autem nolite multum loqui sicut ethnici putant enim quia in multiloquio suo exaudiantur |
| 8 | Be not you therefore like to them for your Father knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask him. | nolite ergo adsimilari eis scit enim Pater vester quibus opus sit vobis antequam petatis eum |
| 9 | Thus therefore shall you pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. | sic ergo vos orabitis Pater noster qui in caelis es sanctificetur nomen tuum |
| 10 | Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. | veniat regnum tuum fiat voluntas tua sicut in caelo et in terra |
| 11 | Give us this day our supersubstantial bread. | panem nostrum supersubstantialem da nobis hodie |
| 12 | And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. | et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimisimus debitoribus nostris |
| 13 | And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen. | et ne inducas nos in temptationem sed libera nos a malo |
| 14 | For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences. | si enim dimiseritis hominibus peccata eorum dimittet et vobis Pater vester caelestis delicta vestra |
| 15 | But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences. | si autem non dimiseritis hominibus nec Pater vester dimittet peccata vestra |
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