Oct 30, Office of Readings for Tuesday of the 30th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 615
Proper of Seasons: 446
Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 833

Christian Prayer:
Does not contain Office of Readings

Office of Readings for Tuesday in Ordinary Time

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 for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates;
Behold, the King of glory waits;
The King of kings is drawing near;
The Savior of the world is here!

O blest the land, the city blest,
Where Christ the Ruler is confessed!
O happy hearts and happy homes
To whom this King in triumph comes!

Redeemer, come, with us abide;
Our hearts to Thee we open wide;
Let us Thy inner presence feel;
Thy grace and love in us reveal.

“Lift up your heads ye mighty gates” by Gloucester Cathedral Choir; Words: George Weissel, 1642. Music: Psalmodia Evangelica, 1789.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Surrender to God, and he will do everything for you.

Psalm 37
The lot of the wicked and the good
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).

I

Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not envy those who do evil:
for they wither quickly like grass
and fade like the green of the fields.

If you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live in the land and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart’s desire.

Commit your life to the Lord,
trust in him and he will act,
so that your justice breaks forth like the light,
your cause like the noon-day sun.

Be still before the Lord and wait in patience;
do not fret at the man who prospers;
a man who makes evil plots
to bring down the needy and the poor.

Calm your anger and forget your rage;
do not fret, it only leads to evil.
For those who do evil shall perish;
the patient shall inherit the land.

A little longer–and the wicked shall have gone.
Look at his place, he is not there.
But the humble shall own the land
and enjoy the fullness of peace.

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. Surrender to God, and he will do everything for you.

Ant. 2 Turn away from evil, learn to do God’s will; the Lord will strengthen you if you obey him.

II

The wicked man plots against the just
and gnashes his teeth against him;
but the Lord laughs at the wicked
for he sees that his day is at hand.

The sword of the wicked is drawn,
his bow is bent to slaughter the upright.
Their sword shall pierce their own hearts
and their bows shall be broken to pieces.

The just man’s few possessions
are better than the wicked man’s wealth;
for the power of the wicked shall be broken
and the Lord will support the just.

He protects the lives of the upright,
their heritage will last for ever.
They shall not be put to shame in evil days,
in time of famine their food shall not fail.

But the wicked shall perish
and all the enemies of the Lord.
They are like the beauty of the meadows,
they shall vanish, they shall vanish like smoke.

The wicked man borrows without repaying,
but the just man is generous and gives.
Those blessed by the Lord shall own the land,
but those he has cursed shall be destroyed.

The Lord guides the steps of a man
and makes safe the path of the one he loves.
Though he stumble he shall never fall
for the Lord holds him by the hand.

I was young and now I am old,
but I have never seen the just man forsaken
nor his children begging for bread.
All the day he is generous and lends
and his children become a blessing.

Then turn away from evil and do good
and you shall have a home for ever;
for the Lord loves justice
and will never forsake his friends.

The unjust shall be wiped out for ever
and the children of the wicked destroyed.
The just shall inherit the land;
there they shall live forever.

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. Turn away from evil, learn to do God’s will; the Lord will strengthen you if you obey him.

Ant. 3 Wait for the Lord to lead, then follow in his way.

III

The just man’s mouth utters wisdom
and his lips speak what is right;
the law of his God is in his heart,
his steps shall be saved from stumbling.

The wicked man watches for the just
and seeks occasion to kill him.
The Lord will not leave him in his power
nor let him be condemned when he is judged.

Then wait for the Lord, keep to his way.
It is he who will free you from the wicked,
raise you up to possess the land
and see the wicked destroyed.

I have seen the wicked triumphant,
towering like a cedar of Lebanon.
I passed by again; he was gone.
I searched; he was nowhere to be found.

See the just man, mark the upright,
for the peaceful man a future lies in store,
but sinners shall all be destroyed.
No future lies in store for the wicked.

The salvation of the just comes from the Lord,
their stronghold in time of distress.
The Lord helps them and delivers them
and saves them: for their refuge is in him.

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

You proclaimed the poor to be blessed, Lord Jesus, for the kingdom of heaven is given to them. Fill us generously with your gifts. Teach us to put our trust in the Father and to seek his kingdom first of all rather than imitate the powerful and envy the rich.

Ant. Wait for the Lord to lead, then follow in his way.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

Teach me goodness and holy wisdom.
– For I have put my trust in your guidance.

READINGS

First reading
From the book of Wisdom
3:1-19
The just will possess the kingdom

The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.

In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with the elect.

But the wicked shall receive a punishment to match their thoughts,
since they neglected justice and forsook the Lord.
For he who despises wisdom and instruction is doomed.
Vain is their hope, fruitless are their labors,
and worthless are their works.
Their wives are foolish and their children wicked;
accursed is their brood.

Yes, blessed is she who, childless and undefiled,
knew not transgression of the marriage bed;
she shall bear fruit at the visitation of souls.
So also the eunuch whose hand wrought no misdeed,
who held no wicked thoughts against the Lord–
For he shall be given fidelity’s choice reward
and a more gratifying heritage in the Lord’s temple.
For the fruit of noble struggles is a glorious one;
and unfailing is the root of understanding.

But the children of adulterers will remain without issue,
and the progeny of an unlawful bed will disappear.
For should they attain long life, they will be held in no esteem,
and dishonored will their old age be at last;
While should they die abruptly, they have no hope
nor comfort in the day of scrutiny;
for dire is the end of the wicked generation.

RESPONSORY Wisdom 3:6, 7, 9

The Lord tested his chosen ones like gold tested by fire; he has received them as a sacrificial offering; at the time of his visitation men shall see,
– For grace and mercy shall be given to his chosen ones.

Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall live with him in love.
– For grace and mercy shall be given to his chosen ones.

Second reading
From a letter to the Corinthians by Saint Clement, pope
God is faithful in his promises

Consider, beloved, how the Lord keeps reminding us of the resurrection that is to come, of which he has made the Lord Jesus Christ the first fruits by raising him from the dead. Let us look, beloved, at the resurrection that occurs at its appointed time. Day and night show us a resurrection; the night lies in sleep, day rises again; the day departs, night takes its place. Let us think about the harvest; how does the sowing take place, and in what manner? The sower goes out and casts each seed onto the ground. Dry and bare, they fall into the earth and decay. Then the greatness of the Lord’s providence raises them up again from decay, and out of one many are produced and yield fruit.

In this hope, then, let our hearts be bound fast to him who is faithful in his promises and just in his judgments. He forbade us to tell lies; still less will he himself tell a lie. Nothing is impossible for God except to tell a lie. Then let our faith in him be awakened; let us reflect that everything is close to him.

By the word of his power he established all things, and by his word he can reduce them to ruin. Who shall say to him: What have you done? Who shall stand up against the power of his might? He will accomplish everything when he wills and as he wills, and nothing that he has decreed shall pass away. All things stand in his presence, and nothing lies hidden from his counsel, if the heavens tell forth the glory of God, the firmament reveals the work of his hands, day speaks to day, and night shares knowledge with night; there are no words, no speeches, and their voices are not heard.

Since all things lie open to his eyes and ears, let us hold him in awe and rid ourselves of impure desires to do works of evil, so that we may be protected by his mercy from the judgment that is to come. Which of us can escape his mighty hand? What world will give asylum to one who deserts him? Where will I go, where will I hide from your face? If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go to the limits of the earth, your right hand is there; if I lie down in the deep, your spirit is there. Where, then, can one go, where can one escape to, from the presence of him whose hands embrace the universe?

Let us then approach him in holiness of soul, raising up to him hands pure and undefiled, out of love for our good and merciful Father who made us a chosen portion for himself.

RESPONSORY Esther 13:9, 10, 11

O Lord, ruler of all creation, the whole universe is subject to your authority, and no one can oppose your will.
– Free us for the sake of your love.

You fashioned the heavens and the earth and every wonderful thing under heaven.
– Free us for the sake of your love.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Almighty
ever-living God,
increase our faith,
hope and charity,
and make us love what you command,
so that we may merit what you promise.
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 (only added when praying in community)

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

Oct 30, Morning Prayer for Tuesday of the 30th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 654
All from the Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 874

Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 618
All from the Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 838

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 689
All from the Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 802

Morning Prayer for Tuesday in Ordinary Time

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 for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

This day God gives me strength of high heaven
Sun and moon shining, flame in my hearth
Flashing of lightning, wind in its swiftness
Deeps of the ocean, firmness of earth.

This day God sends me Strength as my guardian
Might to uphold me, Wisdom as guide.
Your eyes are watchful, Your ears are listening
Your lips are speaking, Friend at my side.

God’s way is my way, God’s shield is round me
God’s host defends me, saving from ill.
Angels of heaven drive from me always
All that would harm me, stand by me still.

Rising I thank You, Mighty and Strong One
King of Creation, Giver of Rest.
Firmly confessing Threeness of Persons
Oneness of Godhead, Trinity blest.

Text attributed to St. Patrick, 372-466; Adapted by James Quinn, S.J. (Jesuit), born 1919 ©1969; Tune: Bunessan 55 54 D
“This Day God Gives Me” performed by Valerie Ann Knies is available from Amazon.com.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Lord, send forth your light and your truth.

Psalm 43
Longing for the temple
I have come into the world to be its light (John 12:46).

Defend me, O God, and plead my cause
against a godless nation.
From deceitful and cunning men
rescue me, O God.

Since you, O God, are my stronghold,
why have you rejected me?
Why do I go mourning,
oppressed by the foe?

O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.

And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God.

Why are you cast down, my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise him still,
my savior and my God.

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 Father, source of everlasting light, send forth your truth into our hearts and pour over us the brightness of your light.

Ant. Lord, send forth your light and your truth.

Ant. 2 Lord, keep us safe all the days of our life.

Canticle – Isaiah 38:10-14, 17-20
Anguish of a dying man and joy in his restoration
I am living, I was dead… and I hold the keys of death (Revelation 1:17-18).

Once I said,
“In the noontime of life I must depart!
To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned
for the rest of my years.”

I said, “I shall see the Lord no more
in the land of the living.
No longer shall I behold my fellow men
among those who dwell in the world.”

My dwelling, like a shepherd’s tent,
is struck down and borne away from me;
you have folded up my life, like a weaver
who severs the last thread.

Day and night you give me over to torment;
I cry out until the dawn.
Like a lion he breaks all my bones;
day and night you give me over to torment.

Like a swallow I utter shrill cries;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes grow weak, gazing heaven-ward:
O Lord, I am in straits; be my surety!

You have preserved my life
from the pit of destruction,
when you cast behind your back
all my sins.

For it is not the nether world that gives you thanks,
nor death that praises you;
Neither do those who go down into the pit
await your kindness.

The living, the living give you thanks,
as I do today.
Fathers declare to their sons,
O God, your faithfulness.

The Lord is our savior;
we shall sing to stringed instruments
in the house of the Lord
all the days of our life.

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. Lord, keep us safe all the days of our life.

Ant. 3 To you, O God, our praise is due in Zion.

Psalm 65
Solemn thanksgiving
Zion represents heaven (Origen).

To you our praise is due
in Zion, O God.
To you we pay our vows,
you who hear our prayer.

To you all flesh will come
with its burden of sin.
Too heavy for us, our offenses,
but you wipe them away.

Blessed is he whom you choose and call
to dwell in your courts.
We are filled with the blessings of your house,
of your holy temple.

You keep your pledge with wonders,
O God our savior,
the hope of all the earth
and of far distant isles.

You uphold the mountains with your strength,
you are girded with power.
You still the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves
and the tumult of the peoples.

The ends of the earth stand in awe
at the sight of your wonders.
The lands of sunrise and sunset
you fill with your joy.

You care for the earth, give it water,
you fill it with riches.
Your river in heaven brims over
to provide its grain.
And thus you provide for the earth;

you drench its furrows,
you level it, soften it with showers,
you bless its growth.

You crown the year with your goodness.
Abundance flows in your steps,
in the pastures of the wilderness it flows.

The hills are girded with joy,
the meadows covered with flocks,
the valleys are decked with wheat.
They shout for joy, yes, they sing.

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

Lord God, hope of all the earth, hear the humble prayer of your children as we sing your praises. Pour out your Spirit on us so that our lives may bear fruit abundantly.

Ant. To you, O God, our praise is due in Zion.

READING 1 Thessalonians 5:4-5

You are not in the dark, brothers, that the day should catch you off guard, like a thief. No, all of you are children of light and of the day. We belong neither to darkness nor to night.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

RESPONSORY

Lord, listen to my cry; all my trust is in your promise.
– Lord, listen to my cry; all my trust is in your promise.

Dawn finds me watching, crying out for you,
– all my trust is in your promise.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– Lord, listen to my cry; all my trust is in your promise.

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

Ant. Lord, save us from the hands of all who hate us.

Luke 1:68 – 79
The Messiah and his forerunner

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

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. Lord, save us from the hands of all who hate us.

INTERCESSIONS

Let us bless our Savior who enlightens the world by his resurrection. Let us humbly beg him:
– Keep us, Lord, on your path.

Lord Jesus, we honor your resurrection in our morning prayer,
the hope of your glory enlightens our day.
– Keep us, Lord, on your path.

Accept, Lord, our prayers and petitions,
as the firstfruits of our day.
– Keep us, Lord, on your path.

Grant that we may progress today in your love,
and that all things may work together for our good and the good of all.
– Keep us, Lord, on your path.

Make our light shine so brightly before men,
that seeing our good works they may give glory to the Father.
– Keep us, Lord, on your path.

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.

Concluding Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ,
true light of the world,
you guide all mankind to salvation.
Give us the courage, strength and grace
to build a world of justice and peace,
ready for the coming of that kingdom.
You live and reign for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

Oct 30, Midday Prayer for Tuesday of the 30th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 659
All from the Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 881 (Midday)

Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 623
All from the Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 845 (Midday)

Midday Prayer for Tuesday using Current Psalmody

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 for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
Whose trust, ever childlike, no cares could destroy,
Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,
Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.

Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
Whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe,
Be there at our labors, and give us, we pray,
Your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day.

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
Your hand swift to welcome, your arms to embrace,
Be there at our homing, and give us we pray,
Your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
Whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,
Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
Your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.

“Lord of All Hopefulness”; Words: Jan Struther (20thC); Music: Slane Irish ballad melody
Lord of All Hopefulness by Saint Clement’s Choir is available from Amazon.com

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 During my pilgrimage, I have kept your commandments.

Psalm 119
VII (Zain)

Remember your word to your servant
by which you gave me hope.
This is my comfort in sorrow
that your promise gives me life.

Though the proud may utterly deride me
I keep to your law.
I remember your decrees of old
and these, Lord, console me.

I am seized with indignation at the wicked
who forsake your law.
Your commands have become my song
in the land of exile.

I think of your name in the night-time
and I keep your law.
This has been my blessing,
the keeping of your precepts.

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

Lord you raise us up from our lowliness by giving us the hope of eternal life. May we always serve you in this our pilgrimage and come to enjoy the happiness of our home with you.

Ant. During my pilgrimage, I have kept your commandments.

Ant. 2 God will deliver his people from bondage, and bring us home rejoicing.

Psalm 53
The foolishness of sinners
We all have sinned and are deprived of God’s glory (Romans 3:23).

The fool has said in his heart:
“There is no God above.”
Their deeds are corrupt, depraved;
not a good man is left.

God looks down from heaven
on the sons of men
to see if any are wise,
if any seek God.

All have left the right path,
depraved, every one.
There is not a good man left,
no, not even one.

Will the evil-doers not understand?
They eat up my people
as though they were eating bread:
they never pray to God.

See how they tremble with fear
without cause for fear:
for God scatters the bones of the wicked.
They are shamed; God rejects them.

O that Israel’s salvation might come from Zion!
When God delivers his people from bondage,
then Jacob will be glad and Israel rejoice.

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 Father, apart from you there is nothing true, nothing holy on earth. Dismiss our sins, and give us strength in our weakness so that all who believe in your Son may rejoice in his glory.

Ant. God will deliver his people from bondage, and bring us home rejoicing.

Ant. 3 God is my helper and my strong support.

Psalm 54
Plea for help
The prophet prays that God will deliver him from the malice of his enemies (Cassian).

O God, save me by your name;
by your power, uphold my cause.
O God, hear my prayer;
listen to the words of my mouth.

For proud men have risen against me,
ruthless men seek my life.
They have no regard for God.
But I have God for my help.
The Lord upholds my life.

I will sacrifice to you with willing heart
and praise your name for it is good:
for you have rescued me from all my distress
and my eyes have seen the downfall of my foes.

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

We humbly ask you, Father, to save us from every evil and trial on earth, that we may seek with our hearts and deeds our Lord and helper, Jesus Christ, whom we look to in the heavens.

Ant. God is my helper and my strong support.

READING 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

The body is one and has many members, but all the members, many though they are, are one body; and so it is with Christ. It was in one Spirit that all of us, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, were baptized into one body. All of us have been given to drink of the one Spirit.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

Holy Father, keep us true to yourself.
– That we may be perfectly one.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Lord God,
you made known to Peter
your desire to bring all nations to salvation.
Let all our work give you praise
and carry out your loving plan.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION (only added when praying in community)

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

Oct 30, Evening Prayer for Tuesday of the 30th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 668
All from the Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 885

Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 632
All from the Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 849

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 694
All from the Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 807

Evening Prayer for Tuesday in Ordinary Time

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 for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

For the fruit of all creation,
thanks be to God.
gifts bestowed on every nation,
thanks be to God.
For the plowing, sowing, reaping,
silent growth while we are sleeping,
future needs in earth’s safekeeping,
thanks be to God.

In the just reward of labor,
God’s will is done.
In the help we give our neighbor,
God’s will is done.
In our worldwide task of caring
for the hungry and despairing,
in the harvests we are sharing,
God’s will is done.

For the harvests of the Spirit,
thanks be to God.
For the good we all inherit,
thanks be to God.
For the wonders that astound us,
for the truths that still confound us,
most of all that love has found us,
thanks be to God.

Words: Fred Pratt Green © 1970; Music: Ar hyd y nos, All through the night, East Acklam; Meter: 84 84 88 84
“For the Fruits of His Creation” performed by Wells Cathedral Choir is available from Amazon.com.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 You cannot serve both God and mammon.

Definition of Mammon: Mammon is a term that was used to describe riches, avarice, and worldly gain in Biblical literature. It was personified as a false god in the New Testament. The term is often used to refer to excessive materialism or greed as a negative influence.

Psalm 49
Emptiness of riches
It is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:23).

I

Hear this, all you peoples,
give heed, all who dwell in the world,
men both low and high,
rich and poor alike!

My lips will speak words of wisdom.
My heart is full of insight.
I will turn my mind to a parable,
with the harp I will solve my problem.

Why should I fear in evil days
the malice of the foes who surround me,
men who trust in their wealth,
and boast of the vastness of their riches?

For no man can buy his own ransom,
or pay a price to God for his life.
The ransom of his soul is beyond him.
He cannot buy life without end,
nor avoid coming to the grave.

He knows that wise men and fools must both perish
and leave their wealth to others.
Their graves are their homes for ever,
their dwelling place from age to age,
though their names spread wide through the land.

In his riches, man lacks wisdom:
he is like the beasts that are destroyed.

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. You cannot serve both God and mammon.

Ant. 2 Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, says the Lord.

II

This is the lot of those who trust in themselves,
who have others at their beck and call.
Like sheep they are driven to the grave,
where death shall be their shepherd
and the just shall become their rulers.

With the morning their outward show vanishes
and the grave becomes their home.
But God will ransom me from death
and take my soul to himself.

Then do not fear when a man grows rich,
when the glory of his house increases.
He takes nothing with him when he dies,
his glory does not follow him below.

Though he flattered himself while he lived:
“Men will praise me for all my success,”
yet he will go to join his fathers,
who will never see the light any more.

In his riches, man lacks wisdom:
he is like the beasts that are destroyed.

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

Make our mouths speak your wisdom, Lord Jesus, and help us to remember that you became man and redeemed us from death that we might merit the beauty of your light.

Ant. Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, says the Lord.

Ant. 3 Adoration and glory belong by right to the Lamb who was slain.

Canticle — Revelation 4:11; 5:9, 10, 12
Redemption hymn

O Lord our God, you are worthy
to receive glory and honor and power.

For you have created all things;
by your will they came to be and were made.

Worthy are you, O Lord,
to receive the scroll and break open its seals.

For you were slain;
with your blood you purchased for God
men of every race and tongue,
of every people and nation.

You made of them a kingdom,
and priests to serve our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power and riches,
wisdom and strength,
honor and glory and praise.

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. Adoration and glory belong by right to the Lamb who was slain.

READING Romans 3:23-25a

All men have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God. All men are now undeservedly justified by the gift of God, through the redemption wrought in Christ Jesus. Through his blood, God made him the means of expiation for all who believe. He did so to manifest his own justice.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

RESPONSORY

I shall know the fullness of joy, when I see your face, O Lord.
– I shall know the fullness of joy, when I see your face, O Lord.

Fulfillment and endless peace in your presence,
– when I see your face, O Lord.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– I shall know the fullness of joy, when I see your face, O Lord.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. Do great things for us, O Lord, for you are mighty, and holy is your name.

Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children 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. Do great things for us, O Lord, for you are mighty, and holy is your name.

INTERCESSIONS

Let us praise Christ, the shepherd and guardian of our souls, who loves and protects his people. Placing our hope in him, we cry out:
– Protect your people, Lord.

Eternal shepherd, protect our bishop,
and all the shepherds of your Church.
– Protect your people, Lord.

Look kindly on those who suffer persecution,
hasten to free them from all adversity.
– Protect your people, Lord.

Have mercy on the needy, Lord,
provide food for the hungry.
– Protect your people, Lord.

Enlighten all legislators,
to enact laws in the spirit of wisdom and justice.
– Protect your people, Lord.

Come to the aid of our departed brothers and sisters,
whom you have redeemed with your blood,
make them worthy to enter your wedding feast.
– Protect your people, Lord.

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.

Concluding Prayer

Father,
yours is the morning
and yours is the evening.
Let the Sun of Justice, Jesus Christ,
shine for ever in our hearts
and draw us to that light
where you live in radiant glory.
We ask 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.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

Oct 30, Night Prayer for Tuesday of the 30th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours:
Vol I, Page 1178
Vol II, Page 1635
Vol III, Page 1278
Vol IV, Page 1242

Christian Prayer:
Page 1044

Night Prayer for Tuesday

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 for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

Examination of conscience:

We are called to have a clear conscience toward God and toward men, in our hearts and in our minds, in our actions and inactions. To do so, it is vital that we examine our conscience daily and to ask for God’s mercy as we fall short and to ask for His strength to do better.

Lord Jesus,
you have shown us the way to the Father:
Lord, have mercy.
– Lord, have mercy.

Lord Jesus,
you have given us the consolation of the truth:
Christ, have mercy.
– Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus,
you are the good shepherd,
leading us into everlasting life:
Lord, have mercy.
– Lord, have mercy.

HYMN

The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want;
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil;
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the
Lord forever.

Psalm 23 by Melinda Kirigin-Voss
“Psalm 23? performed by Melinda Kirigin-Voss is available from Amazon.com

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Do not hide your face from me; in you I put my trust.

Psalm 143
Prayer in distress
Only by faith in Jesus Christ is a man made holy in God’s sight. No observance of the law can achieve this (Galatians 2:16).

Lord, listen to my prayer:
turn your ear to my appeal.
You are faithful, you are just; give answer.
Do not call your servant to judgment
for no one is just in your sight.

The enemy pursues my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me dwell in darkness
like the dead, long forgotten.
Therefore my spirit fails;
my heart is numb within me.

I remember the days that are past:
I ponder all your works.
I muse on what your hand has wrought
and to you I stretch out my hands.
Like a parched land my soul thirsts for you.

Lord, make haste and answer;
for my spirit fails within me.
Do not hide your face
lest I become like those in the grave.

In the morning let me know your love
for I put my trust in you.
Make me know the way I should walk:
to you I lift up my soul.

Rescue me, Lord, from my enemies;
I have fled to you for refuge.
Teach me to do your will
for you, O Lord, are my God.
Let your good spirit guide me
in ways that are level and smooth.

For your name’s sake, Lord, save my life;
in your justice save my soul from distress.

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. Do not hide your face from me; in you I put my trust.

READING 1 Peter 5:8-9a

Stay sober and alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, solid in your faith.

RESPONSORY

Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

You have redeemed us, Lord God of truth.
– I commend my spirit.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

CANTICLE OF SIMEON

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Luke 2:29-32
Christ is the light of the nations and the glory of Israel

Lord, now you let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:

my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:

a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.

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. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Concluding Prayer

Lord,
fill this night with your radiance.
May we sleep in peace and rise with joy
to welcome the light of a new day in your name.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

BLESSING

May the all-powerful Lord grant us a restful night and a peaceful death.
– Amen.

Antiphon or song in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Information: St. Alphonsus Rodriguez

Feast Day:	October 30
Born:	July 25, 1532, Segovia
Died:	October 31, 1617
Canonized:	6 September, 1887
Major Shrine:	Majorca

Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez

Feast Day: October 30
Born: 1532 :: Died: 1617

Alphonsus was born at Segovia in Spain. He was one of eleven children and his father was a wealthy wool merchant. When he was a teenager, Alphonsus and his older brother were sent to study in a Jesuit college. But a year later his father died and he had to return home.

He took over the family business of buying and selling wool when he was twenty-three. Three years later, he got married to a good woman named Mary Suarez. God blessed him and his wife Mary with two sons and a daughter.

But in five years God took away two children and his wife. He then moved in with his sisters who helped him to raise his little son. But when Alphonsus was nearly forty, that son died too.

All this heartbreak did not weaken his trust in God and Alphonsus now began to pray even harder, he did severe penance, and received the sacraments more than he had ever done.

Alphonsus gave away all that he had and decided to return to the religious life that he had given up when he was young. He wanted to join the Society of Jesus but he was told that he must study first.

So he went back to school. Little boys made fun of him. He had to beg for his food, as he didn't have any money left. At last, he was accepted as a brother and was made door-keeper at a Jesuit college.

"That brother is not a man - he is an angel!" his superior said years later. Priests who knew him for forty years never heard him say or do anything wrong and they all knew how kind and obedient he was.

Once, all the chairs in the house were borrowed for a Forty Hour Devotion. They forgot to return Brother Alphonsus' chair and only returned it the following year but he did not complain.

He suffered his physical illness and pain gladly for Jesus. Then, just before he died, he was filled with peace and joy. He kissed his crucifix and looked lovingly at the other priests.

He died in 1617 with the name of Jesus on his lips.

Catholic

Almanac:

Tuesday, October 30
Liturgical Color: Green
On this day in 1630, the first Mass was said in what is now New York City. A small chapel was erected on the island of Manhattan with the aid of the Catholic governor. A Jesuit school soon followed the chapel.

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: October 30, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Almighty ever-living God, increase our faith, hope and charity, and make us love what you command, so that we may merit what you promise. 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.

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

A Prayer For Our National Elections

LIBRARY

Ordinary Time: October 30th

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week of Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: St. Alphonsus Rodriguez (Hist)

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez was a cloth merchant in Segovia, Spain, he was married and had children. Following on the death of his wife and children, he lost his shop, and due to financial misfortune, became a thoroughly confused person. He prayed and was inspired to become a Jesuit. He was found too old to study for the priesthood and too weak to take up a lay brother’s work but the Provincial boldly admitted him, remarking that he was receiving him for his holiness. He proved right. A little while after his first vows he was appointed porter or door-keeper of the Jesuit college at Majorca and for the next forty years he remained at the same post. It was patient humble work for hours on end, daily walking up and down, taking messages of visitors and students and distributing alms to the poor. He was an influence for good to the hundreds who met him. He spent his time in quiet prayer and meditation, and towards the end he lost even his memory and could only say, “Jesus, Mary”. On October 31, 1617, surrounded by his Jesuit brothers he died. Historically today is his feast.

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez was born in Spain in 1531, of a well-to-do commercial household of Segovia, the third of eleven children. When Alphonsus was eleven years old, he and his older brother were sent to a Jesuit college which had just been founded. He had already manifested great joy in serving the Jesuits when they had given a mission in Segovia and lodged in his father’s country home; now he rejoiced in the one year of study he was able to undertake, before the death of his father interrupted these pursuits. His brother, after certain affairs were settled, returned to school, but Alphonsus was obliged to remain at home, destined one day to replace his father.

He accepted this lot and in 1557 married a virtuous wife; they were blessed with a daughter and two sons. But God intended to sanctify this soul of predilection by great and heroic sufferings. Only five years later he was already a widower, with only one little boy of three years remaining for him to raise. He believed this calamity must have come upon him for his sins, and he developed a great horror of sin; he asked God to let him bear even the torments of hell here below, rather than fall into a single mortal sin. He offered himself entirely to God, for whatever He might desire of him. Then he began a life of severe penance. A year later his mother died. He looked at his beautiful and innocent child, the only bond which still attached him to the earth; and he prayed to God that if ever that child should offend Him, to take him at once. His prayer was granted before long.

Alphonsus left Segovia and went to Valencia, where a Jesuit priest he had loved and admired earlier in Segovia was then stationed. This priest helped him to attain a loving confidence in God. He was thirty-eight years old when he requested his admission to the Order, but insufficient instruction and his unstable health, affected by his austerities, were regarded as obstacles. For two years he was employed as a preceptor of the young by two families of that city; finally, when he renewed his request for admission, he was accepted.

His religious life was spent primarily as a porter in a Jesuit college on the island of Majorca; his interior life was a succession of moral tortures, borne with perfect humility and love of God. The demons would not leave alone this holy man who made it his joy to take upon himself all the most humble and fatiguing offices. He cast himself, as it were, into the abyss of the love of Jesus Crucified. Twice he was thrown down a cement staircase by the adjured enemies of man’s salvation; but his love for his crucified Saviour was proof against all such attempts on his virtue. He was afflicted with various illnesses, which plunged him into a sort of preliminary purgatory but did not change his life of effacement and service.

In 1591 he was already 60 years old when he received an order to sleep thereafter in a bed; until then he had contented himself with a few hours of sleep on a table or in a chair. He served a chapel where the elderly or infirm fathers celebrated late Masses. He was told to write the story of his life, which work he began with hesitation in 1604. He was not spared the trial of being misunderstood and underestimated by a new Superior, but he found only joy and consolation in the public reproaches he received. He wrote in his book of maxims: “In the difficulties which are placed before me, why should I not act like a donkey? When one speaks ill of him — the donkey says nothing. When he is mistreated — he says nothing. When he is forgotten — he says nothing. When no food is given him — he says nothing. When he is made to advance — he says nothing. When he is despised — he says nothing. When he is overburdened — he says nothing... The true servant of God must do likewise, and say with David: Before You I have become like a beast of burden.”

The story of his association in his old age with Saint Peter Claver, the novice whose future mission he saw by a vision and foretold to him, is written into the annals of the Church in letters of gold; the two Saints were canonized together by Pope Leo XIII after more than two centuries.

Saint Alphonsus died in 1617; already he was known and loved as a Saint by the population. In 1825 he was beatified, and in 1888 Pope Leo XIII closed the inquiries after two new miracles had been verified, and proceeded to the ceremonies of canonization in Rome. The memory of Saint Alphonsus remains in benediction in the Order and in the hearts of those who know the value of the Cross of Christ and its perpetuity in His Mystical Body.

Excerpted from Biography of Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, text by Abbé L. Tabourier, in Un Saint pour chaque jour du mois

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Ephesians 5:21-33

30th Week in Ordinary Time

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church.” (Ephesians 5:25)

This is one of those readings that is used very often in wedding celebrations. When a man and woman enter into the Sacrament of Marriage, the bonds they are forging are not just between themselves. They are also asking Jesus to join them and bring his own grace and blessing into their relationship. Whether they know it or not, every married couple has Jesus at their side, ready to give them all the grace they need to love and serve each other day in and day out.

On another level, this reading applies to all of us, married or single, lay or religious or ordained. After all, we are all members of the Church, the “bride” Jesus laid down his life for! Like a newlywed couple, we may experience a brief time of deep excitement when we first discover the Lord, but Jesus’ commitment to us is a long-term one. In baptism he bound himself to us with everlasting bonds of love. He made a vow to love us, honor us, and be faithful to us all the days of our lives. He promised to be with us in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. And because he is God, we can be sure he will be faithful to his promises!

As with any marriage, we will all have days when Jesus doesn’t feel all that close to us. These are the times when we need to exercise our faith in a deeper way and recall Jesus’ promises to us. “Wait a minute,” we can tell ourselves. “This Christianity thing is far more than how I’m feeling right now. There’s a sacrament—powerful, deep, and guaranteed—undergirding my faith. It’s something Jesus himself instituted, and he’s not one to go back on his promises. He loves me, and I’ll just have to wait for him to show me that love again.”

Remember this whenever you feel distant from the Lord. Jesus loved you enough to give up his life for you. He treasured you enough to bind himself to you forever. He’s not about to give up on you now!

“Thank you, Jesus, for your faithfulness to your promises—for your faithfulness to me! Help me to be just as faithful to you.”

Psalm 128:1-5; Luke 13:18-21

Marriage = One Man and One Woman

Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for October 30, 2012:

Add generosity to the classic qualities that make marriages last (along with commitment, communication, common values/spirituality). Research has found that generosity (giving good things freely and abundantly) brings significant marital happiness. Be generous today.

Vultus Christi

Be nothing and await all from God

By

Father Mark

on October 30, 2012 7:48 AM |

I wanted to translate this text of Mother Mectilde de Bar in time for the feast of Christ the King last Sunday. Her teaching on the Kingdom of God seemed to me very appropriate to the mystery of the feast. Time, however, was lacking and only this morning was I able to take a few minutes to do the translation. I find it an extraordinary text. My own commentary is in italics.

Hold on to Nothing

In a profound silence, O my soul, bear up under all our interior situations, and let all things be brought to stillness within us. Neither in ourselves, nor in any one of these things, nor in creatures do we find a motive to vaunt ourselves. Allow all things to flow back down into their source.

Hold on to nothing for ourselves, and even after having received many demonstrations of predilection and of grace, let us conduct ourselves as having received nothing. Remain like one dead, in a perfect detachment, without going over such things and without elevating ourselves, as if we didn't even know that the hand of God touched us to show us mercy. Let us not pin our lives on the gifts of God and on His lights.

Mother Mectilde's teaching is austere; some would even find it harsh. She doesn't want souls to fluctuate according to their feelings in prayer, nor to become febrile in times of consolation. Allow all things, she says, to flow back down into their source, like water off a duck's back. She doesn't like souls who are greedy and grasping for spiritual experiences. Her expression, "remain like one dead" may shock some, but it comes straight from the Desert Fathers who teach that whether one is praised or denigrated, lifted up or cast down, one should react as would a dead man, that is, with indifference.

Pure Capacity for God's Good Pleasure

Our life must be sustained by the divine good pleasure. God must be the soul of our soul; He is the one who must give us life and cause us to act. Apart from the life we receive from Him, there is no purity of life in us, everything inside us is corruption. Instead we must lose everything and bring to nought (1) all that we are in ourselves, (2) all that we are with regard to creatures, (3) and all that we are with regard to the gifts of God. Before arriving at the self-emptying (of which I am speaking), one must lose these three things; and then, my soul, thou shalt be nothing more than a pure capacity for God's good pleasure. He will make of thee, and do in thee, whatever He pleases. Oh, what a great thing it is to be nothing and to await all from God!

It is impossible to find God while searching for ourselves. It is necessary to make one's way in darkness in order to find the light, to lose oneself in order to find oneself (cf. Matthew 16:25), to die in order to live, to empty oneself out in order for God to reign.

Mother Mectilde's doctrine is that of Saint John of the Cross. I have had occasion to suggest, elsewhere, that she is the Benedictine John of the Cross. It is her last sentence in the above section that seemed to jump off the page and lodge itself in my heart: "Oh, what a great thing it is to be nothing and to await all from God!" Saint Jeanne Jugan said something very similar.

One Who Holds onto Something Is Not Poor

Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs (Matthew 5:3). What is poverty of spirit? It is a soul stripped of creatures and of herself. When the Spirit of God takes charge of a soul who abandons herself to Him, He makes that soul poor. And why? Because God cannot reign in a soul filled and occupied by things. One who holds onto something is not poor; but one who dies continuously to every sensible thing; who suffers the lack of every human help; who willingly practises poverty even in outward things; who empties his spirit of creatures and takes rest in no created thing, however excellent it may be; who does not welcome any thought of self aggrandizement, nor the praises of men; who, in a continual attitude of simplicity towards God, desires Him alone; who wants to know nothing apart from Him; who looks for nothing outside of Him; who does not attach herself to the gifts and graces she has received, and claims no good thing as her own; who remains in her own littleness and makes it the place of her rest: this soul is ready to have full possession of the kingdom of God that, according to the Gospel, is conceded only to the violent (cf Matthew 11:12). In fact, only those carry it away who know how to overcome themselves and overcome their senses and their own passions.

Nothing namby-pamby here! Mother Mectilde is a direct descendant of the Desert Fathers. Her language is that of Saint John Cassian and of Saint John Climacus. At the same time, she is imbued with a Benedictine sense of compassion for the weak. Like Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, she is content to remain in her own littleness and make it the place of her rest.

Made Poor by the Operation of the Spirit of God

Furthermore, what does the kingdom of God mean? And how are we to understand it? The kingdom of God in us is nothing other than God who lives and reigns in the soul that He possesses as His divine palace. He is the master therein. He is the sovereign. He formulates its laws, and to Him all things are in submission. The expression "kingdom of God" means that God alone is found to occupy the soul, and nothing shines through her but Him alone. The soul is so perfectly submitted to Him in all things that her own will disappears, and nothing more remains except the one desire to see God living in her more and more, even unto the complete loss of herself in Him. This is the one single desire and the only richness left in her. But even if the soul is still animated by this desire, this thing happens in so gentle and tranquil a way that the desire passes from God into her, and from her into God, in a movement that is incessant and yet without any agitation or disturbance. Happy the soul who possesses this celestial beatitude, who is poor in spirit by the operation of the Spirit of God, rendered poor by grace, and not reduced to poverty by the misfortunes of life.

Ode to Poverty

Let us love this precious poverty. Let us choose it upon solicitation by the Holy Spirit, and let us say: "O sacred poverty, thou formest in me the reign of God Himself! I choose thee and I want to receive thee into my heart. I will that Jesus should take delight in seeing His reign established therein, and that all that I am should be filled full of Him. No longer do I want any creature [that binds itself to me], nor projects, nor programs, nor desires or attachment to any created thing. No longer do I want to possess anything, not even any little thing. O blessed poverty, O sacred indigence! Blessed will that day be in which I shall see myself perfectly stripped of all things, and in which, seeing myself bereft of all, shall be clothed by thee, in thee, and for thee! O adorable Jesus! Thou alone art the only one who is truly poor, and in whom God reigns sovereign without any opposition! Let us speak of Thy poverty, O my Saviour! A poor life, a hidden life with suffering, a life of unspeakable privations."

This is a veritable ode to poverty. One hears in Mother Mectilde's words echoes of her Franciscan experience as an Annonciade. One understands that even long after her profession as a Benedictine, the Friars Minor regretted her loss to the Seraphic family. One understands also that, as a Benedictine, she had close spiritual friendships with several sons of Saint Francis. For Mother Mectilde, however, the true icon of evangelical poverty is the Sacred Host. It is the Eucharistic Jesus, hidden, stripped of every appearance of His humanity and of the glory of His divinity, silent, and immobile on the corporal, in the tabernacle, and in the monstrance, who reveals that poverty is the horizon over which dawns the splendour of the kingdom.

Miraculously Poor in the Divine Eucharist

Jesus was poor in the virginal womb of His glorious Mother, poor in the manger, poor during the flight into Egypt, poor in the house of Joseph, poor and penitent* in the desert, poor in His life of preaching, poor upon the Cross, poor in His death, and miraculously poor in the divine Eucharist. This extraordinary poverty gives to God, His Father, an infinite glory and causes Him to reign in a perfect manner. And this same kingdom of God is in us, but only one who is perfectly poor may come to know it. Those whose hearts are not pure will never possess it. It is revealed only to the poor and to little ones (cf. Matthew 11:25), who are no longer anything in themselves, and who are buried in littleness and in nothingness. When all things are so consumed in the soul, then does Jesus rise up, like a splendid sun in the heaven of the soul -- that heaven is the innermost place of the spirit and of its substance -- and there He shines, filling its interior with glory, with joy, with love, and with ineffable blessings.

* Some readers may be startled by Mother Mectilde's application of the adjective "penitent" to Our Lord Jesus Christ. She is using an expression that was not uncommon among the spirituals of her day, particularly in reference to Our Lord's forty day fast in the desert, during which He, though sinless, took upon Himself, like the scapegoat, the sins of sinners and assumed, in their place, the penance incumbent upon them.

Regnum Christi

The Kingdom of Heaven Infiltrates and Enriches Everything It Touches

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 13:18-21

Jesus said, "What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a person took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches." Again he said, "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you with a faith that never seeks to test you. I trust in you, hoping to learn to accept and follow your will, even when it does not make sense to the way that I see things. May my love for you and those around me be similar to the love you have shown to me.

Petition: Lord, help me to value and seek the invisible strength of the Kingdom of Heaven.

1. The Kingdom Grows from Small Beginnings: Jesus tells us two parables to help us understand the Kingdom of Heaven. What does he want us to know about it? When he speaks about the mustard seed, he is emphasizing that something that seems inconsequential can grow to become something of great importance. Although the mustard seed is so small as to be nearly invisible, it grows into a small tree, big enough for birds to make a nest in. Its usefulness goes beyond its own needs. It can give shelter and support to others.

2. You Don’t Have to Understand Biology to Be a Baker: In the parable of the leaven, something similar happens. Leaven has a mysterious property. Although it seems to be nothing special itself, even a small amount of it, mixed with dough, causes the dough to rise. The Jews listening to Jesus didn’t know why. They didn’t know that the leaven contained yeast spores that under the right conditions of heat, moisture and nutrients, would begin to grow and produce carbon dioxide gas (which is what makes the dough rise). It was mysterious to them, what power the leaven contained, but they knew that just a little of it would transform a much larger quantity of dough, so that the resulting bread would not just be matzo, but a much larger quantity of light, airy bread that is much nicer to eat. In a similar way, grace transforms the ordinary acts of our day, making them much nicer in God’s eyes.

3. The Church Transforms Societies: Both these parables apply to the Kingdom of Heaven. As he spoke, Jesus had before him just a few apostles who still didn’t grasp his message very well. The Kingdom of Heaven was so small as to be invisible, like the mustard seed. But it was destined to have incredible growth, such that it would begin to help all humanity and not just those who belonged to it. When he speaks of the leaven, he refers not just to the growth that the Kingdom of Heaven would undergo throughout the centuries, but to the transformation it would accomplish in the societies it entered. We see this in the world today. The Church has not only grown, but it has also come to affect many who are not in the Church and to transform society. The apostles, who did not see the Kingdom very clearly, had a hard time accepting this. We have seen much more, and yet we still doubt and hesitate.

Conversation with Christ: Dear Jesus I have seen so much of your Kingdom that I should believe without hesitation, yet I still worry about the final triumph of your Kingdom. Help me to have a greater faith, not only to believe what you said, but to help the spread of the Kingdom continue to come true in my society and culture.

Resolution: I will try to be more optimistic about the Church in society, seeing how it has influenced so much of what is best in our society – love for the poor, love for enemies etc. Knowing that it is inspired by the Holy Spirit, I will accept that as it has happened so many times in the past, just when things look bleakest for the Church, God turns the tables, and it enters into another Golden Age. Didn’t John Paul II predict that we were just launching out into the New Age of Evangelization?

A Reflection on the Kingdom

by CE Editor on October 30, 2012 ·

Reflection

• Along the road that leads him to Jerusalem Jesus is surrounded by “thousands” of persons (11, 29) who crowd around him. The reason for such attraction on the part of the crowds is the Word of Jesus. In chapter 12 one can notice how the persons who listen to his Word alternate: the disciples (12, 1-12), the crowd (vv.13-21), the disciples (vv.22-53), the crowds (vv.54-59). Instead the scandal of the death is the dominating theme of Luke 13, 1-35. In the first part it is spoken about the death of all (vv.1-9), in the second part instead, of the death of Jesus (vv.31-35); to the death avoided for sinners because their conversion is expect6ed. But there is another theme that is put together with the dominating one: the salvation given to men. The cure of the woman who was bent, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had held during eighteen years, is liberated by Jesus. And in the centre of this chapter 13 we find two parables that constitute the whole or overall theme: the Kingdom of God compared to the “mustard seed” and to the “leaven or yeast”.

• The Kingdom of God is similar to a mustard seed. Such a seed is very common in Palestine and particularly close to the Lake of Galilee. It is especially known because it is particularly small. In Luke 17, 6, Jesus uses such an image to express the hope that he has on the disciples that they have a minimum faith: “If you had faith like a mustard seed…”. This parable which is very simple confronts two diverse moments of the story of the seed: the moment when it is sown in the earth (the modest beginnings) and that in which it becomes a tree (the final miracle). Therefore, the purpose of this account is to narrate the extraordinary growth of a seed that is thrown in one’s own garden, and to this follows an amazing growth, it becomes a tree. Like this seed the Kingdom of God also has its story. The kingdom of God is the seed thrown into the garden, the place that in the New Testament is the place of the agony and the burial of Jesus (Jn 18, 1.26; 19, 41); then follows the moment of growth and concludes with becoming a tree open to all.

• The Kingdom of God is similar to yeast. Yeast is put into three measures of flour. In the Hebrew culture yeast was considered a factor of corruption so much so that it was eliminated from their houses, in order not to contaminate the feast at Passover which began precisely with the week of the unleavened dough. In the ears of the Jews the use of this negative element, to describe the Kingdom of God, was a reason to be disturbed. But the reader is able to discover the convincing force: it is sufficient to put a very small quantity of yeast in three measures of flour in order to get a big amount of dough. Jesus announces that this yeast, hidden or that has disappeared in three measures of flour, after a certain amount of time, leavens the whole dough.

• The effects of the text on the reader. What do these two parables communicate to us? The Kingdom of God compared by Jesus to a seed that becomes a tree, is to be put close to the story of God as a story of his Word: it is hidden in human history and it is growing; Luke thinks of the Word of God (the Kingdom of God in our midst) that it is already developing but it has not as yet become a tree. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are supporting this growth of the Word. The image of yeast completes the frame of the seed. The yeast is the Gospel that is working in the world, in the ecclesial communities, in the individual believers.

Personal questions
• Are you aware that the Kingdom of God is present in our midst and that it grows mysteriously and extends itself in the history of every person, and in the Church?

• The Kingdom is a humble reality, hidden, poor and silent, immersed between the competition and pleasures of life. Have you understood from the two parables, that you will not be able to get a glimpse of the Kingdom if you do not have an attitude of humble and silent listening?

Concluding Prayer

How blessed are all who fear Yahweh,

who walk in his ways!

Your own labours will yield you a living,

happy and prosperous will you be. (Ps 128,1-2)

This reflection has been brought to you by the Carmelites at ocarm.org.

One Bread, One Body

<< Tuesday, October 30, 2012 >>

Ephesians 5:21-33
View Readings

Psalm 128:1-5

Luke 13:18-21

CRUSHED AND BROKEN

"To what shall I compare the reign of God? It is like yeast which a woman took to knead into three measures of flour until the whole mass of dough began to rise." —Luke 13:20-21

How does God's kingdom come, and how is His will done? Jesus tells us in today's Gospel that the wheat flour is permeated by the crushed and broken yeast spread throughout the whole batch. That's how His kingdom comes. Our faith must permeate the whole batch of our lives, not just compartments of our life here and there. Our Christianity must be alive and continuously operating at home, at work, in the grocery store, and in the most thorny, complicated areas of life. The Lord sends us daily opportunities to be salt, light, and yeast in the world (see Mt 5:13-16).

The wheat and grapes used to make the bread and wine for the Eucharist are also crushed and broken (see Jn 12:24). In their brokenness, they become the bread and wine, which, when consecrated, become the Body, Blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ (see 1 Cor 11:23ff). Likewise, the most crushing and perplexing of crosses form us into faithful Christians.

Let Jesus take control of your life. Then let other people in, to see what God can do when you allow Him to take those crushing blows of life and turn them to good (Rm 8:28). Jesus "kneads" us because he "needs" us to be His living witnesses in the world now.

Prayer: Father, strengthen me into surrendering everything to You.

Promise: "Christ loved the Church. He gave Himself up for her to make her holy." —Eph 5:25-26

Praise: Teresa and her husband joyfully surrender to the authority of the Church in her teachings on artificial birth control.

Prayer to End Abortions

Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life, and for the lives of all my brothers and sisters. I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion, yet I rejoice that You have conquered death by the Resurrection of Your Son. I am ready to do my part in ending abortion. Today I commit myself NEVER to be silent, NEVER to be passive, NEVER to be forgetful of the unborn. I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement, and never to stop defending life until all my brothers and sisters are protected, and our nation once again becomes a nation with liberty and justice not just for some, but for all, through Christ our Lord. Amen!

I’m a fiscal conservative and a social libertarian. I can’t tell you how much citing god and religion hurts our cause to elect Romney. I respect your personal beliefs but, please don’t use them as a means to convince an undecided voter....really turns them off.

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 13
18.	He said therefore: To what is the kingdom of God like, and whereunto shall I resemble it?	Dicebat ergo : Cui simile est regnum Dei, et cui simile æstimabo illud ?	ελεγεν δε τινι ομοια εστιν η βασιλεια του θεου και τινι ομοιωσω αυτην
19.	It is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and cast into his garden, and it grew and became a great tree, and the birds of the air lodged in the branches thereof.	Simile est grano sinapis, quod acceptum homo misit in hortum suum, et crevit, et factum est in arborem magnam : et volucres cæli requieverunt in ramis ejus.	ομοια εστιν κοκκω σιναπεως ον λαβων ανθρωπος εβαλεν εις κηπον εαυτου και ηυξησεν και εγενετο εις δενδρον μεγα και τα πετεινα του ουρανου κατεσκηνωσεν εν τοις κλαδοις αυτου
20.	And again he said: Whereunto shall I esteem the kingdom of God to be like?	Et iterum dixit : Cui simile æstimabo regnum Dei ?	παλιν ειπεν τινι ομοιωσω την βασιλειαν του θεου
21.	It is like to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.	Simile est fermento, quod acceptum mulier abscondit in farinæ sata tria, donec fermentaretur totum.	ομοια εστιν ζυμη ην λαβουσα γυνη ενεκρυψεν εις αλευρου σατα τρια εως ου εζυμωθη ολον

18. Then said he, to what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?
19. It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.
20. And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?
21. It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

GLOSS. While His adversaries were ashamed, and the people rejoiced, at the glorious things that were done by Christ, He proceeds to explain the progress of the Gospel under certain similitudes, as it follows, Then said he, to what is the kingdom of God like? It is like a grain of mustard seed, &c.

AMBROSE; In another place, a grain of mustard seed is introduced where it is compared to faith. If then the mustard seed is the kingdom of God, and faith is as the grain of mustard seed; faith is truly the kingdom of heaven, which is within us. A grain of mustard seed is indeed a mean and trifling thing, but as soon as it is crushed, it pours forth its power. And faith at first seems simple, but when it is buffeted by adversity, pours forth the grace of its virtue. The martyrs are grains of mustard seed. They have about them the sweet odor of faith, but it is hidden. Persecution comes; they are smitten by the sword; and to the farthest boundaries of the whole world they have scattered the seeds of their martyrdom. The Lord Himself also is a grain of mustard seed; He wished to be bruised that we might see that we are a sweet savor of Christ. He wishes to be sown as a grain of mustard seed, which when a man takes he puts it into his garden. For Christ was taken and buried in a garden, where also he rose again and became a tree, as it follows, And it waxed into a great tree. For our Lord is a grain when He is buried in the earth, a tree when He is lifted up into the heaven. He is also a tree overshadowing the world, as it follows, And the fowls of the air rested in his branches; that is, the heavenly powers and they whoever (for their spiritual deeds) have been thought worthy to fly forth. Peter is a branch, Paul is a branch, into whose arms, by certain hidden ways of disputation, we who were afar off now fly, having taken up the wings of the virtues. Sow then Christ in your garden; a garden is truly a place full of flowers, wherein the grace of your work may blossom; and the manifold odor of your different virtues be breathed forth. Wherever is the fruit of the seed, there is Christ.

CYRIL Or else; The kingdom of God is the Gospel, through which we gain the power of reigning with Christ. As then the mustard seed is surpassed in size by the seeds of other herbs, yet so increases as to become the shelter of many birds; so also the life-giving doctrine was at first in the possession only of few? but afterwards spread itself abroad.

BEDE; Now the man, is Christ, the garden, His Church, to be cultivated by His discipline. He is well said to have taken the grain, because the gifts which He together with the Father gave to us from His divinity, He took from His humanity. But the preaching of the Gospel grew and was disseminated throughout the whole world. It grows also in the mind of every believer, for no one is suddenly made perfect. But in its growth, not like the grass, (which soon withers,) but it rises up like the trees. The branches of this tree are the manifold doctrines, on which the chaste souls, soaring upwards on the wings of virtue, build and repose.

THEOPHYL. Or, any man receiving a grain of mustard seed, that is, the word of the Gospel, and sowing it in the garden of his soul, makes it a great tree, so as to bring forth branches, and the birds of the air (that is, they who soar above the earth) rest in the branches, (that is, in sublime contemplation.) For Paul received the instruction of Ananias as it were a small grain, but planting it in his garden, he brought forth many good doctrines, in which they dwell who have high heavenly thoughts, as Dionysius, Hierotheus, and many others.

He next likens the kingdom of God to leaven, for it follows, And again he says, if Whereunto shall I liken it? It is like to leaven, &c.

AMBROSE; Many think Christ is the leaven, for leaven which is made from meal, excels its kind in strength, not in appearance. So also Christ (according to the fathers) shone forth above others equal in body, but unapproachable in excellence. The Holy Church therefore represents the type of the woman, of whom it is added, Which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, fill the whole was leavened.

BEDE; The Satum is a kind of measure in use in the province of Palestine, holding about a bushel and a half.

AMBROSE; But we are the meal of the woman which hide the Lord Jesus in the secrets of our hearts, until the heat of heavenly wisdom penetrates our innermost recesses. And since He says it was hid in three measures, it seems fitting that we should believe the Son of God to have been hid in the Law, veiled in the Prophets, manifested in the preaching of the Gospel. Here however I am invited to proceed farther, because our Lord Himself has taught us, that the leaven is the spiritual teaching of the Church. Now the Church sanctifies with its spiritual leaven the man who is renewed in body, soul, and spirit, seeing that these three are united in a certain equal measure of desire, and there breathes forth a complete harmony of the will. If then in this life the three measures abide in the same person until they are leavened and become one, there will be hereafter an incorruptible communion with them that love Christ.

THEOPHYL. Or, for the woman you must understand the soul; but the three measures, its three parts, the reasoning part, the affections, and the desires. If then any one has hidden in these three the word of God, he will make the whole spiritual, so as not by his reason to lie in argument, nor by his anger or desire to be transported beyond control, but to be conformed to the word of God.

AUG. Or, the three measures of meal are the race of mankind, which was restored out of the three sons of Noah. The woman who hid the leaven is the wisdom of God.

EUSEBIUS; Or else, by the leaven our Lord means the Holy Spirit, the Sower proceeding (as it were) from the seed, which is the word of God. But the three measures of meal, signify the knowledge of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which the woman, that is, Divine wisdom, and the Holy Spirit, impart.

BEDE; Or, by the leaven He speaks of love, which kindles and stirs up the heart; the woman, that is, the Church, hides the leaven of love in three measures, because she bids us love God with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our strength. And this until the whole is leavened, that is, until love moves the whole soul into the perfection of itself, which begins here, but will be completed hereafter.

Catena Aurea Luke 13

Christ the Vine

Gabriele Ebert, iconographer

October 30, 2012

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Eph 5:21-33

or Eph 5:2a, 25-32

Responsorial Psalm Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

Gospel Lk 13:18-21

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez

Daily Readings for: October 30, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

LIBRARY

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week of Ordinary Time

Meditation: Ephesians 5:21-33

Be nothing and await all from God

A Reflection on the Kingdom

One Bread, One Body

CRUSHED AND BROKEN

October 30, 2012

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Eph 5:21-33

or Eph 5:2a, 25-32

Responsorial Psalm Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

Gospel Lk 13:18-21

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez

Daily Readings for: October 30, 2012(Readings on USCCB website)

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

LIBRARY

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week of Ordinary Time

Meditation: Ephesians 5:21-33

Be nothing and await all from God

A Reflection on the Kingdom

One Bread, One Body

CRUSHED AND BROKEN

Daily Readings for: October 30, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)