For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

KEYWORDS: catholic; lent; lk4; prayer; triduum;

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ Ping

Please FReepmail me to get on/off the Lenten Ping List.

Isaiah 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9

The herald of good tidings

[1] The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good tidings to the afflicted;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
[2] to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
[3] to grant to those who mourn in Zion —
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit;

[6] [B]ut you shall be called the priests of the Lord,
men shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;

[8] I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

[9] Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
and their offspring in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.

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

1-11. Into the air of great joy reflected in the previous hymn, the prophet inserts
this very important oracle about the new messenger (vv. 1-3). The rest of the
chapter is made up of three stanzas that celebrate the wonders of the holy city.
These can be seen in profound, spiritual renewal (vv. 4-7), perfect fulfillment of
the promises made to the ancient patriarchs (vv. 8-9), and joy-in-worship, com-
parable to that of a bridegroom and bride, or that of the farmer on seeing a rich
harvest (vv. 10-11).

The remarkable events and features of the city point to the time of the End, the
time of the Lord’s definitive, salvific intervention. In this context, these new things
are ultimate and definitive. Because in the New Testament the Church is called
“God’s building” (1 Cor 3:9), erected on the foundation of the apostles (1 Cor 3:
11), Christian tradition has seen the new, glorious Jerusalem as a symbol of the
Church that makes its way through this world and will be made manifest at the
end of time (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 756-757).

61:1-3 This very compact oracle depicts the eschatological messenger speaking
a soliloquy. It is one of the key passages in the book of Isaiah. It clearly has con-
nexions with the songs of the Servant, especially the second song (49:1-6). The
pouring out of the Spirit involves anointing, as in the case of the king (cf. 11:2)
and in that of the Servant of the Lord (42:1). But the messenger is more than a
king, more than a prophet, more than the community dwelling in the holy city in
the latter days. His mission is a dual one — to be a messenger and a comforter.
As a messenger, like a king’s ambassador in times of war, he brings good ti-
dings: he announces redemption for slaves, release for prisoners (cf. Jer 34:8,
17). His message proclaims a new order of things where there will be no need for
repression, and where concord and well-being will prevail. The “year of the Lord’s
favour” (v. 2) is similar to the jubilee year (cf. Lev 25:9-19) or the sabbatical year
(cf. Ex 21:2-11; Jer 34:14; Ezek 46:17) in the sense that it is a day chosen by
the Lord, and different from any other; but here it means the point at which God
shows himself to be most gracious and bestows definitive salvation (cf. 49:8). It
is also called the day of vengeance (v. 2) because on that day, essentially a day
of good news, the wicked, too, will receive their just deserts.

As a comforter he will bind up hearts broken by illness or misfortune, and give en-
couragement to those who weep and revive those who mourn in Zion. When the
comforter is the Lord or a messenger of his (cf. 40:1), one can expect him to re-
establish his people, to set things right, (the way they were at the beginning), to
renew the broken Covenant and re-establish institutions that had been disman-
tled, that is, bring about a situation where everything is in plentiful supply.

People who have reached rock bottom (the poor, prisoners, etc.) will be given a
place of honour on that day, and a wreath, perfume and a mantle of praise (v. 3).
In sacred texts of the post-exilic period, the concept of the “poor” (or “afflicted”:
cf. note m) already went beyond the social category of those least well off: it had
a religious connotation, meaning “the humble”, those who saw themselves as ha-
ving no value before God and who simply put their faith in his divine mercy. The
final definition of the “poor” will emerge in the Beatitudes (Mt 5:3-12).

In Jesus’ time, Jewish tradition, found in the targum or Aramaic translation of the
Bible, considered the messenger described here to be a prophet (and for that rea-
son it introduced this oracle with the words “Thus says the prophet”). So, when
Jesus reads this passage in the synagogue of Nazareth he points out that “today
the scripture has been fulfilled” (Lk 4:21) and that he is the prophet of whom Isai-
ah spoke. By doing so, he is saying that he is the Messiah, the Christ, the one
anointed by the Holy Spirit (cf. Is 11:2), not so much as a king but as a prophet
who proclaims salvation. Ever since then, Christian teaching sees Jesus as the
last messenger sent by the Holy Spirit: “The prophet presents the Messiah as
the one who comes in the Holy Spirit, the one who possesses the fullness of
this Spirit in himself and at the same time for others, for Israel, for all the nations,
for all humanity. The fullness of the Spirit of God is accompanied by many diffe-
rent gifts, the treasures of salvation, destined in a particular way for the poor and
suffering, for all those who open their hearts to these gifts — sometimes through
the painful experience of their own existence — but first of all through that interior
availability which comes from faith. The aged Simeon, the ‘righteous and devout
man’ upon whom ‘rested the Holy Spirit’, sensed this at the moment of Jesus’
presentation in the Temple, when he perceived in him the ‘salvation â€¦ prepared
in the presence of all peoples’ at the price of the great suffering — the Cross —
which he would have to embrace together with his Mother. The Virgin Mary, who
“had conceived by the Holy Spirit’, sensed this even more clearly, when she pon-
dered in her heart the “mysteries” of the Messiah, with whom she was associa-
ted” (Dominum et Vivficantem, 16).

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

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

From: Revelation 1:5-8

Address and Greeting

[5] And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the
ruler of kings on earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood [6] and made
us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for
ever and ever. Amen. [7] Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye
will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on
account of him. Even so. Amen.

[8] “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was
and who is to come, the Almighty.”

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

5-6. Three messianic titles taken from Psalm 89:28-38 are given a new meaning
in the light of fulfillment of Christian faith and applied to Jesus Christ. He is “the
faithful witness” of the fulfillment of God’s Old Testament promises of a Savior, a
son of David (cf. 2 Sam 7:14; Rev 5:5;), for it is Christ who has in fact brought a-
bout salvation. That is why, later on in the book, St John calls Jesus Christ “the
Amen” (Rev 3:4) — which is like saying that through what Christ did God has ra-
tified and kept his word; St John also calls him “Faithful and True” (Rev 19;11),
because God’s fidelity and the truth of his promises have been manifested in
Jesus. This is to be seen in the Resurrection, which made Jesus “the first-born
from the dead”, in the sense that the Resurrection constituted a victory in which
all who abide in him share (cf. Col 1:18). Christ is also “the ruler of kings on
earth” because he is Lord of the world: this will be clearly seen when he comes
a second time, but his dominion is already making itself felt because he has be-
gun to conquer the power of sin and death.

The second part of v. 5 and all v. 6 are a kind of paean in praise of Christ recalling
his great love for us as expressed in his words, “Greater love has no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Christ’s love for us
knows no bounds: his generosity led him to sacrifice his life by the shedding of
his blood, which redeemed us from our sins. There was nothing we could have
done to redeem ourselves. “All were held captive by the devil”, St Augustine com-
ments, “and were in the thrall of demons; but they have been rescued from that
captivity. The Redeemer came and paid the ransom: he shed his blood and with
it purchased the entire orb of the earth” (”Enarrationes in Psalmos”, 95, 5).

Not content with setting us free from our sins, our Lord gave us a share in his
kingship and priesthood. “Christ the Lord, high priest taken from among men (cf.
Heb 5:1-5), made the new people ‘a kingdom of priests to his God and Father’
(Rev 1:6; cf. 5:9-10). The baptized, by regeneration and the anointing of the Holy
Spirit, are consecrated to be a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, that through
all the works of Christian men and women they may offer spiritual sacrifices and
proclaim the perfection of him who has called them out of darkness into his mar-
velous light (cf. 1 Pet 2:4-10)” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 10).

7. Christ’s work is not finished. He has assembled his holy people on earth to
bring them enduring salvation, and he will be revealed in all his glory to the whole
world at the end of time. Although the text speaks in the present tense — “he is
coming with the clouds”—this should be understood as referring to the future: the
prophet was seeing future events as if they were actually happening (cf. Dan 7:
13). This will be the day of final victory, when those who crucified Jesus, “every
one who pierced him” (cf. Zech 12:10; Jn 19:37), will be astonished by the gran-
deur and glory of the crucified One. “The Sacred Scriptures inform us that there
are two comings of the Son of God—one when he assumed human flesh for our
salvation in the womb of a virgin; the other when he shall come at the end of the
world to judge all mankind [...]; and if, from the beginning of the world that day of
the Lord, on which he was clothed with our flesh, was sighed for by all as the
foundation of their hope of deliverance; so also, after the death and ascension
of the Son of God, we should make that other day of the Lord the object of our
most earnest desires, ‘awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of
our great God’ (Titus 2:13)” (”St Pius V Catechism”, I, 8, 2).

Commenting on this passage of the Apocalypse, St Bede says: “He who at his
first coming came in a hidden way and in order to be judged (by men) will then
come in a manifest way. (John) recalls these truths in order to help the Church
bear its suffering: now it is being persecuted by its enemies, later it will reign at
Christ’s side” (”Explanatio Apocalypsis”, 1, 1).

The joy of those who put their hope in this glorious manifestation of Christ will
contrast with the pains of those who reject God’s love and mercy to the very end.
“Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man co-
ming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Mt 24:30).

8. The coming of the Lord in glory, the climax of his dominion, is guaranteed by
the power of God, the absolute master of the world and its destiny. Alpha and
Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet; here they are used
to proclaim that God is the beginning and end of all things, of the world and of
history; he is present at all times — times past, present and future.

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

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

From: Luke 4:16-21

Jesus Preaches in Nazareth

[16] And He (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and He
went to the synagogue, as His custom was, on the Sabbath Day. And He stood
up to read; [17] and there was given to Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He
opened the book and found the place where it was written, [18] “The Spirit of the
Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the
blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, [19] to proclaim the acceptable
year of the Lord.” [20] And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant,
and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. [21] And
He began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
[22] And all spoke well of Him, and wondered at the gracious words which pro-
ceeded out of His mouth; and they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

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

16-30. For the Jews the Sabbath was a day of rest and prayer, as God comman-
ded (Exodus 20:8-11). On that day they would gather together to be instructed
in Sacred Scripture. At the beginning of this meeting they all recited the “She-
ma”, a summary of the precepts of the Lord, and the “eighteen blessings”. Then
a passage was read from the Book of the Law — the Pentateuch — and another
from the Prophets. The president invited one of those present who was well ver-
sed in the Scriptures to address the gathering. Sometimes someone would vo-
lunteer and request the honor of being allowed to give this address — as must
have happened on this occasion. Jesus avails Himself of this opportunity to in-
struct the people (cf. Luke 4:16ff), as will His Apostles later on (cf. Acts 13:5,
14, 42, 44; 14:1; etc.). The Sabbath meeting concluded with the priestly bles-
sing, recited by the president or by a priest if there was one present, to which
the people answered “Amen” (cf. Numbers 6:22ff).

18-21. Jesus read the passage from Isaiah 61:1-2 where the prophet announces
the coming of the Lord, who will free His people of their afflictions. In Christ this
prophecy finds its fulfillment, for He is the Anointed, the Messiah whom God has
sent to His people in their tribulation. Jesus has been anointed by the Holy Spirit
for the mission the Father has entrusted to Him. “These phrases, according to
Luke (verses 18-19), are His first messianic declaration. They are followed by the
actions and words known through the Gospel. By these actions and words Christ
makes the Father present among men” (Bl. John Paul II, “Dives In Misericordia”,
3).

The promises proclaimed in verses 18 and 19 are the blessings God will send
His people through the Messiah. According to Old Testament tradition and Je-
sus’ own preaching (cf. note on Matthew 5:3), “the poor” refers not so much to
a particular social condition as to a very religious attitude of indigence and humi-
lity towards God, which is to be found in those who, instead of relying on their
possessions and merits, trust in God’s goodness and mercy. Thus, preaching
good news to the poor means bringing them the “good news” that God has taken
pity on them. Similarly, the Redemption, the release, which the text mentions, is
to be understood mainly in a spiritual, transcendental sense: Christ has come to
free us from the blindness and oppression of sin, which, in the last analysis, is
slavery imposed on us by the devil. “Captivity can be felt”, St. John Chrysostom
teaches in a commentary on Psalm 126, “when it proceeds from physical ene-
mies, but the spiritual captivity referred to here is worse; sin exerts a more se-
vere tyranny, evil takes control and blinds those who lend it obedience; from this
spiritual prison Jesus Christ rescued us” (”Catena Aurea”). However, this pas-
sage is also in line with Jesus’ special concern for those most in need. “Similar-
ly, the Church encompasses with her love all those who are afflicted by human
misery and she recognizes in those who are poor and who suffer the image of
her poor and suffering Founder. She does all in her power to relieve their need
and in them she strives to serve Christ” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 8).

18-19. The words of Isaiah which Christ read out on this occasion describe very
graphically the reason why God has sent His Son into the world—to redeem men
from sin, to liberate them from slavery to the devil and from eternal death. It is
true that in the course of His public ministry Christ, in His mercy, worked many
cures, cast out devils, etc. But He did not cure all the sick people in the world,
nor did He eliminate all forms of distress in this life, because pain, which entered
the world through sin, has a permanent redemptive value when associated with
the sufferings of Christ. Therefore, Christ worked miracles not so much to re-
lease the people concerned from suffering, as to demonstrate that He had a
God-given mission to bring everyone to eternal salvation.

The Church carries on this mission of Christ: “Go therefore and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I
am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). These simple
and sublime words, which conclude the Gospel of St. Matthew, point out “the ob-
ligation to preach the truths of faith, the need for sacramental life, the promise of
Christ’s continual assistance to His Church. You cannot be faithful to our Lord if
you neglect these supernatural demands—to receive instruction in Christian faith
and morality and to frequent the Sacraments. It is with this mandate that Christ
founded His Church [...]. And the Church can bring salvation to souls only if she
remains faithful to Christ in her constitution and teaching, both dogmatic and
moral.

“Let us reject, therefore, the suggestion that the Church, ignoring the Sermon on
the Mount, seeks a purely human happiness on earth, since we know that her on-
ly task is to bring men to eternal glory in Heaven. Let us reject any purely natura-
listic view that fails to value the supernatural role of divine grace. Let us reject ma-
terialistic opinions that exclude spiritual values from human life. Let us equally re-
ject any secularizing theory which attempts to equate the aims of the Church
with those of earthly states, distorting its essence, institutions and activities into
something similar to those of temporal society” (St. J. Escriva, “In Love with the
Church”, 23 and 31).

18. The Fathers of the Church see in this verse a reference to the three persons
of the Holy Trinity: the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) of the Lord (the Father) is upon Me
(the Son); cf. Origen, “Homily 32”. The Holy Spirit dwelt in Christ’s soul from the
very moment of the Incarnation and descended visibly upon Him in the form of a
dove when He was baptized by John (cf. Luke 3:21-22).

“Because He has anointed Me”: this is a reference to the anointing Jesus re-
ceived at the moment of His Incarnation, principally through the grace of the hy-
postatic union. “This anointing of Jesus Christ was not an anointing of the body
as in the case of the ancient kings, priests and prophets; rather it was entirely
spiritual and divine, because the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him substan-
tially” (”St. Pius X Catechism”, 77). From this hypostatic union the fullness of all
graces derives. To show this, Jesus Christ is said to have been anointed by the
Holy Spirit Himself — not just to have received the graces and gifts of the Spirit,
like the saints.

19. “The acceptable year”: this is a reference to the jubilee year of the Jews,
which the Law of God (Leviticus 25:8) lays down as occurring every fifty years,
symbolizing the era of redemption and liberation which the Messiah would usher
in. The era inaugurated by Christ, the era of the New Law extending to the end
of the world, is “the acceptable year”, the time of mercy and redemption, which
will be obtained definitively in Heaven.

The Catholic Church’s custom of the “Holy Year” is also designed to proclaim
and remind people of the redemption brought by Christ, and of the full form it
will take in the future life.

20-22. Christ’s words in verse 21 show us the authenticity with which He
preached and explained the Scriptures: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled
in your hearing.” Jesus teaches that this prophecy, like the other main prophe-
cies in the Old Testament, refers to Him and finds its fulfillment in Him (cf. Luke
24:44ff). Thus, the Old Testament can be rightly understood only in the light of
the New — as the risen Christ showed the Apostles when He opened their minds
to understand the Scriptures (cf. Luke 24:45), an understanding which the Holy
Spirit perfected on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:4).

22-29. At first the people of Nazareth listened readily to the wisdom of Jesus’s
words. But they were very superficial; in their narrow-minded pride they felt hurt
that Jesus, their fellow-townsman, had not worked in Nazareth the wonders He
had worked elsewhere. They presume they have a special entitlement and they
insolently demand that He perform miracles to satisfy their vanity, not to change
their hearts. In view of their attitude, Jesus performs no miracle (His normal re-
sponse to lack of faith: cf., for example, His meeting with Herod in Luke 23:7-11);
He actually reproaches them, using two examples taken from the Old Testament
(cf. 1 Kings 17:9 and 2 Kings 5:14), which show that one needs to be well-dis-
posed if miracles are to lead to faith. His attitude so wounds their pride that they
are ready to kill Him. This whole episode is a good lesson about understanding
Jesus. We can understand Him only if we are humble and are genuinely resolved
to make ourselves available to Him.

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

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

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

Here are the readings for the morning Chrism Mass:

First reading
Isaiah 61:1-3,6,8-9 ©

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,

for the Lord has anointed me.

He has sent me to bring good news to the poor,

to bind up hearts that are broken;

to proclaim liberty to captives,

freedom to those in prison;

to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord,

a day of vengeance for our God,

to comfort all those who mourn and to give them

for ashes a garland;

for mourning robe the oil of gladness,

for despondency, praise.

But you, you will be named ‘priests of the Lord’,

they will call you ‘ministers of our God.’

I reward them faithfully

and make an everlasting covenant with them.

Their race will be famous throughout the nations,

their descendants throughout the peoples.

All who see them will admit

that they are a race whom the Lord has blessed.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 88(89):21-22,25,27 ©

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

I have found David my servant

and with my holy oil anointed him.

My hand shall always be with him

and my arm shall make him strong.

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

My truth and my love shall be with him;

by my name his might shall be exalted.

He will say to me: ‘You are my father,

my God, the rock who saves me.’

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

Second reading
Apocalypse 1:5-8 ©

Grace and peace to you from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the First-Born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. It is he who is coming on the clouds; everyone will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the earth will mourn over him. This is the truth. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’ says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.

Gospel Acclamation	Is61:1(Lk4:18)

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me.

He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor.

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Gospel	Luke 4:16-21 ©

Jesus came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,

for he has anointed me.

He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,

to proclaim liberty to captives

and to the blind new sight,

to set the downtrodden free,

to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, ‘This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.’

Here are the readings for the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper:

First reading
Exodus 12:1-8,11-14 ©

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:

‘This month is to be the first of all the others for you, the first month of your year. Speak to the whole community of Israel and say, “On the tenth day of this month each man must take an animal from the flock, one for each family: one animal for each household. If the household is too small to eat the animal, a man must join with his neighbour, the nearest to his house, as the number of persons requires. You must take into account what each can eat in deciding the number for the animal. It must be an animal without blemish, a male one year old; you may take it from either sheep or goats. You must keep it till the fourteenth day of the month when the whole assembly of the community of Israel shall slaughter it between the two evenings. Some of the blood must then be taken and put on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where it is eaten. That night, the flesh is to be eaten, roasted over the fire; it must be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. You shall eat it like this: with a girdle round your waist, sandals on your feet, a staff in your hand. You shall eat it hastily: it is a passover in honour of the Lord. That night, I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, man and beast alike, and I shall deal out punishment to all the gods of Egypt, I am the Lord! The blood shall serve to mark the houses that you live in. When I see the blood I will pass over you and you shall escape the destroying plague when I strike the land of Egypt. This day is to be a day of remembrance for you, and you must celebrate it as a feast in the Lord’s honour. For all generations you are to declare it a day of festival, for ever.”’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 115(116):12-13,15-18 ©

The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.

How can I repay the Lord

for his goodness to me?

The cup of salvation I will raise;

I will call on the Lord’s name.

The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.

O precious in the eyes of the Lord

is the death of his faithful.

Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;

you have loosened my bonds.

The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;

I will call on the Lord’s name.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfil

before all his people.

The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.

Second reading
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ©

This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’ Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.

Gospel Acclamation	Jn13:34

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

I give you a new commandment:

love one another just as I have loved you,

says the Lord.

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Gospel	John 13:1-15 ©

It was before the festival of the Passover, and Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. He had always loved those who were his in the world, but now he showed how perfect his love was.

They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from table, removed his outer garment and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘At the moment you do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘Never!’ said Peter ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus replied, ‘If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ said Simon Peter ‘not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!’ Jesus said, ‘No one who has taken a bath needs washing, he is clean all over. You too are clean, though not all of you are.’ He knew who was going to betray him, that was why he said, ‘though not all of you are.’

When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes again he went back to the table. ‘Do you understand’ he said ‘what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.’

Pray for Pope Francis.

It's time to kneel down and pray for our nation (Sacramental Marriage)

Perpetual Novena for the Nation (Ecumenical)

Prayers for The Religion Forum (Ecumenical)

7 Powerful Ways to Pray for Christians Suffering in the Middle East

Pray the Rosary!

Is This Bishop Right about the Rosary Conquering Boko Haram? [Catholic Caucus]
Why Boko Haram and ISIS Target Women
Report reveals scale of Boko Haram violence inflicted on Nigerian Catholics
Military evacuating girls, women rescued from Boko Haram
Echos of Lepanto Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Harm
After vision of Christ, Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Haram (Catholic Caucus)
Nigerian Bishop Says Christ Showed Him How to Beat Islamic Terror Group

Jesus, High Priest

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

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

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

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

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

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

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

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

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

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

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

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

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

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

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

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

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

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

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

5. Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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

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

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

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

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

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

The Luminous Mysteries or Mysteries of Light (Thursdays) see Rosarium Virginis Mariae
1. Jesus' Baptism in the Jordan (II Corinthians 5:21, Matthew 3:17 and parallels) [Spiritual fruit - Gratitude for the gift of Faith]
2. Jesus' self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana (John 2:1- 12) [Spiritual fruit - Fidelity]
3. Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with His call to conversion (Mark 1:15, Mark 2:3-13; Luke 7:47- 48, John 20:22-23) [Spiritual fruit - Desire for Holiness]
4. Jesus' Transfiguration (Luke 9:35 and parallels) [Spiritual fruit - Spiritual Courage]
5. Jesus' institution of the Eucharist, as the sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery. (Luke 24:13-35 and parallels, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25) [Spiritual fruit - Love of our Eucharistic Lord]

OR: