Tuesday 27th September 2022
St. Vincent de Paul
(1581 – 1660)
He was born in Aquitaine and became a priest. He devoted his whole life to the service of the poor. He founded a congregation of priests for missionary work and with St Louise de Marillac, the Sisters of Charity.
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Lk 4: 18
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me and sent me to preach the good news to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted.
Collect
O God, who for the relief of the poor and the formation of the clergy endowed the Priest Saint Vincent de Paul with apostolic virtues, grant, we pray, that, afire with that same spirit, we may love what he loved and put into practice what he taught. 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.
First reading : Job 3:1-3,11-17,20-23
Job broke the silence and cursed the day of his birth. This is what he said: May the day perish when I was born, and the night that told of a boy conceived. Why did I not die new-born, not perish as I left the womb? Why were there two knees to receive me, two breasts for me to suck? Had there not been, I should now be lying in peace, wrapped in a restful slumber, with the kings and high viziers of earth who build themselves vast vaults, or with princes who have gold and to spare and houses crammed with silver. Or put away like a still-born child that never came to be, like unborn babes that never see the light. Down there, bad men bustle no more, there the weary rest. Why give light to a man of grief? Why give life to those bitter of heart, who long for a death that never comes,and hunt for it more than for a buried treasure? They would be glad to see the grave-mound and shout with joy if they reached the tomb. Why make this gift of light to a man who does not see his way, whom God baulks on every side?
Psalm 87:2-8
R/ Let my prayer come into your presence, O Lord.
- Lord my God, I call for help by day; I cry at night before you. Let my prayer come into your presence. O turn your ear to my cry.
- For my soul is filled with evils; my life is on the brink of the grave. I am reckoned as one in the tomb: I have reached the end of my strength.
- Like one alone among the dead; like the slain lying in their graves; like those you remember no more, cut off, as they are, from your hand.
- You have laid me in the depths of the tomb, in places that are dark, in the depths. Your anger weighs down upon me: I am drowned beneath your waves.
Gospel Acclamation : Ps118:36,29
Alleluia, alleluia! Bend my heart to your will, O Lord, and teach me your law. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 9:51-56
As the time drew near for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely took the road for Jerusalem and sent messengers ahead of him. These set out, and they went into a Samaritan village to make preparations for him, but the people would not receive him because he was making for Jerusalem. Seeing this, the disciples James and John said, ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?’ But he turned and rebuked them, and they went off to another village.
Prayer over the Offerings
O God, who enabled Saint Vincent to imitate what he celebrated in the divine mysteries, grant that by the power of this sacrifice we, too, may be transformed into an oblation acceptable to you. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Cf. Ps 106: 8-9
Let them thank the Lord for his mercy, his wonders for the children of men, for he satisfies the thirsty soul, and the hungry he fills with good things.
Prayer after Communion
Renewed by this heavenly Sacrament, O Lord, we implore, that just as we are prompted by Saint Vincent’s example to imitate your Son in his preaching of the Gospel to the poor, so, too, we may be sustained by his prayers. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
One can handle a disappointment better when one realizes that everything is a privilege. One of the most difficult things to do in relationships is to offer peace and friendship to those who do not want any form of contact with us. It is equally not easy to humble ourselves before those who want to have nothing to do with us, who do not even want to see us around. But what is our reaction to this? Do we hit back or ignore them; or do we try again? The outcome of every occasion of rejection will always depend on us. We must stay positive-minded, for calling down fire or thunder may not solve the issue, but may only close-up the little space which would have provided a little chance for a talk.