Thursday 10 th november 2022
Pope St. Leo the Great
(- 461)
He was born in Etruria and became Pope in 440. He was a true shepherd and father of souls. He constantly strove to keep the faith whole and strenuously defended the unity of the Church. He left many doctrinal and spiritual writings behind and a number of them are included in the Office of Readings to this day. He died in 461.
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Sir 45: 30
The Lord established for him a covenant of peace, and made him the prince, that he might have the dignity of the priesthood for ever.
Collect
O God, who never allow the gates of hell to prevail against your Church, firmly founded on the apostolic rock, grant her, we pray, that through the intercession of Pope Saint Leo, she may stand firm in your truth and know the protection of lasting peace. 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 : Philemon 1:7-20
I am so delighted, and comforted, to know of your love; they tell me, brother, how you have put new heart into the saints. Now, although in Christ I can have no diffidence about telling you to do whatever is your duty, I am appealing to your love instead, reminding you that this is Paul writing, an old man now and, what is more, still a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I am appealing to you for a child of mine, whose father I became while wearing these chains: I mean Onesimus. He was of no use to you before, but he will be useful to you now, as he has been to me. I am sending him back to you, and with him – I could say – a part of my own self. I should have liked to keep him with me; he could have been a substitute for you, to help me while I am in the chains that the Good News has brought me. However, I did not want to do anything without your consent; it would have been forcing your act of kindness, which should be spontaneous. I know you have been deprived of Onesimus for a time, but it was only so that you could have him back for ever, not as a slave any more, but something much better than a slave, a dear brother; especially dear to me, but how much more to you, as a blood-brother as well as a brother in the Lord. So if all that we have in common means anything to you, welcome him as you would me; but if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, then let me pay for it. I am writing this in my own handwriting: I, Paul, shall pay it back – I will not add any mention of your own debt to me, which is yourself. Well then, brother, I am counting on you, in the Lord; put new heart into me, in Christ.
Psalm 145:7-10
R/ He is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God.
- It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever, who is just to those who are oppressed. It is he who gives bread to the hungry, the Lord, who sets prisoners free.
- It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind, who raises up those who are bowed down, the Lord, who protects the stranger and upholds the widow and orphan.
- It is the Lord who loves the just but thwarts the path of the wicked. The Lord will reign for ever, Zion’s God, from age to age.
Gospel Acclamation : 1P1:25
Alleluia, alleluia! The word of the Lord remains for ever: What is this word? It is the Good News that has been brought to you. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 17:20-25
Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was to come, Jesus gave them this answer, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God does not admit of observation and there will be no one to say, “Look here! Look there!” For, you must know, the kingdom of God is among you.’ He said to the disciples, ‘A time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man and will not see it. They will say to you, “Look there!” or, “Look here!” Make no move; do not set off in pursuit; for as the lightning flashing from one part of heaven lights up the other, so will be the Son of Man when his day comes. But first he must suffer grievously and be rejected by this generation.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Through the offerings made here, we pray, O Lord, graciously shed light on your Church, so that your flock may everywhere prosper and that under your governance the shepherds may become pleasing to your name. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Mt 16: 16,18
Peter said to Jesus: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus replied: You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.
Prayer after Communion
Be pleased, O Lord, we pray, to govern the Church you have nourished by this holy meal, so that, firmly directed, she may enjoy ever greater freedom and persevere in integrity of religion. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
“The Kingdom of God is among you” (Lk 17:21). The Kingdom of God is not some geographical place with set boundaries. This is the truth which Jesus reveals to us in the gospel text. The kingdom of God is a state of being or existence. That is why Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is among us or within us. Jesus is the sacrament of God’s Kingdom, and wherever the lordship of Christ is manifested, there is the Kingdom of God. Wherever the gospel values of truth, justice, love and peace reign, there also is the Kingdom of God. We are already having a foretaste of the kingdom if our lives are shaped by these gospel values.