SAINT EPHRAEM THE DEACON
Saint Ephraem was a poet and a theologian. He is famous not only for the beauty of expression of his homilies but also for his hymns, which have spread far beyond his native Syriac church and are in use in East and West alike.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 24: 16, 18
Turn to me and have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am alone and poor. See my lowliness and suffering and take away all my sins, my God.
Collect
O God, whose providence never fails in its design, keep from us, we humbly beseech you, all that might harm us and grant all that works for our good. 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: Tobit 11: 5-17
Anna was sitting, watching the road by which her son would come. She was sure at once it must be he and said to the father, “Here comes your son, with his companion.” Raphael said to Tobias before he reached his father, “I give you my word that your father’s eyes will open. You must put the fish’s gall to his eyes; the medicine will smart and will draw a filmy white skin off his eyes. And your father will be able to see and look on the light.” The mother ran forward and threw her arms round her son’s neck. “Now I can die,” she said “I have seen you again.” And she wept. Tobit rose to his feet and stumbled across the courtyard through the door. Tobias came on towards him (he had the fish’s gall in his hand). He blew into his eyes and said, steadying him, “Take courage, father!” With this he applied the medicine, left it there a while, then with both hands peeled away a filmy skin from the corners of his eyes. Then his father fell on his neck and wept. He exclaimed, “I can see, my son, the light of my eyes!” And he said: “Blessed be God! Blessed be his great name! Blessed be all his holy angels! Blessed be his great name for evermore! For he had scourged me and now has had pity on me and I see my son Tobias.” Tobias went into the house, and with a loud voice joyfully blessed God. Then he told his father everything: how his journey had been successful and he had brought the silver back; how he had married Sarah, the daughter of Raguel; how she was following him now, close behind, and could not be far from the gates of Nineveh. Tobit set off to the gates of Nineveh to meet his daughter-in-law, giving joyful praise to God as he went. When the people of Nineveh saw him walking without a guide and stepping forward as briskly as of old, they were astonished. Tobit described to them how God had taken pity on him and had opened his eyes. Then Tobit met Sarah, the bride of his son Tobias, and blessed her in these words, “Welcome, daughter! Blessed be your God for sending you to us, my daughter. Blessings on your father, blessings on my son Tobias, blessings on yourself, my daughter. Welcome now to your own house in joyfulness and in blessedness. Come in, my daughter.” He held a feast that day for all the Jews of Nineveh.
Psalm 145(146): 2, 7-10
R/ My soul, give praise to the Lord.
My soul, give praise to the Lord: I will praise the Lord all my days, make music to my God while I live.
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: cf. Ps 18: 9
Alleluia, alleluia! Your words gladden the heart, O Lord, they give light to the eyes. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 12: 35-37
At that time while teaching in the Temple, Jesus said, “How can the scribes maintain that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, moved by the Holy Spirit, said: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand and I will put your enemies under your feet. David himself calls him Lord, in what way then can he be his son?” And the great majority of the people heard this with delight.
Prayer over the Offerings
Trusting in your compassion, O Lord, we come eagerly with our offerings to your sacred altar, that, through the purifying action of your grace, we may be cleansed by the very mysteries we serve. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 16: 6
To you I call, for you will surely heed me, O God; turn your ear to me; hear my words.
Prayer after Communion
Govern by your Spirit, we pray, O Lord, those you feed with the Body and Blood of your Son, that, professing you not just in word or in speech, but also in works and in truth, we may merit to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
“David himself calls him Lord. Where does it come from then that he is his son?” The promise mentioned a Messiah, a man, a son of David. But God sent a Messiah who is more than a man, since he shares the glory of the one who sent him and, above all, bears the name of Lord. The Jews did not believe him to be so great that he was eternal, and they disregarded him both in his abasement and in his death. But we believe that man’s expectation, however painful, must be prolonged in faith in the goodness of God; it will lead to a greater happiness, perhaps even here on earth. We confess that the Lord Jesus, son of David and Son of God, is for all humanity a mystery and a call. May his person never cease to challenge us, so that through him and in him we may continually seek the Father.
BLESSED JAMES BERTHIEU
Born in France, he was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1864. In 1875 he left for Madagascar where he spent the rest of his life. On the night of 8 June 1896, while he was praying, he was shot dead and his body thrown in the river Mananara.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 24: 16, 18
Turn to me and have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am alone and poor. See my lowliness and suffering and take away all my sins, my God.
Collect
O God, whose providence never fails in its design, keep from us, we humbly beseech you, all that might harm us and grant all that works for our good. 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: Tobit 6: 10-11, 7: 1, 9-14, 8: 4-9
Raphael and Tobit entered Media and had nearly reached Ecbetana when Raphael said to the boy, “Brother Tobias.” “Yes?” he answered. The angel went on, “Tonight we shall be staying with Raguel, who is a kinsman of yours. He has a daughter called Sarah, but apart from Sarah he has no other son or daughter.” As they entered Ecbatana, Tobias said, “Brother Azarias, take me at once to our brother Raguel’s.” And he showed him the way to the house of Raguel, whom they found sitting beside his courtyard door. They greeted him first, and he replied, “Welcome and greetings, brothers.” And he took them into his house. He said to his wife Edna, “How like my brother Tobit this young man is!” Raguel killed a sheep from the flock, and they gave them a warm-hearted welcome. They washed and bathed and sat down to table. Then Tobias said to Raphael, “Brother Azarias, will you ask Raguel to give me my sister Sarah?” Raguel overheard the words, and said to the young man, “Eat and drink, and make the most of your evening; no one else has the right to take my daughter Sarah – no one but you, my brother. In any case I, for my own part, am not at liberty to give her to anyone else, since you are her next of kin. However, my boy, I must be frank with you: I have tried to find a husband for her seven times among our kinsmen, and all of them have died the first evening, on-going to her room. But for the present, my boy, eat and drink; the Lord will grant you his grace and peace.” Tobias spoke out, “I will not hear of eating and drinking till you have come to a decision about me.” Raguel answered, “Very well. Since, as prescribed by the Book of Moses, she is given to you, heaven itself decrees she shall be yours. I therefore entrust your sister to you. From now you are her brother and she is your sister. She is given to you from today for ever. The Lord of heaven favour you tonight, my child, and grant you his grace and peace.” Raguel called for his daughter Sarah, took her by the hand and gave her to Tobias with these words, “I entrust her to you; the law and the ruling recorded in the Book of Moses assign her to you as your wife. Take her; take her home to your father’s house with a good conscience. The God of heaven grant you a good journey in peace.” Then he turned to her mother and asked her to fetch him writing paper. He drew up the marriage contract, how he gave his daughter as bride to Tobias according to the ordinance in the Law of Moses. After this they began to eat and drink. The parents, meanwhile, had gone out and shut the door behind them. Tobias rose from the bed, and said to Sarah, “Get up, my sister! You and I must pray and petition our Lord to win his grace and his protection.” She stood up, and they began praying for protection, and this was how he began: “You are blessed, O God of our fathers; blessed, too, is your name for ever and ever. Let the heavens bless you and all things you have made for evermore. It was you who created Adam, you who created Eve his wife to be his help and support; and from these two the human race was born. It was you who said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; let us make him a helpmate like himself.’ And so I do not take my sister for any lustful motive; I do it in singleness of heart. Be kind enough to have pity on her and on me and bring us to old age together.” And together they said, “Amen, Amen”, and lay down for the night.
Psalm 127(128): 1-5
R/ O blessed are those who fear the Lord.
O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways! By the labour of your hands you shall eat. You will be happy and prosper.
YoOne of the Scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” The Scribe said to him, “Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.” Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, “You are not far from