SAINT LANDRY
He was the bishop of Paris. He was consecrated in 650 and built the first major hospital in the city, dedicating it to st. Chistopher. It’s today called the L’Hôtel-Dieu.
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 12: 1, 5-15, 20
When the feasting was over, Tobit called his son Tobias and said, “My son, you ought to think about paying the amount due to your fellow traveller; give him more than the figure agreed on.” So Tobias called his companion and said, “Take half of what you brought back, in payment for all you have done, and go in peace.” Then Raphael took them both aside and said, “Bless God, utter his praise before all the living for all the favours he has given you. Bless and extol his name. Proclaim before all men the deeds of God as they deserve, and never tire of giving him thanks. It is right to keep the secret of a king, yet right to reveal and publish the works of God. Thank him worthily. Do what is good, and no evil can befall you. Prayer with fasting and alms with right conduct are better than riches with iniquity. Better to practise almsgiving than to hoard up gold. Almsgiving saves from death and purges every kind of sin. Those who give alms have their fill of days; those who commit sin and do evil, bring harm on themselves. I am going to tell you the whole truth, hiding nothing from you. I have already told you that it is right to keep the secret of a king, yet right too to reveal in worthy fashion the works of God. So you must know that when you and Sarah were at prayer, it was I who offered your supplications before the glory of the Lord and who read them; so too when you were burying the dead. When you did not hesitate to get up and leave the table to go and bury a dead man, I was sent to test your faith, and at the same time God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ever ready to enter the presence of the glory of the Lord. Now bless the Lord on earth and give thanks to God. I am about to return to him above who sent me.”
Psalm Tobit 13: 2, 6-8
R/ Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
By turns he punishes and pardons; he sends men down to the depths of the underworld and draws them up from supreme Destruction; no one can escape his hand.
If you return to him with all your heart and all your soul, behaving honestly towards him, then he will return to you and hide his face from you no longer.
Consider how well he has treated you; loudly give him thanks. Bless the Lord of justice and extol the King of the ages.
I for my part sing his praise in the country of my exile; I make his power and greatness known to a nation that has sinned.
Sinners, return to him; let your conduct be upright before him; perhaps he will be gracious to you and take pity on you.
Gospel Acclamation: cf. Lk 8: 15
Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are those who, with a noble and generous heart, take the word of God to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 12:38-44
In his teaching Jesus said, “Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets; these are the men who swallow the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.” He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “I tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.”
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
Jesus saw this widow put her penny into the treasury. He liked her gesture and communicated something important to his disciples: “Amen, I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.” First of all, she gave despite her poverty which did not discourage her. Secondly, she gave all she had. Although poor, she had something to give to God. She accepted to be lacking, so that God, in her life, was the first to be served. Unlike us today, she knew how to face the risk of being in lack, like the widow of Zarephath who sacrificed her last handful of flour for Elijah. Neither before God nor before men was she afraid to give of all her poverty; this is what touched Jesus. She knew that she would be poorer for it, but her simple, upright faith told her that God would provide and that she did not have to become rich to give. God welcomes the offering of the poor who accept to remain before him and before poor people.