SAINTS Chrysanthus and Daria
They are Roman martyrs, buried on the Via Salaria Nova. The feast of these saints stands in the Roman martyrology on the 25th of October, dating from the seventh century.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 16: 6, 8
To you I call; for you will surely heed me, O God; turn your ear to me; hear my words. Guard me as the apple of your eye; in the shadow of your wings protect me.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, grant that we may always conform our will to yours and serve your majesty in sincerity of heart. 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: Romans 6:12-18
You must not let sin reign in your mortal bodies or command your obedience to bodily passions, you must not let any part of your body turn into an unholy weapon fighting on the side of sin; you should, instead, offer yourselves to God, and consider yourselves dead men brought back to life; you should make every part of your body into a weapon fighting on the side of God; and then sin will no longer dominate your life, since you are living by grace and not by law. Does the fact that we are living by grace and not by law mean that we are free to sin? Of course not. You know that if you agree to serve and obey a master you become his slaves. You cannot be slaves of sin that leads to death and at the same time slaves of obedience that leads to righteousness. You were once slaves of sin, but thank God you submitted without reservation to the creed you were taught. You may have been freed from the slavery of sin, but only to become ‘slaves’ of righteousness.
Psalm 123 (124)
R/ Our help is in the name of the Lord.
‘If the Lord had not been on our side,’ this is Israel’s song. ‘If the Lord had not been on our side
when men rose up against us, then would they have swallowed us alive when their anger was kindled.
Then would the waters have engulfed us, the torrent gone over us; over our head would have swept the raging waters. Blessed be the Lord who did not give us a prey to their teeth!
Our life, like a bird, has escaped from the snare of the fowler. Indeed, the snare has been broken and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.’
Gospel Acclamation : Jn10:27
Alleluia, alleluia! The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice, says the Lord, I know them and they follow me. Alleluia!
Gospel Luke 12:39-48
Jesus said to his disciples: “You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house. You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Peter said, “Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?” The Lord replied, “What sort of steward, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you truly, he will place him over everything he owns. But as for the servant who says to himself, ‘My master is taking his time coming’, and sets about beating the menservants and the maids, and eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful. The servant who knows what his master wants, but has not even started to carry out those wishes, will receive very many strokes of the lash. The one who did not know, but deserves to be beaten for what he has done, will receive fewer strokes. When a man has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him.”
Prayer over the Offerings
Grant us, Lord, we pray, a sincere respect for your gifts, that, through the purifying action of your grace, we may be cleansed by the very mysteries we serve. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Ps 32: 18-19
Behold, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, who hope in his merciful love, to rescue their souls from death, to keep them alive in famine.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, O Lord, we pray, that, benefiting from participation in heavenly things, we may be helped by what you give in this present age and prepared for the gifts that are eternal. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Be ready! These words are if great help to us in our daily lives. Of course, we know that Jesus will return, but aren’t we often tempted to live as if he will only return in the distant future, so that we don’t feel challenged, concerned, by his return? But let us go further. The Lord will come back, yes. But today, does he not come to us: through those he puts on our path; through his word addressed to us today and that reaches us where we are; through the sacraments of the Church, especially the Eucharist – his body given, his blood poured – all out of love for each person? Meditating upon this Gospel is perhaps an opportunity for each of us to ask ourselves to what extent we await the coming of the Lord. In what way can this day be a welcome ceremony I offer to the Lord who never ceases to come to me through various means.