Saint Francis of Assisi
(1181 – 1226)
White
He was the son of a wealthy 12th-century Italian merchant, and early in his life was devoted to partying and his enjoying his social status. After an illness his life changed: He began a life of evangelical poverty, living by begging. His followers are called the Franciscans. Francis died in 1226, having started a revolution. The Franciscans endure to this day.
Entrance Antiphon
Francis, the man of God, left his home behind, abandoned his inheritance and became poor and penniless, but the Lord raised him up.
Collect
O God, by whose gift Saint Francis was conformed to Christ in poverty and humility, grant that, by walking in Francis’ footsteps, we may follow your Son, and, through joyful charity,
come to be united with you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Job 38:1,12-21,40:3-5
From the heart of the tempest the Lord gave Job his answer. He said: Have you ever in your life given orders to the morning or sent the dawn to its post, telling it to grasp the earth by its edges and shake the wicked out of it, when it changes the earth to sealing clay and dyes it as a man dyes clothes; stealing the light from wicked men and breaking the arm raised to strike? Have you journeyed all the way to the sources of the sea, or walked where the Abyss is deepest? Have you been shown the gates of Death or met the janitors of Shadowland? Have you an inkling of the extent of the earth? Tell me all about it if you have! Which is the way to the home of the light, and where does darkness live? You could then show them the way to their proper places, or put them on the path to where they live! If you know all this, you must have been born with them, you must be very old by now! Job replied to the Lord: My words have been frivolous: what can I reply? I had better lay my finger on my lips. I have spoken once… I will not speak again; more than once… I will add nothing.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 138:1-3,7-10,13-14
R/ Lead me, O Lord, in the path of life eternal.
O Lord, you search me and you know me, you know my resting and my rising, you discern my purpose from afar. You mark when I walk or lie down, all my ways lie open to you.
O where can I go from your spirit, or where can I flee from your face? If I climb the heavens, you are there. If I lie in the grave, you are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn and dwell at the sea’s furthest end, even there your hand would lead me, your right hand would hold me fast.
For it was you who created my being, knit me together in my mother’s womb. I thank you for the wonder of my being, for the wonders of all your creation.
Gospel Acclamation : Ps144:13
Alleluia, alleluia! The Lord is faithful in all his words and loving in all his deeds. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 10:13-16
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. And still, it will not go as hard with Tyre and Sidon at the Judgement as with you. And as for you, Capernaum, did you want to be exalted high as heaven? You shall be thrown down to hell. ‘Anyone who listens to you listens to me; anyone who rejects you rejects me, and those who reject me reject the one who sent me.’
Prayer over the Offerings
As we bring you these offerings, O Lord, we pray that we may be rightly disposed for the celebration of the mystery of the Cross, which Saint Francis so ardently embraced. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon; Mt 5: 3
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Prayer after Communion
Grant us, we pray, O Lord, through these holy gifts which we have received, that, imitating the charity and apostolic zeal of Saint Francis, we may experience the effects of your love and spread them everywhere for the salvation of all. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation The area Jesus covered during his public ministry is relatively small geographically. Jesus worked most of his miracles and precisely presented his discourses in this small space. He uses strong words today as he preaches against the towns where he had worked extensively. Capernaum appears frequently in the Gospel narratives and was the centre from which Jesus did much missionary work. Jesus affirms that if the gentile cities had witnessed all he taught and did, they would have repented long ago, just as the people of Nineveh had repented at the preaching of Jonah. To listen to the messengers of Jesus is equivalent to listening to him personally; to reject those messengers is to reject Jesus and God. These messengers are not necessarily priests and bishops. This is the mission of every baptised person.