Blessed Alvarez of Corova
Psalter: Week II
Green
Alvarez entered the Dominican convent at Cordova in 1368. He became known for his preaching prowess in Spain and Italy. By the time of his death, he was famous all over Spain for his teaching, preaching, asceticism, and holiness. His cult was confirmed in 1741.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 30: 3-4
Be my protector, O God, a mighty stronghold to save me. For you are my rock, my stronghold! Lead me, guide me, for the sake of your name.
Collect
O God, who teach us that you abide in hearts that are just and true, grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace as to become a dwelling pleasing to you. 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: Genesis 8:6-13,20-22
At the end of forty days Noah opened the porthole he had made in the ark and he sent out the raven. This went off, and flew back and forth until the waters dried up from the earth. Then he sent out the dove, to see whether the waters were receding from the surface of the earth. The dove, finding nowhere to perch, returned to him in the ark, for there was water over the whole surface of the earth; putting out his hand he took hold of it and brought it back into the ark with him. After waiting seven more days, again he sent out the dove from the ark. In the evening, the dove came back to him and there it was with a new olive-branch in its beak. So Noah realised that the waters were receding from the earth. After waiting seven more days he sent out the dove, and now it returned to him no more. It was in the six hundred and first year of Noah’s life, in the first month and on the first of the month, that the water dried up from the earth. Noah lifted back the hatch of the ark and looked out. The surface of the ground was dry! Noah built an altar for the Lord, and choosing from all the clean animals and all the clean birds he offered burnt offerings on the altar. The Lord smelt the appeasing fragrance and said to himself, ‘Never again will I curse the earth because of man, because his heart contrives evil from his infancy. Never again will I strike down every living thing as I have done. ‘As long as earth lasts,
sowing and reaping, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall cease no more.’
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 115(116):12-15,18-19
R/ A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me? The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfill before all his people. O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfill before all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Gospel Acclamation: Ps118:105
Alleluia, alleluia! Your word is a lamp for my steps and a light for my path. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 8:22-26
Jesus and his disciples came to Bethsaida, and some people brought to him a blind man whom they begged him to touch. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Then putting spittle on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked, ‘Can you see anything?’ The man, who was beginning to see, replied, ‘I can see people; they look like trees to me, but they are walking about.’ Then he laid his hands on the man’s eyes again and he saw clearly; he was cured, and he could see everything plainly and distinctly. And Jesus sent him home, saying, ‘Do not even go into the village.’
Prayer over the Offerings
May this oblation, O Lord, we pray, cleanse and renew us and may it become for those who do your will the source of eternal reward. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 77: 29-30
They ate and had their fill, and what they craved the Lord gave them; they were not disappointed in what they craved.
Prayer after Communion
Having fed upon these heavenly delights, we pray, O Lord, so that we may always long for that food by which we truly live. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation A common thread running through both the Gospel and the first reading is the progressive unfolding and fulfilment of God’s will in our lives. Just as Jesus meticulously healed the blind man step by step, Noah, after the great flood, carefully observed and understood the natural order around him. In our own trials, we are often tempted to hastily seek immediate solutions, disregarding the virtue of patience. While the desire to set things right, eliminate evil, or alleviate pain is natural, it is crucial not to succumb to making hasty decisions. The saying “more haste, less speed” captures the wisdom of exercising patience in our actions. Proper discernment allows us to be confident that our choices are in harmony with God’s will.