04
December
St. Cyprian
(210 – 258)
Violet
Cyprian was born in Carthage and spent most of his life in the practice of the law. He was converted to Christianity, and was made bishop of Carthage in 249. He steered the church through troubled times, including the persecution of the emperor Decius, when he went into hiding so as to be able to continue looking after the church. In 258 the persecution of the emperor Valerian began.
Entrance Antiphon : Ps 79: 4, 2
Come and show us your face, O Lord, who are seated upon the Cherubim, and we will be saved.
Collect
O God, who sent your Only Begotten Son into this world to free the human race from its ancient enslavement, bestow on those who devoutly await him the grace of your compassion from on high, that we may attain the prize of true freedom. 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: Isaiah 30:19-21,23-26
Thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: People of Zion, you will live in Jerusalem and weep no more. He will be gracious to you when he hears your cry; when he hears he will answer. When the Lord has given you the bread of suffering and the water of distress, he who is your teacher will hide no longer, and you will see your teacher with your own eyes. Whether you turn to right or left, your ears will hear these words behind you, ‘This is the way, follow it.’ He will send rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the bread that the ground provides will be rich and nourishing. Your cattle will graze, that day, in wide pastures. Oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat a salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and fork. On every lofty mountain, on every high hill there will be streams and watercourses, on the day of the great slaughter when the strongholds fall. Then moonlight will be bright as sunlight and sunlight itself be seven times brighter – like the light of seven days in one – on the day the Lord dresses the wound of his people and heals the bruises his blows have left.
Psalm 146(147):1-6
R/ Happy are all who hope in the Lord.
1. Praise the Lord for he is good; sing to our God for he is loving: to him our praise is due. The Lord builds up Jerusalem and brings back Israel’s exiles.
2. He heals the broken-hearted, he binds up all their wounds. He fixes the number of the stars; he calls each one by its name.
3. Our Lord is great and almighty; his wisdom can never be measured. The Lord raises the lowly; he humbles the wicked to the dust.
Gospel Acclamation : Is 55:6
Alleluia, alleluia! Seek the Lord while he is still to be found, call to him while he is still near. Alleluia!
Gospel : Matthew 9:35-10:1,5,6-8
Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness. And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.’ He summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: ‘Go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.’
Prayer over the Offerings
May the sacrifice of our worship, Lord, we pray, be offered to you unceasingly, to complete what was begun in sacred mystery and powerfully accomplish for us your saving work. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Rv 22: 12
Behold, I am coming soon and my recompense is with me, says the Lord, to bestow a reward according to the deeds of each.
Prayer after Communion
We implore your mercy, Lord, that this divine sustenance may cleanse us of our faults and prepare us for the coming feasts. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation The Gospel today mentions Jesus’ compassion for the crowds. He felt sorry for them; they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Seeing the lack of shepherds for the people, he told his disciples to “pray to the Lord of the harvest to send workers into his harvest”. These harassed and dejected people need workers to journey with them and to lead them. Jesus invests his disciples with the authority to take care of those who are in need of comfort. We sometimes find ourselves among those harassed and dejected. We are assured of Christ’s comforting presence. At other times we may be among the workers the Lord wants to send into his harvest to journey with those who are harassed and dejected. On this note, we are called in the midst of our own darkness and uncertainty to labour beside Jesus in helping others. Christ will continue to empower us for the work he is asking us to do