by Norbert Doulanni | Sep 13, 2025 | Evangelium
The Exaltation of the Cross Holy Cross –
Feast
Psalter: Week IV
Red
Entrance Antiphon : Gal 6: 14
We should glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection, through whom we are saved and delivered.
Collect
O God, who willed that your Only Begotten Son should undergo the Cross to save the human race, grant, we pray, that we, who have known his mystery on earth, may merit the grace of his redemption in heaven. 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 : Numbers 21:4-9
On the way through the wilderness, the people lost patience. They spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is neither bread nor water here; we are sick of this unsatisfying food.’ At this God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel. The people came and said to Moses, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede for us with the Lord to save us from these serpents.’ Moses interceded for the people, and the Lord answered him, ‘Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he shall live.’ So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put on a standard, and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked at the bronze serpent and lived.
Responsorial Psalm : Psalm 77(78):1-2,34-38
R/ Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
Give heed, my people, to my teaching; turn your ear to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable and reveal hidden lessons of the past.
When he slew them then they would seek him, return and seek him in earnest. They would remember that God was their rock, God the Most High their redeemer.
Yet he who is full of compassion forgave them their sin and spared them. So often he held back his anger when he might have stirred up his rage.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you; because by your cross you have redeemed the world. Alleluia!
Gospel : John 3:13-17
Jesus said to Nicodemus: ‘No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven; and the Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.’
Prayer over the Offerings
May this oblation, O Lord, which on the altar of the cross cancelled the offence of the whole world, cleanse us, we pray, of all our sins. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Jn 12: 32
When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself, says the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Having been nourished by your holy banquet, we beseech you, Lord Jesus Christ, to bring those you have redeemed by the wood of your life-giving cross to the glory of the resurrection. Who live and reign forever and ever.
Meditation
Good old Nicodemus displays humility as he seeks guidance from Jesus. In contrast, I often feel I have all the answers and can be swayed by the allure of the prosperity gospel, which offers me a Jesus without a cross! We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You: Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
by Norbert Doulanni | Sep 12, 2025 | Evangelium
Saint John Chrysostom (349 – 407)
Psalter: Week III
White
He was born in Antioch. After a thorough education, he took up the ascetic life. He was ordained to the priesthood, and became a fruitful and effective preacher. The term Chrysostom meaning «golden-mouthed» was given because of his great eloquence.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Dn 12: 3
Those who are wise will shine brightly like the splendour of the firmament and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars for ever.
Collect
O God, strength of those who hope in you, who willed that the Bishop Saint John Chrysostom should be illustrious by his wonderful eloquence and his experience of suffering, grant us, we pray, that, instructed by his teachings, we may be strengthened through the example of his invincible patience. 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 : 1 Timothy 1:15-17
Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of them; and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life. To the eternal King, the undying, invisible and only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm : Psalm 112(113):1-7
R/ May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord! May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting praised be the name of the Lord! High above all nations is the Lord, above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God, who has risen on high to his throne yet stoops from the heights to look down, to look down upon heaven and earth? From the dust he lifts up the lowly, from the dung heap he raises the poor
Gospel Acclamation : Jn14:6
Alleluia, alleluia! I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord; No one can come to the Father except through me. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 6:43-49
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart. ‘Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord” and not do what I say? ‘Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them – I will show you what he is like. He is like the man who when he built his house dug, and dug deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!’
Prayer over the Offerings
May the sacrifice which we gladly present in commemoration of Saint John Chrysostom be pleasing to you, O God, for, taught by him, we, too, give ourselves entirely to you in praise. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. 1 Cor 1: 23-24
We proclaim Christ crucified; Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, O merciful God, that these mysteries we have received as we commemorate Saint John Chrysostom, may confirm us in your love and enable us to be faithful in confessing your truth. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
“…the man who built his house on soil”! Now, I pause to reflect: In all the fervour about my Faith, whose name and image am I truly defending — Jesus’ or my own? When faced with disagreement concerning my preaching, do I become gloomy and lament the lack appreciation for my sacrifices in spreading the Good News? Similarly, If I do not receive gratitude after performing a generous act, do I consider giving up on doing good for others? Lord Jesus, remind me that it is only your name that I should be defending in all my thoughts, actions, and words. Amen.
by Norbert Doulanni | Sep 11, 2025 | Evangelium
The Most Holy Name of Mary
Saint Ailbe
Psalter: Week III
Green
He founded the monastery and Diocese of Emly. A ninth-century Rule bears his name. He was a disciple of St Patrick and ordained by him. He may have died in 528 or in 541.
Entrance Antiphon : Ps 118: 137, 124
You are just, O Lord, and your judgement is right; treat your servant in accord with your merciful love.
Collect
O God, by whom we are redeemed and receive adoption, look graciously upon your beloved sons and daughters, that those who believe in Christ may receive true freedom and an everlasting inheritance. 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 : 1 Timothy 1:1-2,12-14
From Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus appointed by the command of God our saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope, to Timothy, true child of mine in the faith; wishing you grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, and who judged me faithful enough to call me into his service even though I used to be a blasphemer and did all I could to injure and discredit the faith. Mercy, however, was shown me, because until I became a believer I had been acting in ignorance; and the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus.
Responsorial Psalm : Psalm 15(16):1-2,5,7-8,11
R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you. I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.’ O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup; it is you yourself who are my prize.
I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, who even at night directs my heart. I keep the Lord ever in my sight: since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.
You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, at your right hand happiness for ever.
Gospel Acclamation : Ps147:12,15
Alleluia, alleluia! O praise the Lord, Jerusalem! He sends out his word to the earth. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 6:39-42
Jesus told a parable to the disciples: ‘Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? The disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always be like his teacher. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.’
Prayer over the Offerings
O God, who give us the gift of true prayer and of peace, graciously grant that through this offering,we may do fitting homage to your divine majesty and, by partaking of the sacred mystery, we may be faithfully united in mind and heart. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Ps 41: 2-3
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God; my soul is thirsting for God, the living God.
Prayer after Communion
Grant that your faithful, O Lord, whom you nourish and endow with life through the food of your Word and heavenly Sacrament, may so benefit from your beloved Son’s great gifts that we may merit an eternal share in his life. Who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Meditation
Jesus advises that I remove the plank from my ‘own eye first,’ and I rejoice to realise that I can begin this process by adopting Pope Francis’ ‘Five Finger Prayer arrangement’: starting with the thumb (praying for those closest to me, family and friends), index finger (for those who teach, instruct, and heal me, such as my teachers, doctors, and priests); middle finger (for authority figures and those in government); ring finger (for the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, and the poor), and finally the pinkie (praying for myself).
by Norbert Doulanni | Sep 9, 2025 | Evangelium
Saint Ambrose Barlow OSB
(1585-1641)
Psalter: Week III
Green
In 1615, he became a member of the Order of Saint Benedict and was ordained as a priest in 1617. He was arrested several times during his travels before he eventually suffered a martyr’s death in 1671.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 118: 137, 124
You are just, O Lord, and your judgement is right; treat your servant in accord with your merciful love.
Collect
O God, by whom we are redeemed and receive adoption, look graciously upon your beloved sons and daughters, that those who believe in Christ may receive true freedom and an everlasting inheritance. 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: Colossians 3:1-11
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him. That is why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god; all this is the sort of behaviour that makes God angry. And it is the way in which you used to live when you were surrounded by people doing the same thing, but now you, of all people, must give all these things up: getting angry, being bad-tempered, spitefulness, abusive language and dirty talk; and never tell each other lies. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator; and in that image there is no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free man. There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 144(145):2-3,10-13a
R/ How good is the Lord to all.
I will bless you day after day and praise your name for ever. The Lord is great, highly to be praised, his greatness cannot be measured.
All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign and declare your might, O God.
To make known to men your mighty deeds and the glorious splendour of your reign. Yours is an everlasting kingdom; your rule lasts from age to age.
Gospel Acclamation: 1Jn2:5
Alleluia, alleluia! Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said, God’s love comes to perfection in him. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 6:20-26
Fixing his eyes on his disciples Jesus said: ‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God. Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied. Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh. Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets. ‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now. Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry. Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep. ‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’
Prayer over the Offerings
O God, who give us the gift of true prayer and of peace, graciously grant that through this offering, we may do fitting homage to your divine majesty and, by partaking of the sacred mystery, we may be faithfully united in mind and heart. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 41: 2-3
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God; my soul is thirsting for God, the living God.
Prayer after Communion
Grant that your faithful, O Lord, whom you nourish and endow with life through the food of your Word and heavenly Sacrament, may so benefit from your beloved Son’s great gifts that we may merit an eternal share in his life. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Meditation
“Getting angry, being bad-tempered…” Paul identifies these as ‘two brother evils’ among other sins. I remember hearing someone assert about anger: “Anger can be rejected! I will not choose anger when I am accused in my innocence; I will not choose anger either when my wrongdoing is exposed.”
by Norbert Doulanni | Sep 8, 2025 | Evangelium
Saint Peter Claver (1581 – 1654)
Psalter: Week III
Green
Saint Peter Claver, SJ, was a member of the Society of Jesus and is the patron of African missions and of interracial justice, due to his work with slaves in Colombia.
Entrance Antiphon Ps 118: 137, 124
You are just, O Lord, and your judgement is right; treat your servant in accord with your merciful love.
Collect
O God, by whom we are redeemed and receive adoption, look graciously upon your beloved sons and daughters, that those who believe in Christ may receive true freedom and an everlasting inheritance. 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 : Colossians 2:6-15
You must live your whole life according to the Christ you have received – Jesus the Lord; you must be rooted in him and built on him and held firm by the faith you have been taught, and full of thanksgiving. Make sure that no one traps you and deprives you of your freedom by some second-hand, empty, rational philosophy based on the principles of this world instead of on Christ. In his body lives the fullness of divinity, and in him you too find your own fulfilment, in the one who is the head of every Sovereignty and Power. In him you have been circumcised, with a circumcision not performed by human hand, but by the complete stripping of your body of flesh. This is circumcision according to Christ. You have been buried with him, when you were baptised; and by baptism, too, you have been raised up with him through your belief in the power of God who raised him from the dead. You were dead, because you were sinners and had not been circumcised: he has brought you to life with him, he has forgiven us all our sins.
He has overridden the Law, and cancelled every record of the debt that we had to pay; he has done away with it by nailing it to the cross; and so he got rid of the Sovereignties and the Powers, and paraded them in public, behind him in his triumphal procession.
Responsorial Psalm : Psalm 144(145):1-2,8-11
R/ How good is the Lord to all.
I will give you glory, O God my king,I will bless your name for ever.I will bless you day after dayand praise your name for ever.
The Lord is kind and full of compassion,slow to anger, abounding in love.How good is the Lord to all,compassionate to all his creatures.
All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,and your friends shall repeat their blessing.They shall speak of the glory of your reignand declare your might, O God.
Gospel Acclamation : Ph2:15-16
Alleluia, alleluia! You will shine in the world like bright stars because you are offering it the word of life. Alleluia!
Gospel : Luke 6:12-19
Jesus went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them; he called them ‘apostles’: Simon whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor. He then came down with them and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. People tormented by unclean spirits were also cured, and everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all.
Prayer over the Offerings
O God, who give us the gift of true prayer and of peace, graciously grant that through this offering, we may do fitting homage to your divine majesty and, by partaking of the sacred mystery, we may be faithfully united in mind and heart. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Ps 41: 2-3
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God; my soul is thirsting for God, the living God.
Prayer after Communion
Grant that your faithful, O Lord, whom you nourish and endow with life through the food of your Word and heavenly Sacrament, may so benefit from your beloved Son’s great gifts that we may merit an eternal share in his life. Who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Meditation
“When day came, He summoned His disciples and picked out twelve of them.” This act of Jesus’ calls to mind the promises I made to Jesus during my Baptism. I am reminded of the weight and significance of a promise, knowing that Jesus always keeps His promises! I am challenged to revisit the promises I have made and continue making to fellow children of God. Am I aware that these commitments are made to Jesus Himself? How many of them have I kept, and how many do I intend to honour? Lord Jesus, guide me to always seek Your counsel before making any promise to others.
by Norbert Doulanni | Sep 7, 2025 | Evangelium
The Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Feast
Saint Adrian
Psalter: Week III
White
Adrian was a pagan officer of Nicomedia. Impressed by the courage of a group of Christians who were being tortured, he declared himself a Christian and was imprisoned with them before he was put to death. Adrian is the patron of soldiers and butchers.
Entrance Antiphon
Let us celebrate with joy the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for from her arose the sun of justice, Christ our God.
Collect
Impart to your servants, we pray, O Lord, the gift of heavenly grace, that the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin may bring deeper peace to those for whom the birth of her Sonwas the dawning of salvation. 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 : Micah 5:1-4
The Lord says this: But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, the least of the clans of Judah, out of you will be born for me the one who is to rule over Israel; his origin goes back to the distant past, to the days of old. The Lord is therefore going to abandon them till the time when she who is to give birth gives birth. Then the remnant of his brothers will come back to the sons of Israel. He will stand and feed his flock with the power of the Lord, with the majesty of the name of his God. They will live secure, for from then on he will extend his power to the ends of the land. He himself will be peace.
Responsorial Psalm : Psalm 12(13):6-7
R/ I exult for joy in the Lord.
Lord, I trust in your merciful love. Let my heart rejoice in your saving help.
Let me sing to the Lord for his goodness to me, singing psalms to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of all praise, for the sun of justice, Christ our God, was born of you. Alleluia!
Gospel : Matthew 1:1-16,18-23
A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, Tamar being their mother, Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,Salmon was the father of Boaz, Rahab being his mother,Boaz was the father of Obed, Ruth being his mother, Obed was the father of Jesse;and Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Azariah, Azariah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah; and Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers. Then the deportation to Babylon took place. After the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob; and Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ. This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’
Prayer over the Offerings
May the humanity of your Only Begotten Son come, O Lord, to our aid, and may he, who at his birth from the Blessed Virgin did not diminish but consecrated her integrity, by taking from us now our wicked deeds, make our oblation acceptable to you. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon Is 7: 14; Mt 1: 21
Behold, the Virgin will bear a son, who will save his people from their sins.
Prayer after Communion
May your Church exult, O Lord, for you have renewed her with these sacred mysteries, as she rejoices in the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was the hope and the daybreak of salvation for all the world. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,” the Angel reassures Joseph. On this special occasion of your birthday, Mother Mary, I earnestly implore you to grant me the strength to resist the temptation to neglect you. Whenever such temptation comes, give me the strength to cry out, like blind Bartimaeus: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
