>>> St CAMILLUS de LELLIS – Pray for Us!
COME TO ME—ALL OF YOU
Introduction
After a rather turbulent youth and a military career, Camillus of Lellis had to stay in a Roman hospital for a prolonged treatment. There he discovered for himself the incompetence and lack of dedication of the nurses of his time. He became a priest and founded a congregation for helpers of the sick, especially the incurable ones. One of his companions wrote his biography and describes there how he treated the sick as other Christs, even asking forgiveness of them.
Opening Prayer
God, loving Father,
we thank you today for St. Camillus,
who visited your Son in the sick.
He would have loved to take upon himself
their illness and afflictions,
could he but ease their pain
and relieve their weaknesses.
This is the kind of love we pray for
and of which we are not capable.
But let Jesus your Son appear
behind the face of people who suffer
and perhaps we too will be touched
by his self-forgetting love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen!
1 Reading: ISAIAH 26:7-9, 12, 16-19
The way of the just is smooth; the path of the just you make level. Yes, for your way and your judgments, O LORD, we look to you; Your name and your title are the desire of our souls. My soul yearns for you in the night, yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you; when your judgment dawns upon the earth, the world’s inhabitants learn justice. O LORD, you mete out peace to us, for it is you who have accomplished all we have done. O LORD, oppressed by your punishment, we cried out in anguish under your chastising. As a woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pains, so were we in your presence, O LORD. We conceived and writhed in pain, giving birth to wind; Salvation we have not achieved for the earth, the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth. But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who lie in the dust. For your dew is a dew of light, and the land of shades gives birth.
Responsorial PSALM 102:13-14AB AND 15, 16-18, 19-21
R. (20b) From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
You, O LORD, abide forever,
and your name through all generations.
You will arise and have mercy on Zion,
for it is time to pity her.
For her stones are dear to your servants,
and her dust moves them to pity. R.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer. R.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
“The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.” R.
Alleluia MATTHEW 11:28
Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MATTHEW 11:28-30
Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Commentary
Resting in the Lord
“Rest in Peace” or “Rest in the Lord” are phrases we use in the context of offering condolences when someone dies. We wish and pray that the dead soul may find its rest in the Lord. But, why should we wait till our death to find our “rest” in God? Why not here and now, right in the midst of our business of life? Jesus offers us precisely that. Life is hard, we are weary and burdened; yet, there is always hope for dealing with the everyday challenges of life with certain restfulness. In the eastern philosophic traditions, this is the concept of “sthitaprajña.” Roughly translated, it refers to a person who is recollected, calm, and firm, with an internal sense of liberation. Such restfulness of soul is possible when our hearts are centered in the Lord. That is what Christ invites us to do, today.
Intercessions
– Lord Jesus, make us aware how brittle and vulnerable we are, that we may simply ask for your help when we are in distress, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, may those who are tired in life and see no solution to their problems, turn trustingly to you, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, help us carry the burdens of others, for these are light as they are our brothers and sisters, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
we join our hearts and voices
to share in the sacrifice of your Son.
Let his dispositions become ours,
that with him we may love you
and serve you in our brothers and sisters.
Grant us this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
in your Son and in the saints
you show us how far love can go.
By the strength of this eucharist
help us to place no limits or conditions
to our affection and generosity
and to take with your Son the risk
of committing ourselves into the hands
of our brothers and sisters.
Let no abuse of trust discourage us,
let no indifference rebuff us,
for you have loved us to the end
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!
Blessing
Let our Christian living be a hymn of gratitude to God’s initiative of love and to Jesus’ continual care. May the God of love bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!