>>> VINCENT De PAUL – Pray for Us!
FRIEND OF THE CHURCH AND SUFFERING
Introduction
We commemorate today St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660), a man with a heart. All his life, he was a friend of the poor and the suffering. To evangelize rural areas, he founded the Congregation of the Mission or Lazarists and for the benefit of the proletarian masses the Daughters of Charity, to whom he gave as their convents the streets of the city, the houses of the poor and the rooms of hospitals. He did also much for improving the education of future priests in the seminaries. The Church of France owes very much to this man of vision for its revival in the 17th century. He is the patron saint of works for the poor.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
in a man of vision, St. Vincent de Paul,
we see your deep concern for the poor
and for the needs of the Church of his time.
Make us too, poor and free,
let us weep with those who mourn,
hunger and thirst with those
who seek what is right and just,
that we may understand deeply
the needs of those who are in need.
Grant us this through Christ, our Lord. Amen!
1 Reading – JOB 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23
Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. Job spoke out and said: Perish the day on which I was born, the night when they said, “The child is a boy!” Why did I not perish at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? Or why was I not buried away like an untimely birth, like babes that have never seen the light? Wherefore did the knees receive me? Or why did I suck at the breasts? For then I should have lain down and been tranquil; had I slept, I should then have been at rest with kings and counselors of the earth who built where now there are ruins or with princes who had gold and filled their houses with silver. There the wicked cease from troubling, there the weary are at rest. Why is light given to the toilers, and life to the bitter in spirit? They wait for death and it comes not; they search for it rather than for hidden treasures, rejoice in it exultingly, and are glad when they reach the grave: Those whose path is hidden from them, and whom God has hemmed in!
Responsorial PSALM 88:2-3, 4-5, 6, 7-8
R. (3) Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
O LORD, my God, by day I cry out;
at night I clamor in your presence.
Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my call for help. R.
For my soul is surfeited with troubles
and my life draws near to the nether world.
I am numbered with those who go down into the pit;
I am a man without strength. R.
My couch is among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom you remember no longer
and who are cut off from your care. R.
You have plunged me into the bottom of the pit,
into the dark abyss.
Upon me your wrath lies heavy,
and with all your billows you overwhelm me. R.
Alleluia – MARK 10:45
Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel – LUKE 9:51-56
When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.
Commentary
Kind of Spirit
Some of the disciples have witnessed the Transfiguration, Peter has declared Jesus as the Messiah, and Jesus has just spoken about his paschal destiny… but the disciples are still in a narcissistic cocoon: they are fighting about who is the greatest among them; they stop someone from healing people in Jesus’ name because he isn’t one of them; and they now want fire to come down and burn the Samaritan village because it was not hospitable to them… Jesus turns and rebukes them. Some earlier versions of the Bible tell us that he rebuked them saying, “Ye know now what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” (King James Version, 9: 55b-56). This must become a daily examination of conscience for Christians: “What kind of spirit do I have? Is it one of tribalism, jealousy, violence, and exclusion; or is it one of humility, fraternity, inclusive love, and delight in the other?”
Intentions
– Lord Jesus, forgive us when we cry out our pain, when it is hard to bear; help us, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, help especially people who are broken and discouraged and alone, that they may carry their burden with you, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, let those who are in a long and painful sickness feel your presence, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Our God and Father,
here are bread and wine,
simple food and the drink of joy.
By this gesture of offering,
we assume our responsibility for the poor.
With your Son, let us never remain indifferent
to the human and spiritual misery
of our brothers and sisters in need.
Accept the poverty of our hearts
and be our lasting riches,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
God, Father of the poor,
your Son has been here among us
and he has knocked at the doors of our hearts.
We have welcomed him,
but it was he who gave us to eat.
May we keep receiving him
and making him feel comfortable
every time someone begs for help
or when in need, is too timid
to express where it hurts.
We ask you for this sensitivity
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!
Blessing
Yes, we have a Lord who was crucified, and we are his followers. But sometimes, we forget and complain too easily. Of course, pain hurts and we have not to ask for it. May God stand by your side and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!