Today, 24th of January, we celebrate
Saint Francis de Sales
First Reading: Rev 7:2-4, 9-14
I, John, saw another angel come up from the East,
holding the seal of the living God.
He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels
who were given power to damage the land and the sea,
"Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees
until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."
I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,
one hundred and forty-four thousand marked
from every tribe of the children of Israel.
After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice:
"Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb."
All the angels stood around the throne
and around the elders and the four living creatures.
They prostrated themselves before the throne,
worshiped God, and exclaimed:
"Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might
be to our God forever and ever. Amen."
Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me,
"Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?"
I said to him, "My lord, you are the one who knows." He said to me,
"These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb."
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 24:1-2,3-4,5-6
R./ Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R./ Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R./ Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R./ Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Second Reading: 1 Jn 3:1-3
Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure.
Gospel The Beatitudes: Mt 5:1-12a
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. He sat down and his disciples gathered around him. Then he spoke and began to teach them:
"Fortunate are those who have the spirit of the poor,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Fortunate are those who mourn, they shall be comforted.
"Fortunate are the gentle, they shall possess the land.
"Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they shall be satisfied.
"Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy.
"Fortunate are those with a pure heart, for they shall see God.
"Fortunate are those who work for peace,
they shall be called children of God.
"Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of justice,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Fortunate are you, when people insult you
and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you
because you are my followers.
Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God.
This is how this people persecuted the prophets
who lived before you."
ST. CHARLES BORROMEO, Bishop
Memorial
November 4
Introduction
Today's saint, Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), embodies the renewal of the Church. Though through the abuses of his time, he became, as nephew of the Pope, a cardinal, secretary of State and archbishop of Milan, all at the age of 22, he was capable and not a part of any corruption. He played an important role in the final stages of the Council of Trent. Finally residing in Milan, he put the renewal of the Church mandated by the Council into practice by reforming diocesan structures, founding seminaries, doing pastoral visitation, giving away everything he had, including his beddings during an epidemic of pestilence. He died at the age of 46, consumed with the love and zeal of Christ.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
as Christians we need to be marked,
like St. Charles Borromeo,
with the life and death of your Son.
Give us the strength to renew ourselves,
that you may write straight
with the crooked lines of our lives
and make us instruments of your love
and witnesses to the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
you have made us responsible in your Church
for the lasting happiness of our neighbor.
Accept this bread and this wine
as signs that we want to share
our faith, our hope, our joy,
our time, and our concern
with all those who need us and whom we need.
Give us this strength by the body and blood
of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you have nourished us in this Eucharist
with Jesus, your Son.
Give to your Church shepherds
like St. Charles Borromeo,
who nourish those entrusted to them
with the gift of themselves,
who know their people and who are known by them.
Inspire and lead them with the good Spirit
of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Today's saint, Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), embodies the renewal of the Church. Though through the abuses of his time, he became, as nephew of the Pope, a cardinal, secretary of State and archbishop of Milan, all at the age of 22, he was capable and not a part of any corruption. He played an important role in the final stages of the Council of Trent. Finally residing in Milan, he put the renewal of the Church mandated by the Council into practice by reforming diocesan structures, founding seminaries, doing pastoral visitation, giving away everything he had, including his beddings during an epidemic of pestilence. He died at the age of 46, consumed with the love and zeal of Christ.
Lord our God,
as Christians we need to be marked,
like St. Charles Borromeo,
with the life and death of your Son.
Give us the strength to renew ourselves,
that you may write straight
with the crooked lines of our lives
and make us instruments of your love
and witnesses to the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
– For the Church, that it may be a serving Church and a Church of the poor, bearing witness to God’s gratuitousness as a living parable of sharing, we pray:
– For those in positions of responsibility in politics, finances and the economy, that honesty, justice and concern for the good of all may guide their decisions and actions, we pray:
– For those who live by the work of their hands, that people may recognize their dignity and the service they render to all, we pray:
Lord our God,
you have made us responsible in your Church
for the lasting happiness of our neighbor.
Accept this bread and this wine
as signs that we want to share
our faith, our hope, our joy,
our time, and our concern
with all those who need us and whom we need.
Give us this strength by the body and blood
of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Lord our God,
you have nourished us in this Eucharist
with Jesus, your Son.
Give to your Church shepherds
like St. Charles Borromeo,
who nourish those entrusted to them
with the gift of themselves,
who know their people and who are known by them.
Inspire and lead them with the good Spirit
of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
God has entrusted much to us to be thankful for: our talents, our friends and relatives, other people, even nature. Let us care for everything entrusted to us. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
