Today, 23rd of March, we celebrate
Saint Turibius of Mongrovejo
Elijah was enveloped in a whirlwind.
In those days,
like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah
whose words were as a flaming furnace.
Their staff of bread he shattered,
in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
By the Lord’s word he shut up the heavens
and three times brought down fire.
How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!
Whose glory is equal to yours?
You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,
in a chariot with fiery horses.
You were destined, it is written, in time to come
to put an end to wrath before the day of the Lord,
To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,
and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.
Blessed is he who shall have seen you
and who falls asleep in your friendship.
R./ Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
From your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power.
R./ Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O Lord of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
Take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R./ Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R./ Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him.
As they were coming down from the mountain,
the disciples asked Jesus,
“Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come,
and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased.
So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”
Then the disciples understood
that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
Saint Lucy (+304), the virgin and martyr from Syracuse in Sicily, is greatly honored in the Roman Church because of her faith and great courage. As the young man who proposed marriage to her was not a Christian, she rejected his marriage proposal. He denounced her to the authorities as a Christian and she was cruelly tortured. Her name means "light." Scandinavian countries celebrate her memory with a feast of light.
Lord our God,
you let the light of faith shine
in your young and courageous martyr, St. Lucy.
On her feast day, we ask you:
May our faith remain young and fresh,
strong in the face of contradiction and indifference
as a treasure never to be abandoned.
May our faith be like a light
brightening not only our lives
but also shining on people around us.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Lord our God,
in these signs of bread and wine,
we celebrate the death of your Son
but also his resurrection in glory.
May the Eucharist give us the strength
to profess our faith
not only when it is tested in trials
but also in the life of every day,
that we may live fully as we believe.
We ask you this through Christ, our Lord.
Lord our God,
let the Word of Jesus be to us a light
that shows us the way to you and to one another.
May the body and blood of your Son
give us the courage to bear witness,
that we want to live in this light
every day you give us.
Grant us this through Christ, our Lord.
