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First Reading: Bar 1:15-22
During the Babylonian captivity, the exiles prayed:
"Justice is with the Lord, our God;
and we today are flushed with shame,
we men of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem,
that we, with our kings and rulers
and priests and prophets, and with our ancestors,
have sinned in the Lord's sight and disobeyed him.
We have neither heeded the voice of the Lord, our God,
nor followed the precepts which the Lord set before us.
From the time the Lord led our ancestors out of the land of Egypt
until the present day, we have been disobedient to the Lord, our God,
and only too ready to disregard his voice.
And the evils and the curse that the Lord enjoined upon Moses, his servant,
at the time he led our ancestors forth from the land of Egypt
to give us the land flowing with milk and honey, cling to us even today.
For we did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God,
in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us,
but each one of us went off after the devices of his own wicked heart,
served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God."
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 79:1b-2, 3-5, 8, 9
R./ For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
They have given the corpses of your servants
as food to the birds of heaven,
the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth.
R./ For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
They have poured out their blood like water
round about Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them.
We have become the reproach of our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.
O LORD, how long? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?
R./ For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
R./ For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name's sake.
R./ For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Gospel Reading: Lk 10:13-16
Jesus said, "Alas for you Chorazin! Alas for you Bethsaida! So many miracles have been worked in you! If the same miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would already be sitting in ashes and wearing the sackcloth of repentance. Surely for Tyre and Sidon it will be better than for you on the Judgment Day. And what of you, city of Capernaum? Will you be lifted up to heaven? You will be thrown down to the place of the dead.
"Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me; and he who rejects me, rejects the one who sent me."
ST. JEROME Priest and Doctor
September 30
Introduction
The scholar St. Jerome (347–419/20) translated most of the Bible from the original languages into Latin and revised some parts already translated to make them more understandable. His immense work opened the Scriptures to the parts of Europe that spoke Latin. He fought all his life against his difficult character. He can still inspire us today to love the Word of God… and to live it.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you continue speaking your word to us today
as St. Jerome loved it.
Like him,
may we understand it in your way,
keep your word faithfully in word and deed,
and pass it on to those who are with us
and who will come after us.
We ask you this through Christ, our Lord.
First Reading Introduction
The reading from Baruch is not from the hand of Baruch, who was the secretary of Jeremiah. It dates from the time of the Maccabees and is like a penitential celebration deploring the sins that had led to the present calamities and oppression.
Gospel Introduction
Modern means of communications have brought the world more closely together and shown us more clearly too the presence of sin and evil in the world; more than half of the world is hungry and exploited, the world economy has gone out of hand notwithstanding dole-outs for development aid and whole nations are not free from inside or from outside. And in our own little worlds there is repeated selfishness, pride at the expense of others, suspicion... While condemning the sins of society, let us not lose our personal sense of sin in the process; let us not forget our solidarity of sin and at the same time live better our solidarity with love and life on account of Christ. Sin is a rejection of Christ and his message.
Prayer over the Gifts
Loving Father,
your word has become our food in Jesus Christ.
He makes us one with you.
Through him, give us your strength
to enlighten our minds and to guide us,
that we may put your words into practice
and follow your living Word,
your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you have made a covenant with us,
a union of life and love,
and you want the whole of creation to share in it.
You speak to us and to the world
your liberating word.
God, may we be the answer to your word,
not only by what we say,
but in everything we are and do.
We ask you this through Christ, our Lord.
