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First Reading: Revelation 5:1-10
I, John, saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who sat on the throne.
It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals.
Then I saw a mighty angel who proclaimed in a loud voice,
“Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth
was able to open the scroll or to examine it.
I shed many tears because no one was found worthy
to open the scroll or to examine it.
One of the elders said to me, “Do not weep.
The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed,
enabling him to open the scroll with its seven seals.”
Then I saw standing in the midst of the throne
and the four living creatures and the elders
a Lamb that seemed to have been slain.
He had seven horns and seven eyes;
these are the seven spirits of God sent out into the whole world.
He came and received the scroll from the right hand
of the one who sat on the throne.
When he took it,
the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders
fell down before the Lamb.
Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense,
which are the prayers of the holy ones.
They sang a new hymn:
“Worthy are you to receive the scroll
and break open its seals,
for you were slain and with your Blood you purchased for God
those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation.
You made them a kingdom and priests for our God,
and they will reign on earth.”
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
R./ The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or: Alleluia.
Sing to the Lord a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R./ The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or: Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R./ The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or: Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R./ The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or: Alleluia.
Gospel Introduction
Luke wrote his gospel when the Temple had already been destroyed. How come that the Jewish people, God’s own, who had been so zealous to fight for loyalty to the God of the covenant, did not recognize Christ, the expected one? It is not up to us to condemn, as Christians have often done in the past. With Jesus we weep over the city and its people and pray and work that Jews too may find their Messiah. And in the meantime, let us too know the paths of peace of God’s people, and recognize the time the Lord visits us.
Gospel Reading: Lk 19:41-44
When Jesus had come in sight of the city, he wept over it and said, "If only today you knew the ways of peace! But now your eyes are held from seeing. Yet days will come upon you when your enemies will surround you with barricades and shut you in and press on you from every side. And they will dash you to the ground and your children with you, and leave not a stone within you, for you did not recognize the time and the visitation of your God."
ST. CECILIA, Virgin and Martyr
Memorial
November 22
Introduction
We know little more about this popular Roman saint than that she was the daughter of a rich pagan family. She had become a Christian. Her family tried in vain to marry her off to a young pagan. She said that "Christ was her bridegroom," according to the legend. And also, the rest is legend, that she sang to God at the day of her marriage to Christ. That made her the patroness of musicians.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
the celebration of St. Cecilia reminds us
that you want us to encounter your Son
as our companion in life and in death.
Keep us always awake and responsive to his love
which he offers us in this Eucharist,
in his forgiveness, in the events of life,
in the brothers and sisters he entrusts to us.
Let him be our peace in our tensions,
our joy even when we suffer,
our life and happiness beyond death.
Let him admit us to your lasting feast of joy,
for he is our Lord for ever.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
we, your people on the march,
bring before you this bread and this wine
as an offering and a prayer
that Jesus may go with us our weary way
and sustain us in faith and hope.
Let him fill each of our days
with deeds of goodness and wisdom,
May this meal of the Eucharist prepare us
to share in your feast that lasts for ever.
Prayer after Communion
God of our hope and joy,
we are sure that we have encountered your Son Jesus
in this Eucharistic celebration.
We have recognized his voice;
he has nourished us with the bread of himself.
Let Jesus himself be the lamp
that shines brightly on our life
and make us always hear his voice
crying out in our needy brothers and sisters,
that he may find us ready when he comes
to gather us into the feast of your kingdom
and to sing your praises for ever.
