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First Reading: 1 Mac 4:36-37,52-59
Judas and his brothers said, “Now that our enemies have been
crushed, let us go up to purify the sanctuary and rededicate it.”
So the whole army assembled, and went up to Mount Zion.
Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth
month, that is, the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred
and forty-eight, they arose and offered sacrifice according to
the law on the new altar of burnt offerings that they had made.
On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had defiled
it, on that very day it was reconsecrated with songs, harps,
flutes, and cymbals. All the people prostrated themselves and
adored and praised Heaven, who had given them success.
For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar
and joyfully offered burnt offerings and sacrifices of deliverance
and praise. They ornamented the facade of the temple
with gold crowns and shields; they repaired the gates and the
priests’ chambers and furnished them with doors. There was
great joy among the people now that the disgrace of the Gentiles
was removed. Then Judas and his brothers and the entire
congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the dedication
of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness on the
anniversary every year for eight days, from the twenty-fifth
day of the month Chislev.
Responsorial Psalm: 1 Chr 29:10,11,11-12,12
R./ We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
“Blessed may you be, O LORD,
God of Israel our father,
from eternity to eternity.”
R./ We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
“Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power,
majesty, splendor, and glory.
For all in heaven and on earth is yours.”
R./ We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
“Yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty;
you are exalted as head over all.
Riches and honor are from you.”
R./ We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
“You have dominion over all,
In your hand are power and might;
it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all.”
R./ We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
Gospel Introduction
Jesus drove out the merchants from the Temple and it might be a good time to ask ourselves: What has the Lord to drive out from us to make us better Christians? What stands in the way of being closer to him in the life of every day? What matters for us Christians is that we are attached to the Lord and close to the people he has entrusted to us. Then we can worship him with our whole life.
Gospel Reading: Lk 19:45-48
Jesus entered the Temple area and began to drive out the merchants. And he said to them, "God says in the Scriptures: My house shall be a house of prayer: but you have turned it into a den of robbers."
Jesus was teaching every day in the Temple. The chief priests and teachers of the Law wanted to kill him and the elders of the Jews as well, but they were unable to do anything, for all the people were listening to him and hanging on his words.
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.
