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First Reading: Zep 3:1– 2, 9 –13
Thus says the LORD:
Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted,
to the tyrannical city!
She hears no voice,
accepts no correction;
In the LORD she has not trusted,
to her God she has not drawn near.
For then I will change and purify
the lips of the peoples,
That they all may call upon the name of the LORD,
to serve him with one accord;
From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
and as far as the recesses of the North,
they shall bring me offerings.
On that day
You need not be ashamed
of all your deeds,
your rebellious actions against me;
For then will I remove from your midst
the proud braggarts,
And you shall no longer exalt yourself
on my holy mountain.
But I will leave as a remnant in your midst
a people humble and lowly,
Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD:
the remnant of Israel.
They shall do no wrong
and speak no lies;
Nor shall there be found in their mouths
a deceitful tongue;
They shall pasture and couch their flocks
with none to disturb them.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 34:2 –3, 6–7, 17–18, 19 and 23
R./ The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R./ The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R./ The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R./ The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.
R./ The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 21:28-32
Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people, "What do you think of this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said to him: 'Son, today go and work in my vineyard.' And the son answered: 'I don't want to.' But later he thought better of it and went. Then the father went to the second and gave him the same command. This son replied: 'I will go, sir,' but he did not go.
"Which of the two did what the father wanted?" They answered, "The first." And Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you: the publicans and the prostitutes are ahead of you on the way to the kingdom of heaven. For John came to show you the way of goodness but you did not believe him, yet the publicans and the prostitutes did. You were witnesses of this, but you neither repented nor believed him."
ST. LUCY, Virgin and Martyr
Memorial
December 13
Introduction
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.
Opening Prayer
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.
General Intercessions
– For the Church, that it may recognize more that it is in constant need of reform so that its members can become more like Jesus, we pray:
– For the poor among us, that we may share more with them what we have and treat them better as human persons, we pray: Lord, come and save us.
– That, aware of the poverty of our hearts, we may become less pretentious and more open to Christ, we pray: Lord, come and save us.
Prayer over the Gifts
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.
Prayer after Communion
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.
