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Today, 27th of September, we celebrate
Saint Vincent of Paul
First Reading: Job 1:6-22
One day, when the angels of God came to present themselves before the Lord,
Satan also came among them.
And the Lord said to Satan, "Whence do you come?"
Then Satan answered the Lord and said,
"From roaming the earth and patrolling it."
And the Lord said to Satan, "Have you noticed my servant Job,
and that there is no one on earth like him,
blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil?"
But Satan answered the Lord and said,
"Is it for nothing that Job is God-fearing?
Have you not surrounded him and his family
and all that he has with your protection?
You have blessed the work of his hands,
and his livestock are spread over the land.
But now put forth your hand and touch anything that he has,
and surely he will blaspheme you to your face."
And the Lord said to Satan,
"Behold, all that he has is in your power;
only do not lay a hand upon his person."
So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.
And so one day, while his sons and his daughters
were eating and drinking wine
in the house of their eldest brother,
a messenger came to Job and said,
"The oxen were ploughing and the asses grazing beside them,
and the Sabeans carried them off in a raid.
They put the herdsmen to the sword,
and I alone have escaped to tell you."
While he was yet speaking, another came and said,
"Lightning has fallen from heaven
and struck the sheep and their shepherds and consumed them;
and I alone have escaped to tell you."
While he was yet speaking, another messenger came and said,
"The Chaldeans formed three columns,
seized the camels, carried them off,
and put those tending them to the sword,
and I alone have escaped to tell you."
While he was yet speaking, another came and said,
"Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine
in the house of their eldest brother,
when suddenly a great wind came across the desert
and smote the four corners of the house.
It fell upon the young people and they are dead;
and I alone have escaped to tell you."
Then Job began to tear his cloak and cut off his hair.
He cast himself prostrate upon the ground, and said,
"Naked I came forth from my mother's womb,
and naked shall I go back again.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord!"
In all this Job did not sin,
nor did he say anything disrespectful of God.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 17:1bcd, 2-3, 6-7
R./ Incline your ear to me and hear my word.
Hear, O Lord, a just suit;
attend to my outcry;
hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit.
R./ Incline your ear to me and hear my word.
From you let my judgment come;
your eyes behold what is right.
Though you test my heart, searching it in the night,
though you try me with fire, you shall find no malice in me.
R./ Incline your ear to me and hear my word.
From you let my judgment come;
your eyes behold what is right.
Though you test my heart, searching it in the night,
though you try me with fire, you shall find no malice in me.
R./ Incline your ear to me and hear my word.
Gospel Reading: Luke 9:46-50
One day the disciples were arguing about which of them was the most important. But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he took a little child and stood him by his side. Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me. And listen: the one who is found to be the least among you all, is the one who is the greatest."
Then John spoke up, "Master, we saw someone who drove out demons by calling upon your name, and we tried to forbid him because he doesn't follow you with us." But Jesus said, "Don't forbid him. He who is not against you is for you."
Today, the Church remembers Saint Jerome, patron saint of translators and, in the opinion of many, the first specialist in biblical exegesis. The collect prayer for the day says: “O God, who granted the presbyter Saint Jerome a gentle and lively love for Sacred Scripture, make your people feed on your word with greater abundance and find in it the source of life.”
Saint Jerome, in the history of the Church but also in universal history, is a very important figure from the 4th and 5th centuries to our days. It is surprising and even humorous that in today’s Gospel, Jesus, responding to the disciples’ question about who is the most important, declares: “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the least among you is the most important.” And that’s it. As we are certain that God sees into the depths of our hearts, we suppose that Jerome attained the simplicity of a little one before the Lord. Also, that we, if we recognize our essential smallness and helplessness, will be welcomed by His mercy.
We can examine our lives and sincerely answer the question: Who is important to me, really? I suspect that, except for many cases in the family sphere where the primacy is held by the child, the sick, or the elderly, the “important” ones are those who please us the most or can benefit us the most: those who have power or authority, the rich, the famous, the most attractive, the most brilliant… Those who provide us with emotional or economic well-being and power.
Jesus is definitely a subversive: he asks us to change our criteria of value with our neighbor and put the little ones first, because whoever welcomes them welcomes Him. To put more love in them, in deeds and words, to care for them, to listen to them. Also to respect them because even with the good intention of helping, we might use the “condescension” of those who believe themselves superior. All of this is often hardly gratifying to our fallen human condition. Like the first disciples, we can only do it by following the Lord and embracing his cross. Let us feed on his word with greater abundance and find in it the source of life.
Virginia Fernández
ST. THERESA OF THE CHILD JESUS, Virgin
Memorial
October 1
Introduction
Theresa Martin (1873–1897) entered the Carmel at the age of fifteen. Nine years later, she died of tuberculosis. In these few years, she lived the "little way of spiritual childhood." It is not an infantile way but one demanding great strength and much grace. She had to fight her stubbornness and to struggle with aridity and depression. Hers was the way of the little people, the poor of the beatitudes. It shows what God can do in us notwithstanding our human limitations, provided we let him.
Opening Prayer
Father in heaven,
your Son recommends to us
to have the attitude of a child
if we wish to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
We thank you for St. Theresa,
who lived the little way of the beatitudes.
As your preference goes to children and the humble,
we ask you to give us the heart of a child,
unpretentious and receptive of love,
trusting and believing in you and people,
that we may become wise with your wisdom
and grow to the full size of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer over the Gifts
Almighty and eternal God,
your Son Jesus, voluntarily gave up
all divine honors and privileges
to become one of us and die our death.
He gives himself to us here
in the form of a humble piece of bread.
Give us the attitude of Jesus,
self-effacing and respectful
before you and people
and available to all calls and needs.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
No one as great as you, Lord our God,
has made oneself as small as you;
no one as distant as you
has made oneself as near to us in our weakness
as you in your Son, Jesus Christ.
Make us see your Son
and make us grow in him.
Make us unassuming and spontaneous
with you and with one another,
in trust, hope, and joy.
like Jesus Christ, our Lord.
