Today, 5th of February, we celebrate
Saint Agatha
Zec 2:5-9, 14-15
I, Zechariah, raised my eyes and looked:
there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.
I asked, "Where are you going?"
He answered, "To measure Jerusalem,
to see how great is its width and how great its length."
Then the angel who spoke with me advanced,
and another angel came out to meet him and said to him,
"Run, tell this to that young man:
People will live in Jerusalem as though in open country,
because of the multitude of men and beasts in her midst.
But I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the LORD,
and I will be the glory in her midst."
Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion!
See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.
Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,
and they shall be his people and he will dwell among you.
Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12ab, 13
R./ The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd guards his flock.
R./ The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD's blessings.
R./ The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R./ The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Lk 9:43-45
While all were amazed at everything Jesus did, he said to his disciples, "Listen and remember what I tell you now: The Son of Man will be delivered into human hands." But the disciples didn't understand this saying; something prevented them from grasping what he meant, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
September 27
We commemorate today St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660), a man with a heart. All his life, he was a friend of the poor and the suffering. To evangelize rural areas. He founded the Congregation of the Mission or Lazarists and for the benefit or the proletarian masses the Daughters of Charity, to whom he gave as their convents the streets of the city, the houses of the poor and the rooms of hospitals. Heal so much for improving the education of future priests in the seminaries. The Church of France owes very much to this man of vision for its revival in the century. He is the patron saint of works for the poor.
Lord our God,
in a man of vision, St. Vincent de Paul,
we see your deep concern for the poor
and for the needs of the Church of his time.
Make us too, poor and free,
let us weep with those who mourn,
hunger and thirst with those
who seek what is right and just,
that we may understand deeply
the needs of those who are in need.
Grant us this through Christ, our Lord.
Our God and Father,
here are bread and wine,
simple food and the drink of joy.
By this gesture of offering,
we assume our responsibility for the poor.
With your Son, let us never remain indifferent
to the human and spiritual misery
of our brothers and sisters in need.
Accept the poverty of our hearts
and be our lasting riches,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God, Father of the poor,
your Son has been here among us
and he has knocked at the doors of our hearts.
We have welcomed him,
but it was he who gave us to eat.
May we keep receiving him
and making him feel comfortable
every time someone begs for help
or when in need, is too timid
to express where it hurts.
We ask you for this sensitivity
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
