VINCENT DE PAUL, Priest
Introduction
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 of 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. He did also 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 17th century. He is the patron saint of works for the poor.
Opening Prayer
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.
Reading 1: Ezr 9:5-9
At the time of the evening sacrifice, I, Ezra, rose in my wretchedness,
and with cloak and mantle torn I fell on my knees,
stretching out my hands to the LORD, my God.
I said: “My God, I am too ashamed and confounded to raise my face to you,
O my God, for our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads
and our guilt reaches up to heaven.
From the time of our fathers even to this day
great has been our guilt,
and for our wicked deeds we have been delivered up,
we and our kings and our priests,
to the will of the kings of foreign lands,
to the sword, to captivity, to pillage, and to disgrace,
as is the case today.
“And now, but a short time ago, mercy came to us from the LORD, our God,
who left us a remnant and gave us a stake in his holy place;
thus our God has brightened our eyes
and given us relief in our servitude.
For slaves we are, but in our servitude our God has not abandoned us;
rather, he has turned the good will
of the kings of Persia toward us.
Thus he has given us new life
to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins,
and has granted us a fence in Judah and Jerusalem.”
Responsorial Psalm: Tobit 13:2, 3-4a, 4befghn, 7-8
He scourges and then has mercy;
he casts down to the depths of the nether world,
and he brings up from the great abyss.
No one can escape his hand.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Praise him, you children of Israel, before the Gentiles,
for though he has scattered you among them,
he has shown you his greatness even there.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
So now consider what he has done for you,
and praise him with full voice.
Bless the Lord of righteousness,
and exalt the King of ages.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
In the land of my exile I praise him
and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Bless the Lord, all you his chosen ones,
and may all of you praise his majesty.
Celebrate days of gladness, and give him praise.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Alleluia: Mk 1:15
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Lk 9:1-6
over all demons and to cure diseases,
and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God
and to heal the sick.
He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey,
neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money,
and let no one take a second tunic.
Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there.
And as for those who do not welcome you,
when you leave that town,
shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.”
Then they set out and went from village to village
proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.
Intentions
– Lord, they were only fishers cleaning their nets, but you called the apostles to spread your Good News. Make us fearless to speak your Word, we pray:
– Lord, he was only a tax collector behind his desk, but you called Matthew to heal people and cast out devils. Wounded as we are, make us healers too, we pray:
– Lord, they are only plain, unpretentious people, but you call your faithful in our communities to tolerate no injustice, and to defend the poor. Speak through all of us what is right and good, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
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.
Blessing
The whole Church is mission. Missionaries must leave behind their luggage of their culture and big means, but go in all simplicity with the Good News of Jesus and must be ready also to be rejected like their Master. May Almighty God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Reflection :
September 27; 25th Wednesday in Ordinary Time
Luke 9:1-6
When we trust in His providence
Jesus called disciples to continue his mission of establishing God’s kingdom here on earth. He appointed very specially his twelve apostles for this purpose. He allowed them to participate very closely in his life and in his mission of preaching, teaching and healing. He trained them very intensively in the last few days of his existence here on earth. In today’s Gospel, Jesus exposed the twelve for the mission and sent them for practical training. As he sent them, he gave them power and authority which were needed for the mission. Besides, he also gave them some important advices. Those who are called for God’s mission should not put their trust in properties and material things. Rather, they should trust in God’s providence and the generosity of the people. The God who sends missionaries will not abandon them and certainly he will take care of them and provide them all the essentials without fail. When we go for a mission trusting in his providence and the generosity of the people, our mission will be joyful and fruitful. Let us be genuine missionaries continuing missio dei believing totally in the providence of God and generosity of the people.