Ribbon Placement:

Christian Prayer:

Office of Readings for Saturday in Ordinary Time

God, come to my assistance.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

HYMN

Ave Maria, gratia plena

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei

Amen.

English Translation:

Hail Mary, full of grace

Holy Mary, Mother of God

Amen.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Let us praise the Lord for his mercy and for the wonderful things he has done for men.

Psalm 107

I

“O give thanks to the Lord for he is good;

Let them say this, the Lord’s redeemed,

Some wandered in the desert, in the wilderness,

Then they cried to the Lord in their need

Let them thank the Lord for his love,

Some lay in darkness and in gloom,

Then they cried to the Lord in their need

Let them thank the Lord for his goodness,

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

Ant. Let us praise the Lord for his mercy and for the wonderful things he has done for men.

Ant. 2 Men have seen the works of God, the marvels he has done.

II

Some were sick on account of their sins

Then they cried to the Lord in their need

Let them thank the Lord for his love,

Some sailed to the sea in ships

For he spoke; he summoned the gale,

They staggered, reeled like drunken men,

He stilled the storm to a whisper:

Let them thank the Lord for his love,

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

Ant. Men have seen the works of God, the marvels he has done.

Ant. 3 Those who love the Lord will see and rejoice; they will understand his loving kindness.

III

He changes streams into a desert,

But he changes desert into streams,

They sow fields and plant their vines;

He pours contempt upon princes,

But he raises the needy from distress;

Whoever is wise, let him heed these things.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

Psalm-prayer

You fill the hungry with good things, Lord God, and break the sinner’s chains. Hear your people who call to you in their need and lead your Church from the shadows of death. Gather us from sunrise to sunset that we may grow together in faith and love and give lasting thanks for your kindness.

Ant. Those who love the Lord will see and rejoice; they will understand his loving kindness.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

Your truth, O God, is high as the clouds.

READINGS

First reading

When Demetrius heard that Nicanor and his army had fallen in battle, he again sent Bacchides and Alcimus into the land of Judah, along with the right wing of his army. They took the road to Galilee, and camping opposite the ascent at Arbela, they captured it and killed many people.

In the first month of the year one hundred and fifty-two, they encamped against Jerusalem. Then they set out for Berea with twenty thousand men and two thousand cavalry. Judas, with three thousand picked men, had camped at Elasa. When his men saw the great number of the troops, they were very much afraid, and many slipped away from the camp, until only eight hundred men remained.

As Judas saw that his army was melting away just when the battle was imminent, he was panic-stricken, because he had no time to gather them together. But in spite of his discouragement, he said to those who remained: “Let us go forward to meet our enemies; perhaps we can put up a good fight against them.”They tried to dissuade him, saying: “We certainly cannot. Let us save our lives now, and come back with our kinsmen, and then fight against them. Now we are too few.” But Judas said: “Far be it from me to do such a thing as to flee from them! If our time has come, let us die bravely for our kinsmen and not leave a stain upon our glory!”

Then the army of Bacchides moved out of camp and took its position for combat. The cavalry were divided into two squadrons, and the slingers and the archers came on ahead of the army, and all the valiant men were in the front line. Bacchides was on the right wing. Flanked by the two squadrons, the phalanx attacked as they blew their trumpets. Those who were on Judas’ side also blew their trumpets. The earth shook with the noise of the armies, and the battle raged from morning until evening.

Seeing that Bacchides was on the right, with the main force of his army, Judas, with all the most stouthearted rallying to him, drove back the right wing and pursued them as far as the mountain slopes. But when the men on the left wing saw that the right wing was driven back, they turned and followed Judas and his men, taking them in the rear. The battle was fought desperately, and many on both sides fell wounded. Then Judas fell, and the rest fled.

Jonathan and Simon took their brother Judas and buried him in the tomb of their fathers at Modein. All Israel bewailed him in great grief. They mourned for him many days, and they said, “How the mighty one has fallen, the savior of Israel!”

The other acts of Judas, his battles, the brave deeds he performed, and his greatness have not been recorded; but they were very many.

RESPONSORY See 1 Maccabees 4:8, 9, 10, 9

Do not be afraid of the enemy’s attack.

Remember his wonderful deeds:

Second reading

The Apostle tells us: The world is crucified to me, and I to the world. We are to understand that this death by crucifixion takes place in this life, and that this death is a blessing. So he goes on to urge us to bear the death of Jesus with us in our bodies, for whoever bears the death of Jesus in his body will bear also in his body the life of the Lord Jesus.

Death must be active within us if life also is to be active within us. “Life” is life after death, a life that is a blessing. This blessing of life comes after victory, when the contest is over, when the law of our fallen nature no longer rebels against the law of our reason, when we no longer need to struggle against the body that leads to death, for the body already shares in victory. It seems to me that this “death” is more powerful than “life.” I accept the authority of the Apostle when he says: Death is therefore active within us, but life also is active within you. Yet the “death” of this one man was building up life for countless multitudes of peoples! He therefore teaches us to seek out this kind of death even in this life, so that the death of Christ may shine forth in our lives–that blessed death by which our outward self is destroyed and our inmost self renewed, and our earthly dwelling crumbles away and a home in heaven opens before us.

The person who cuts himself off from this fallen nature of ours and frees himself from its chains is imitating death. These are the bonds spoken of by the Lord through Isaiah: Loose the bonds of injustice, untie the thongs of the yoke, set free the oppressed and break every yoke of evil.

The Lord allowed death to enter this world so that sin might come to an end. But he gave us the resurrection of the dead so that our nature might not end once more in death; death was to bring guilt to an end, and the resurrection was to enable our nature to continue for ever.

“Death” in this context is a passover to be made by all mankind. You must keep facing it with perseverance. It is a passover from corruption, from mortality to immortality, from rough seas to a calm harbor. The word “death” must not trouble us; the blessings that come from a safe journey should bring us joy. What is death but the burial of sin and the resurrection of goodness? Scripture says: Let my soul die among the souls of the just; that is, let me be buried with the just, so that I may cast off my sins and put on the grace of the just, of those who bear the death of Christ with them, in their bodies and in their souls.

RESPONSORY 2 Timothy 2:11-12; Sirach 1:20

Here is a saying you can depend on:

A patient man will stand firm until the right time,

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Almighty and merciful God,

ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)

Let us praise the Lord.