It is not that I have already taken hold of it
or have already attained perfect maturity,
but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it,
since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus.
 Brothers and sisters, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession.
Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead,
I continue my pursuit toward the goal,
the prize of God's upward calling, in Christ Jesus.


RESPONSORIAL PSALM          Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
Vincenti dabo edere de ligno vitae.

R./ Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked,
nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
but delights in the law of the Lord
and meditates on his law day and night.
R./ Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
that yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R./ Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the Lord watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R./ Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.


ALLELUIA          Jn 8:12
Ego sum lux mundi, dicit Dóminus; qui séquitur me habébit lucem vitæ.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.


GOSPEL          Luke 9:57-62
As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding
on their journey
someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus answered him,
"Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
And to another he said, "Follow me."
But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father."
But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."
And another said, "I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home."
He said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."

From the frequent and pleasant reports of our most blessed brother, I know of your reasoned and truly praise-worthy discipline, carried out with unwavering rigor.Since I have heard of your holy love and constant pursuit of honesty and virtue, my spirit rejoices in the Lord.I rejoice and am drawn to praise and give thanks to God, and still I long to love him. I rejoice, as I should, in the growing fruits of your strength, and yet I grieve and grow ashamed that I lie idle and senseless in the mire of my sins.

Therefore rejoice my dearest brothers, because you are so blessed and because of the bountiful hand of God's grace upon you. Rejoice, because you have escaped the various dangers and shipwrecks of the stormy world. Rejoice, because you have reached the quiet and safe anchorage of a secret harbor. Many wish to come into this port, and many make great efforts to do so, yet do not achieve it. Indeed many, after reaching it, have been thrust out, since it was not granted them from above.

Therefore, my brothers, you should consider it certain and well-established that whoever partakes of this desireable good, should he in any way lose it, will grieve to his death, if he has any regard or concern for the salvation of his soul.

My dearest lay brothers, of you I say: "My soul magnifies the Lord." For I have learned of the generosity of his mercy toward you from the report of your prior and dearest father; he rejoices and takes great pride in you. And let us rejoice that since you are unacquainted with the knowledge of letters, almighty God will inscribe in your hearts with his finger not only his love but also the knowledge of his holy law. By your work you show what you love and what you know. When you observe true obedience with prudence and enthusiasm, it is clear that you wisely pick the most delightful and nourishing fruit of divine Scripture.


RESPONSORY           Psalm 55:7-8; 1 John 2:17
Had I but wings like a dove
to fly away and find my rest,
- I would flee far away
and encamp in the wilderness.

The world and all its allurements will pass away,
but whoever does God's will shall live for ever.
- I would flee far away
and encamp in the wilderness.


COLLECT
O God, who called Saint Bruno to serve you in solitude,
grant, through his intercession,
that amid the changes of this world
we may constantly look to you alone.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.


The English translation of Psalm Responses, Alleluia Verses, Gospel Verses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL); the English translation of Antiphons, Invitatories, Responsories, Intercessions, Psalm 95, the Canticle of the Lamb, Psalm Prayers, Non-Biblical Readings from The Liturgy of the Hours © 1973, 1974, 1975, ICEL; excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved. Used with permission.