Readings
for the Memorial of

Saint John of Capistrano
Priest
October 23


From the Common of Pastors: For Missionaries, or from the Common of Holy Men and Women: For Religious.


COLLECT
Deus, qui, ad populum fidelem in angustiis confortandum, beatum Ioannem suscitasti, praesta, quaesumus, ut nos in tuae protectionis securitate constituas, et Ecclesiam tuam perpetua pace custodias.
O God, who raised up Saint John of Capistrano
to comfort your faithful people in tribulation,
place us, we pray, under your safe protection
and keep your Church in everlasting peace.
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.


FIRST READING          2 Corinthians 5:14-20
Brothers and sisters:
The love of Christ impels us,
once we have come to the conviction that one died for all;
therefore, all have died.
He indeed died for all,
so that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh;
even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh,
yet now we know him so no longer.
So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come.
And all this is from God,
who has reconciled us to himself through Christ
and given us the ministry of reconciliation,
namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
not counting their trespasses against them
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
So we are ambassadors for Christ,
as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.


RESPONSORIAL PSALM          16:1-2ab;5,7-8;11
Tu es, Domine, pars heredidatis meae.

R. (see 5a)   You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”
R.      You are my inheritance, O Lord.
They multiply their sorrows
who court other gods.
Blood libations to them I will not pour out,
nor will I take their names upon my lips.
R.      You are my inheritance, O Lord.
O LORD, my allotted portion and cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R.      You are my inheritance, O Lord.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R.      You are my inheritance, O Lord.


ALLELUIA          Matthew 5:10
Beati qui persecutionem patiuntur propter iustitiam, quoniam ipsorum regnum caelorum.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness;
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.


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."



Liturgy of the Hours
John of Capistrano


From the Common of Pastors, except for the following:

Office of Readings


SECOND READING

From the treatise "Mirror of the Clergy" by Saint John of Capistrano, priest

The lives of good clerics bring light and serenity

Those who are called to the table of the Lord must glow with the brightness that comes from the good example of a praiseworthy and blameless life. They must completely remove from their lives the filth and uncleanness of vice. Their upright lives must make them like the salt of the earth for themselves and for the rest of mankind. The brightness of their wisdom must make them like the light of the world that brings light to others. They must learn from their eminent teacher, Jesus Christ, what he declared not only to his apostles and disciples, but also to all the priests and clerics who were to succeed them, when he said: You are the salt of the earth. But what if salt goes flat? How can you restore its flavor? Then it is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

Truly the unclean, immoral cleric is trampled underfoot like worthless manure. He is saturated with the filth of vice and entangled in the chains of sin. In this condition he must be considered worthless both to himself and to others. As Gregory says: "When a man's life is frowned upon, it follows that his preaching will be despised."

Presbyters who are born leaders deserve to be doubly honored, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. It is indeed a double task that worthy priests perform, that is to say, it is both exterior and interior, both temporal and spiritual, and, finally, both a passing task and an eternal one.

Even though they dwell on earth and are bound by the same necessities of nature along with all mortal creatures, at the same time they are engaged in earnest communication with the angels in heaven, so that they may be pleasing to their king and learn how to serve him. Therefore, just as the sun rises over the world in God's heaven, so clerics must let their light shine before men so that they may see their good deeds and give praise to their heavenly Father.

You are the light of the world. Now a light does not illumine itself, but instead it diffuses its rays and shines all around upon everything that comes into its view. So it must be with the glowing lives of upright and holy clerics. By the brightness of their holiness they must bring light and serenity to all who gaze upon them. They have been placed here to care for others. Their own lives should be an example to others, showing how they must live in the house of the Lord.


RESPONSORY          Sirach 4:23-24; 2 Timothy 4:2
Speak out when the time is right;
do not hide your wisdom,
- for speech makes wisdom known,
and all a man has learned appears in his words.

Preach the word, persevere in the task,
both when convenient and inconvenient;
correct, reprove, summon to obedience,
but do all with patience and sound doctrine.
- For speech makes wisdom known,
and all a man has learned appears in his words.


COLLECT
Deus, qui, ad populum fidelem in angustiis confortandum, beatum Ioannem suscitasti, praesta, quaesumus, ut nos in tuae protectionis securitate constituas, et Ecclesiam tuam perpetua pace custodias.
O God, who raised up Saint John of Capistrano
to comfort your faithful people in tribulation,
place us, we pray, under your safe protection
and keep your Church in everlasting peace.
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.

 
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