Readings for the Feast of Saint Norbert

Readings for the Feast of Saint Norbert
Bishop
June 6

Entrance Song
I will look after my sheep, says the Lord, and I will raise up one shepherd who wil pasture them. I, the Lord, will be their God. - Ez. 34:11,23-24

Opening Prayer:
Father,
You made the bishop Norbert
an outstanding minister of Your Church,
renowned for his preaching and pastoral zeal.
Always grant to Your Church faithful shepherds
to lead Your people to eternal salvation.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

First Reading
Ezekiel 34:11-16

"For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I Myself will search for My sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out My sheep; and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the fountains, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and upon the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on fat pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I Myself will be the shepherd of My sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will watch over; I will feed them in justice.

Responsorial Psalm 40:2; 4ab,7-8a,8b-9,10-11
R. (8a and 9a) Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
R. Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.

Gospel Antiphon: Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Gospel Reading Luke 14:25-33
Now great multitudes accompanied Him; and He turned and said to them, "If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build, and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace. So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple".

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Lord,
accept the gifts we bring to your holy altar
on this feast of Saint Norbert.
May our offering bring honor to your name
and pardon to your people.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon:
You have not chosen me; I have chosen you. Go and bear fruit that will last. - Jn. 15:16

Prayer after Communion
Lord,
may we who receive this sacrament
be inspired by the example of Saint Norbert.
May we learn to proclaim what he believed
and put his teaching into action
. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Liturgy of the Hours
St. Norbert

From the Common of Pastors, except the following:

Office of Readings

SECOND READING

From the life of Saint Norbert, bishop
(The words in quotation marks below have been taken from the biography of Saint Norbert, written by a Premonstratensian canon who was a contemporary of the saint: PL 170, 1262, 1269, 1294, 1295. Pope Innocent’s Apostolic Letter was issued under leaden seal to Saint Norbert on June 5, 1133. Acta Sanctorum, 21, in Appendice p.50.)

At ease in the company of the humble and great

Norbert is deservedly numbered by historians among those who made an effective contribution to the reform movement under Pope Gregory VII. He established a clergy dedicated to the ideals of the Gospel and the apostolic Church. They were chaste and poor. They wore “the clothing and the symbols of the new man; that is to say, they wore the religious habit and exhibited the dignity proper to the priesthood.” Norbert asked them “to live according to the norms of the Scriptures with Christ as their model.” They were “to be clean in all matters pertaining to the altar and divine worship, to correct their faults and failings in their chapter meeting, and to care for and give shelter to the poor.”

The priests lived in community, where they continued the work of the apostles. Inspired by the practice of the early Church, Norbert exhorted the faithful to join the monastic life in some capacity. So many men and women responded to the invitation that many asserted that no man since the apostles themselves had inspired so many to embrace the monastic life.

When Norbert was appointed an archbishop, he urged his brothers to carry the faith to the lands of the Wends. In his own diocese he tried unsuccessfully to convince the clergy of the need for reform and was confronted with noisy protests both in the street and in the church.

One of the principal goals of Norbert’s life was to foster harmony between the Apostolic See and the German empire. At the same time he wanted to maintain Rome’s freedom in the matter of ecclesiastical appointments. Apparently his efforts were so successful that Pope Innocent II thanked him profusely in a letter in which he called him a “devoted son,” and Lothair made him chancellor of the realm.

Norbert did all these things with a steadfast faith: “Faith was the outstanding virtue of Norbert’s life, as charity had been the hallmark of Bernard of Clairvaux’.” Affable and charming, amiable to one and all, “he was at ease in the company of the humble and the great alike.” Finally, he was a most eloquent preacher; after long meditation “he would preach the word of God” and with his fiery eloquence purged vices, refined virtues and filled souls of good will with the warmth of wisdom.” He spent many hours in contemplation of the divine mysteries and fearlessly spread the spiritual insights which were the fruit of his meditation.

RESPONSORY 2 Timothy 4:2,5; Acts 20:28
Proclaim the message, in season and out of season;
refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience;
- endure all hardships and spread the Gospel.

Keep watch over the whole flock
which the Holy Spirit
has given you in rule and guide,
as a shepherd of the Church of God.
- endure all hardships and spread the Gospel.

PRAYER
You made the bishop Norbert
an outstanding minister of Your Church,
renowned for his preaching and pastoral zeal.
Always grant to Your Church faithful shepherds
to lead Your people to eternal salvation.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

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