Readings
for the Feast of
SAINT RAYMOND PENYAFORT
Priest
January 7
MASS
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Ps 132 (131): 9
Your priests, O Lord, shall be clothed with justice;
your holy ones shall ring out their joy
COLLECT
O God, who adorned the Priest Saint Raymond
with the virtue of outstanding mercy and compassion
for sinners and for captives,
grant us, through his intercession,
that, released from slavery to sin,
we may carry out in freedom of spirit
what is pleasing to you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
First Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14-20
FIRST READING
A reading from the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians 5:14-20
For the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And He died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.
From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard Him thus no longer. Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps 103:1bc-2, 3-4, 8-9,13-14,17-18
R. (1) O, bless the Lord, my soul!
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. O, bless the Lord, my soul!
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills,
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. O, bless the Lord, my soul!
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
R. O, bless the Lord, my soul!
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him,
For he knows how we are formed;
he remembers that we are dust.
R. O, bless the Lord, my soul!
But the kindness of the LORD is from eternity
to eternity toward those who fear him,
And his justice toward his children's children
among those who keep his covenant.
R. O, bless the Lord, my soul!
ALLELUIA
Be vigilant at all times and pray that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.
GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel of Luke 12:35-40
Jesus said: "Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes; truly, I say to you, he will gird himself and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an unexpected hour."
PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Receive, O Lord, we pray,
the offerings placed on your altar
in commemoration of Saint Raymond Penyafort,
so that, as you brought him glory,
you may, through these sacred mysteries,
grant to us your pardon.
Through Christ our Lord.
COMMUNION ANTIPHON Mt 24: 46-47
Blessed is the servant whom the Lord finds watching
when he comes. Amen I say to you:
He will put that servant in charge of all his property.
Or: Lk 12: 42
This is the steward, faithful and prudent,
whom the Lord set over his household,
to give them their allowance of food at the proper time .
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
May partaking at the heavenly table, almighty God,
confirm and increase strength from on high
in all who celebrate the feast day of Saint Raymond Penyafort,
that we may preserve in integrity the gift of faith
and walk in the path of salvation you trace for us.
Through Christ our Lord.
From the Common of Doctors, except for the following:
Office of Readings
SECOND READING
From a letter by St Raymond Penyafort, priest
(Monumenta Ord. Praed. Hist. 6, 2, Romae 1901, pp 84-85)
May the God of love and peace set your hearts at rest
The preacher of God’s truth has told us that all who want to live righteously in Christ will suffer persecution. If he spoke the truth and did not lie, the only exception to this general statement is, I think, the person who either neglects, or does not know how, to live temperately, justly and righteously in this world.
May you never be omitted from the number of those whose house is peaceful, quiet and free from care; those on whom the Lord’s chastisement does not descend; those who live out their days in prosperity, and in the twinkling of an eye will go down to hell.
Your purity of life, your devotion, deserve and call for a reward; because you are acceptable and pleasing to God your purity of life must be made purer still, by frequent buffetings, until you attain perfect sincerity of heart. If from time to time you feel the sword falling on you with double or treble force, this also should be seen as sheer joy and the mark of love.
The two-edged sword consists in conflict without, fears within. It falls with double or treble force within, when the cunning spirit troubles the depths of your heart with guile and enticements. You have learned enough already about these kinds of warfare, or you would not have been able to enjoy peace and interior tranquillity in all its beauty.
The sword falls with double and treble force externally when, without cause being given, there breaks out from within the Church persecution in spiritual matters, where wounds are more serious, especially when inflicted by friends.
This is that enviable and blessed cross of Christ, which Andrew, that manly saint, received with joyful heart: the cross in which alone we must make our boast, as Paul, God’s chosen instrument, has told us.
Look then on Jesus, the author and preserver of faith: in complete sinlessness he suffered, and at the hands of those who were his own, and was numbered among the wicked. As you drink the cup of the Lord Jesus (how glorious it is!), give thanks to the Lord, the giver of all blessings.
May the God of love and peace set your hearts at rest and speed you on your journey; may he meanwhile shelter you from disturbance by others in the hidden recesses of his love, until he brings you at last into that place of complete plenitude where you will repose for ever in the vision of peace, in the security of trust and in the restful enjoyment of his riches.
RESPONSORY
The light of his teaching has shone on those who dwell in darkness.
- By the strength of his love he has delivered the poor and freed captives from thier chains.
He led out those who wandered in the paths of sin.
and freed the poor man from the grasp of his oppressors.
- By the strength of his love he has delivered the poor and freed captives from thier chains
COLLECT
O God, who adorned the Priest Saint Raymond
with the virtue of outstanding mercy and compassion
for sinners and for captives,
grant us, through his intercession,
that, released from slavery to sin,
we may carry out in freedom of spirit
what is pleasing to you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.