Be mindful of us, Lord.
Make yourself known in the time of our distress and give me courage,
King of gods and Ruler of every power.
Save us by your power, and help me,
who am alone and have no one but you, Lord."


RESPONSORIAL PSALM          33:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11

R. (2a) I will bless the Lord at all times.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
on the ten-stringed lyre offer praise.
 Sing to him a new song;
skillfully play with joyful chant.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
For the LORD's word is upright;
all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right.
The earth is full of the mercy of the LORD.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
By the LORD's word the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host.
He gathered the waters of the sea as a mound;
he sets the deep into storage vaults.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all who dwell in the world show him reverence.
For he spoke, and it came to be,
commanded, and it stood in place.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
The LORD foils the plan of nations,
frustrates the designs of peoples.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever,
the designs of his heart through all generations.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.


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           John 4:19-24
The Samaritan woman said to Jesus,
“Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;
but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”
Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman,
the hour is coming when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You people worship what you do not understand;
we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.”

SECOND READING

From "The Wisdom of the Cross", by Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

The gates of life open to believers in the Crucified

Christ put on the yoke of the Law, fulfilling the Law's commands and dying for the Law and through the Law. By this he freed those who desire to receive life through him; but they cannot receive that life unless they themselves offer their own lives. For whoever is baptized into Christ Jesus is baptized into his death. They are immersed in his life so that they become like parts of his own body and, like the parts of his body, suffer with him and die. This life will come in its full abundance on the day of glory; but even now, still in the flesh, we can be part of it if we believe: if we believe Christ to have died for us in order to confer life on us. By that faith we are united to him as the body is united to the head; that faith opens to us the wellsprings of his life. Thus faith in the Crucified – living faith, united with devoted love – is for us the doorway to life and the beginning of the glory that is to come. Thus the Cross is our only boast: As for me, the only thing I can boast about is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.

Whoever chooses Christ is dead to the world and the world is dead to him. He bears the wounds of Christ in his body, he is weak and despised by men, but his cause is strong because the strength of God is made perfect in weakness. Knowing this, the disciple of Christ does not merely accept the Cross that has been laid upon him, but he himself crucifies his own self: Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with all its passions and desires. They have fought a hard battle against their nature, so that the life of sin should die within them and the life of the Spirit be given room to flourish. That battle demands the greatest fortitude. But the Cross is not the end: it is lifted up and shows us the way to heaven. It is not merely a sign, but Christ's undefeated weapon: it is the shepherd's sling with which the divine David battles the evil Goliath. With it, Christ knocks loudly at the door of heaven and opens it. When these things come to pass the light of God will shine out and all who follow the Crucified will be filled with it.


RESPONSORY          Gal 2, 19-20
I have been crucified with Christ, and I live now not with my own life but with the life of Christ who lives in me,*
- who loved me and sacrificed himself for my sake.
The life I live in this body I live in faith: faith in the Son of God,*
- who loved me and sacrificed himself for my sake.


COLLECT
God of our Fathers,
who brought the Martyr Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
to know your crucified Son
and to imitate him even until death,
grant, through her intercession,
that the whole human race may acknowledge Christ as its Savior
and through him come to behold you for eternity.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.


Second Reading and Responsory from Universalis.


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.