Elizabeth Ann Seton

Readings
for the Memorial of

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Religious
January 4

+1821

MASS

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Cf. Prv 14:1-2
Behold a wise woman who has built her house.
She feared the Lord and walked the right path.

Or:           Cf. Ps 24 (23):6
This is the generation
which seeks the face of the God of Jacob.

COLLECT
O God, who crowned with the gift of true faith
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s burning zeal to find you,
grant by her intercession and example
that we may always seek you with diligent love
and find you in daily service with sincere faith.
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 following readings were chosen from the Common of Holy Men and Women.

FIRST READING          Deuteronomy 10:8-9
Moses summoned all of Israel and said to them:
"At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi
to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD,
to be in attendance before the LORD and minister to him,
and to give blessings in his name,
as they have done to this day.
For this reason,
Levi has no share in the heritage with his brothers;
the LORD himself is his heritage,
as the LORD, your God, has told him."

RESPONSORIAL PSALM          128:1-2, 3, 4-5

R. (cf. 1a) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

ALLELUIA
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened
and I will give you rest, says the Lord

GOSPEL          Matthew 11:25-30
At that time Jesus exclaimed:
"I give praise to you. Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
O Lord, we ask that you look graciously
upon our gifts placed on your altar
in celebration of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton,
and grant by the power at work in this sacrifice,
that we may be more deeply inserted
into the mystery of your Son.
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Jn 6:51
I am the living bread from heaven, says the Lord.
Whoever eats this bread will live forever;
the bread I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
As we partake of the sacrament of our salvation,
while recalling the memory of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton,
we humbly ask you, O Lord,
that we may be inflamed with a burning desire for the heavenly table,
and by its power consecrate our life faithfully to you.
Through Christ our Lord.

Liturgy of the Hours

From the Common of Holy Women, except the following:

The Office of Readings

From a conference to her spiritual daughters by Elizabeth Ann Seton

Our daily work is to do the will of God

I will tell you what is my own great help. I once read or heard that an interior life means but the continuation of our Savior's life in us; that the great object of all his mysteries is to merit for us the grace of his interior life and communicate it to us, it being the end of his mission to lead us into the sweet land of promise, a life of constant union with himself. And what was the first rule of our dear Savior's life? You know it was to do his Father's will. Well, then, the first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God; secondly, to do it in the manner he wills; and thirdly, to do it because it is his will.

I know what his will is by those who direct me; whatever they bid me do, if it is ever so small in itself, is the will of God for me. Then do it in the manner he wills it, not sewing an old thing as if it were new, or a new thing as if it were old; not fretting because the oven is too hot, or in a fuss because it is too cold. You understand—not flying and driving because you are hurried, not creeping like a snail because no one pushes you. Our dear Savior was never in extremes. The third object is to do his will because God wills it, that is, to be ready to quit at any moment and to do anything else to which you may be called….

You think it very hard to lead a life of such restraint unless you keep your eye of faith always open. Perseverance is a great grace. To go on gaining and advancing every day, we must be resolute, and bear and suffer as our blessed forerunners did. Which of them gained heaven without a struggle?...

What are our real trials? By what name shall we call them? One cuts herself out a cross of pride; another, one of causeless discontent; another, one of restless impatience or peevish fretfulness. But is the whole any better than children's play if looked at with the common eye of faith? Yet we know certainly that our God calls us to a holy life, that he gives us every grace, every abundant grace; and though we are so weak of ourselves, this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty.

But we lack courage to keep a continual watch over nature, and therefore, year after year, with our thousand graces, multiplied resolutions, and fair promises, we run around in a circle of misery and imperfections. After a long time in the service of God, we come nearly to the point from whence we set out, and perhaps with even less ardor for penance and mortification than when we began our consecration to him.

You are now in your first setout. Be above the vain fears of nature and efforts of your enemy. You are children of eternity. Your immortal crown awaits you, and the best of Fathers waits there to reward your duty and love. You may indeed sow here in tears, but you may be sure there to reap in joy.

RESPONSORY
The time is growing short,
so we must rejoice as though we were not rejoicing;
we must work in the world
yet without becoming immersed in it,
- for the world as we know it is passing away.

We have not adopted the spirit of the world.
- for the world as we know it is passing away.

COLLECT
O God, who crowned with the gift of true faith
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton's burning zeal to find you,
grant by her intercession and example
that we may always seek you with diligent love
and find you in daily service with sincere faith.
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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